Changed for the Better
by Gleeks09
Summary: Rachel doesn't have the caring fathers everyone thinks she has.  When Quinn and her mom find out an unlikely frienship forms between the two girls.  Shelby will also play a role.  Starts after the first season.  Please give it a look.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – This takes place before the first episode of the second season. All of season one happened and I pick it up from the end of summer. **

Rachel walked into William McKinley High School at the start of the new year with a renewed sense of hope that this year things would be better. Glee Club was still active despite their loss at Regionals and she had spent some time over the summer planning and wondering about the songs they would sing this year. She was also dating the quarterback and surely that had to do something for her. Sure, the football team was awful and Finn's reputation had taken quite a beating, but some popularity was better than no popularity at all, right? Rachel sighed as she thought about it. In truth, she didn't really care if Finn was quarterback or not, but she knew how important it was to him. She had been sorry to see the summer end because she worried about Finn being back here at school. They had been able to spend the summer in a bubble without all the outside pressures of bullies and jocks. The call of the school hierarchy always managed to get Finn to answer it. She hoped things would be different this year with Finn, but she never let her hopes get too high.

The summer had been with for the two of them, but that had been the extent of it. Not that Rachel didn't like fun, she did, but she also wanted someone she could talk to and share with. She often wondered if Finn felt the same way about her. Could he share as little with her in the same way she wasn't able to share with him? Conversations were never deep and kisses were always chaste and for whatever reason, neither of them ever rocked the boat. But why rock the boat. It had been fun and he had been good company.

And company was something that Rachel craved. Finn, bless his heart, was not the brightest person she had ever been attracted to. He had only asked once why her dads were never home. Work, she had told him. It wasn't a lie. Both of her fathers worked a lot. One was a doctor and one was the VP at a local company. They felt the need to be in the OR or a business meeting much more than they felt the need to be home. She knew her parents had been unhappy for years and she figured it was easier for them to focus on their separate lives rather than their life together with their daughter. They both travelled quite a bit for work. At first they would try and alternate the weekends so that someone would be home with her, but lately they were apt to be gone at the same time, sometimes for a week or more. Not that it really mattered. When they were home conversations consisted of "how was your day?" and "goodnight, sweethearts." She tried to talk with them over tense family dinners and they nodded and told her she sang like an angel and then slipped into silence. She wondered what they were like at the beginning of their marriage. She reasoned that they must have really been in love to go through the trouble of finding a surrogate and bring a child into the world. Maybe it had been a challenge they wanted to overcome. Was she their proof that two gay men could raise a child? The problem was, Rachel felt like she had been raising herself for years now. She felt like she had once been a novel idea to them, but now the novelty had worn off. She talked them up at school. Everyone knew she had two gay dads and she let them believe it was wonderful and that she was given more love than one kid could handle. It was certainly easier than having to answer any questions.

Rachel knew she came across as annoying and bitchy to most people, even those she considered friends; although she was well aware that they didn't return that consideration. She just desperately wanted to be noticed. She craved attention. She understood it from an intellectual standpoint. She received no attention at home so she used the one talent she was sure of to get it from everyone else. There were times when she was self-aware enough to almost cringe at herself and wish she could reign in her behavior. And other times she was completely oblivious to how she affected people. Intellectually she got it. She just wished someone would explain it to her heart. It made her ache to know that most people didn't like her. She wanted so much to please them and she always ended up making it worse. Was she truly that bad? Most people seemed to barely be able to tolerate her. Even Finn was usually only half paying attention. Her mother had even turned her back and walked away. Shelby had broken her heart. She had walked away from Rachel even as she was adopting a newborn. But as much as Rachel tried, she couldn't hate her. She wished the best for Shelby and Beth. Rachel hoped that the little girl got to experience everything wonderful that Rachel had always wished for herself.

Rachel stood at her locker and started putting the things she would need for the school year in it. Quinn noticed her as she walked by on her way to her own locker, but she didn't say anything. She was sure she'd hear enough of Rachel later during Glee and she didn't want to hear her voice right now. Besides, when had she ever said hello to Rachel Berry voluntarily?

Quinn had spent the summer getting back into shape and getting to know her mother again. Judy Fabray had taken her second chance seriously and was doing her best to be able to step up to the plate. She had been able to change herself into the mother she had always wanted to be but had never been able to under her husband's oppressive thumb. Quinn had been skeptical at first, but she found that she loved this new mom that she could talk to and kiss goodnight. The first few weeks after Beth's delivery had been very hard, but Judy had been there for Quinn, this time with love and acceptance instead of judgment and disappointment. Judy showered Quinn with hugs and kisses and attention. And even discipline. Quinn had spent two weeks of her summer grounded after the second time she missed curfew and stayed out well into the middle of the night. Judy had been worried about Quinn's reaction, but she knew if she was going to be a complete mom than this was part of that. For her part, Quinn had given a half-hearted argument, but in the end had accepted her mother's sentence. It made her feel 16 again; like maybe she could still be a kid, and that was a feeling Quinn hadn't felt in a long time.

As the summer came to a close Quinn and Judy were happier than they had been in perhaps ever. Judy's divorce was finalized and Quinn didn't think about her father all that often. She thought about Beth all the time, but she knew in her heart that she had done the right thing. Quinn talked to Shelby on the phone a few times a month. She was able to ask her questions and ease her worries and Shelby had been able to give Quinn something Rachel's fathers never gave her; peace of mind. Shelby always asked about Rachel but Quinn didn't have any answers for her. Shelby had questioned one time if she had made the right decision with Rachel and Quinn had known the question had not really been for her. Shelby was thinking out loud as she tried to work it out for herself. Shelby, like everyone, believed Rachel to be happy and doted on by two loving parents. When she had walked away she really thought she had been doing what was best for Rachel and she was sorry every day that she had gotten Rachel and Jesse involved in anything at all. But even though she and Rachel had spent so little time together Shelby found that she missed her daughter. Every conversation between Quinn and Shelby ended with the older woman assuring Quinn that she loved Beth and Rachel; and would Quinn please not mention any of this to Rachel. Quinn always promised that she wouldn't.

Rachel frowned as she watched Finn make his way down the hall to her. He was high-fiving some football players and he arrived at Rachel just in time to laugh at the joke Santana made about her. Rachel sent him a glare but he didn't understand it and she cast her gaze down, embarrassed. Quinn watched from across the hall and shook her head. God, he really was an idiot.

Rachel asked Finn if they could go somewhere and talk. She needed to do this now before she lost her nerve. The summer had been fun, but she couldn't compete with football and his popularity and she wasn't sure she wanted to try anymore. She didn't want him to give up football, she just wanted to know that she fit somewhere in that world too and she was pretty certain she didn't. The break-up had gone better than she thought. He seemed relieved though she could tell he was trying to hide it. They promised each other that they were still friends and parted saying they would see each other later in Glee.

Rachel's first three classes passed in a blur of first day rules and hand-outs, class expectations and workloads. Even the teachers didn't seem to care, but they had to get the first day stuff out of the way. She stopped by her locker before lunch. She didn't see it coming as she closed the locker door, and she certainly wasn't prepared for it, but Rachel found herself with grape slushie dripping down her face and out of her hair. She had actually been hit with two, effectively covering her clothes as well. Rachel didn't get a look at the people who threw the slushies, but she could hear others around her laughing as she wiped her eyes. It was true that some things never change. The worst part about this slushie attack was not the pointing and laughing or the fact that it was just the first day of school; the worst part was that she had not yet brought any spare clothes to school. She ducked into the nearest bathroom and started pulling out paper towels so she would clean her face off. She didn't feel like she could skip the rest of the day since it was the first day so she was resigning herself to spending the rest of the day with her clothes covered in dry, sticky grape goo.

She wiped her face and looked in the mirror to see Quinn stepping out of one of the stalls. It was then that Rachel realized that the restroom she had chosen was the one that connected to the Cheerios locker room. Oh god.

"Berry," Quinn said as she washed her hands.

"You're a Cheerio again," Rachel said, noting the red and white uniform the blonde was wearing. "Congratulations."

Quinn only nodded. "Who threw that at you?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders and her bottom lip quivered as tears threatened to fall. "I don't have a change of clothes," she said trying to pull herself together.

Quinn frowned at the girl as a pang of guilt rose in her chest. No, she had not been responsible for this attack, but she had been responsible for others. Had she never really been able to see how much it hurt the smaller girl before? She suddenly got a flash of Beth being bullied and it made her heart ache. Sure, she was only 16 and her mom still grounded her, but she had a child now and a new perspective on things.

"I have some clothes you can wear," Quinn told her.

Rachel looked at her suspiciously, as if Quinn was in on this and giving her clothes was the next part of the joke.

"I brought some jeans and a t-shirt and Chuck's today. I always have them around in case we need them for Glee."

"Oh," Rachel said, surprised a Quinn's foresight.

"They'll be a little big, but you can wear them."

"Thanks," Rachel replied.

Quinn went to retrieve the clothes as Rachel finished cleaning her face and hair. When Quinn retuned she waited for Rachel to get dressed. When Rachel came out of the stall Quinn couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Rachel in pants that were too long for her. Quinn had her sit on one of the benches in the locker room and helped her roll up the legs so that they rested just below her ankles. Rachel slipped the black converse on her feet and tied them as tight as possible because they were too big. Quinn had given her a bag to put her dirty clothes in and the two sat in companionable silence for a few moments. The bell rang and brought them out of their thoughts and reminded them that they weren't friends.

"Thank you, Quinn. I'll return the clothes as soon as possible," Rachel said.

"You're welcome, Rachel. And there's no hurry," Quinn told her.

Rachel couldn't help but smile at the use of her name. It never seemed to be the first thing people thought to address her by.

The rest of the day passed quickly and even Glee seemed to have been weighed down by the first day nonsense. Rachel changed when she got home and put Quinn's clothes in the wash. When they were finished she started another load of her slushie stained clothes and then set off for Quinn's house. She had folded the jeans and t-shirt and put them in a bag with the socks and shoes and started her walk.

It was Judy who answered the knock at the door to find the small brunette looking up at her.

"Hello, Mrs. Fabray. Can I see Quinn? I need to return her clothes," Rachel asked politely, holding up the bag for Judy to see.

"Of course," Judy said stepping aside so that Rachel could enter. She was confused, but she wasn't going to leave the girl standing outside. She didn't know her and couldn't think of why she would have Quinn's clothes. They stood at the bottom of the stairs and Judy called Quinn down from her room.

"Hey, Berry. Trying out a new look," Quinn teased as she descended the stairs and caught sight of Rachel. She had softened earlier in the bathroom with Rachel, but old habits die hard. Rachel looked down at the t-shirt, yoga pants and tennis shoes she was wearing. She had opted for comfort for the walk.

"This is what I wear when I work out in the mornings," Rachel replied. "I brought you your clothes back. I washed them when I got home. Thank you again."

"No problem," Quinn told her. "And I told you there was no hurry. Oh, and mom this is Rachel Berry. Rachel this is my mom. We're in Glee together."

Judy and Rachel nodded hellos before Judy asked, "Why did you have her clothes?"

"Oh, well I was slu-"one look at Quinn and Rachel could see the pleading in her face. Rachel suddenly realized that that Judy had no idea about slushies. She wondered if the woman knew anything about the bullying her daughter had dished out over the years. Quinn's face told Rachel that Judy did not. "I spilled something on myself at school," Rachel told Judy. "And Quinn lent me some clothes to wear."

Judy beamed at her daughter and Quinn suddenly looked ashamed.

There was a beat of awkward silence before Rachel said that she needed to get going. She handed the bag of clothes to Judy who thanked her and left to put them with the rest of the clean clothes in the laundry room. Rachel turned and headed for the door, only to be stopped by Quinn.

"Rachel, wait. Thanks. For not saying anything to my mom." Rachel started to reply only to be cut off by Quinn. Judy had walked back in and was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, behind Rachel. "I didn't see your car outside. When I heard someone knocking at the door I looked out the window, but I didn't see a car," Quinn said.

Rachel gave her a confused look at the sudden change in topic, but told her, "I'm 15, Quinn. I don't have a car. Or a license. I walked."

"But that's over five miles one way," Quinn said. "Why didn't one of your parents give you a ride?"

"My dads aren't home. They'll be gone all week," Rachel answered before she realized what she was doing. She was usually much more careful than that.

Rachel quickly looked up at Quinn's face to gage her reaction and she found that the blonde was looking over Rachel's shoulder. Rachel spun around to see Judy looking at her and she realized she had made a big mistake. She didn't know the woman had come back into the room.

"All week?" Judy asked. "Are you staying there alone?" The look on her face dared Rachel to lie to her.

"Yes, ma'am, but I'm used to it." _Crap!_ "I mean, it's no big deal. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Nonsense! You just said yourself that you're only 15. You shouldn't be staying by yourself," Judy countered.

The first thought to come to Rachel's mind was that these were big words coming from a woman who helped kick out her pregnant 16-year-old. Quinn seemed to know what Rachel was thinking and shook her head at the girl.

"You're staying here," Judy said.

"What?" was the hasty reply from both Quinn and Rachel. They spoke over each other to Judy, both arguing why that was impossible. Judy caught bits of "mom, no" and "I really can't" along with plenty of other excuses. Finally she held her hand up and Quinn and Rachel reluctantly stopped pleading their cases. They both knew that they were not going to win this one.

"You're going to stay here, young lady, and I don't want to hear another word about it," Judy said to Rachel. "From either of you," she continued, looking over to Quinn. Rachel could only nod as a second wave of protests died on Quinn's lips.

"Quinn, drive her home and," she looked over to Rachel, "pack up everything you need for a week. You'll take the guest room and you can ride to school with Quinn."

Rachel glanced to Quinn, an apologetic look gracing her features. Quinn looked to be in shock at the prospect of sharing her home with Rachel Berry. It was one thing to tone down her attitude somewhat at school and not be so mean to her, but it was quite another thing all together to have to have the young singer staying in her house.

"Get going, Quinn," Judy said when the girls didn't make a move to leave. "I'd like to talk with Rachel before you two go to bed tonight."

Rachel sucked in a breath. This was not going to be good.

"Come on, Berry," Quinn said as she grabbed her keys and headed for the front door. Rachel did not miss the daggers Quinn was shooting her. The brunette offered up a small, wary smile to Judy before dutifully following Quinn out the door.

**A/N – Please review if you can. I appreciate it. More to come soon. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I wasn't expecting that, but thank you. I will try to keep updating fairly quickly. **

**And I supposed I should add a disclaimer: I don't own Glee. If I did there would be some definite changes on the show. **

The ride to Rachel's house had been in silence. Quinn was still stewing over the sudden change in events and Rachel was thinking of ways to get through this week without giving away any more information. She couldn't believe she had actually blurted out that her fathers weren't at home. But if she could get through the week then she would be able to return to her house and hopefully the subject would be dropped. She had to figure out how to get out of talking with Judy tonight. Or at all. That seemed like it would be impossible and Rachel leaned her head back and sighed as she watched the houses pass by.

Quinn waited in the car while Rachel went in to pack her things. She needed to figure out how she was going to keep all of this quiet. There was no way anyone could find out that Rachel Berry was staying in her house. In a moment of understanding she figured Rachel wanted the same thing. Quinn could tell that Rachel had not wanted them to know about her fathers being gone for the week in the first place. Quinn gave pause and thought about what she knew about the other girl. She was annoying for sure. And had zero fashion sense. It was then that Quinn realized that that was really all she knew. She had never bothered to look beyond that. She thought back to Sectionals and Regionals and she remembered meeting some of the parents of her fellow Glee clubbers. Hell, they had even met Mr. Schue's parents. But she couldn't recall ever having met either of Rachel's dads. She always assumed Rachel had the type of parents who came to everything and had hours and hours of home movies all staring their precious girl. Had she been wrong all this time? Had the club all really just ignored Rachel that much that they didn't even realize she was always alone at everything? She'd been kicked out and practically disowned and her mother had still shown up at Regionals.

Quinn got out of the car and opened the trunk for Rachel when she saw that the girl had come out of the door carrying a large duffel bag and a smaller shoulder bag.

"Geez, Rachel, you're only staying a week. What is all this stuff?" Quinn asked when everything had been loaded.

"I assure you, Quinn, that I need all of this," Rachel said when she got into the passenger side. "I've got to have extra clothes to take to school. I can't keep borrowing your clothes when I get slushied. Your mom will think I'm a slob if I have to keep telling her I'm spilling things on myself," Rachel said pointedly.

"Look, Rachel, my mom doesn't know any of that. My parents always saw what they wanted to see and nothing more when it came to me and school," Quinn said. "I had good grades; I was head cheerleader and dated the quarterback. That's all they wanted to know."

"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't have made any sense to admit to them that you're a bully who delighted in belittling and humiliating those around her," Rachel said, harsher than she meant to. But she didn't apologize. It was true. She looked away from Quinn and stared out the window even though they were still just sitting in the driveway at her house. "Don't worry, I won't tell her," Rachel added after a moment.

"Right. You're right. My relationship with my parents has always been," she searched for the right word, "complicated. My dad wanted things to look a certain way more than he actually wanted to work to create a real family environment. And my mom was too scared to ever contradict him. So we all just played our parts until I got pregnant."

Rachel nodded. She understood this.

"I grew up watching my dad push people around to get his way and I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Quinn finished.

"But the fact that you understand that makes you different from him, Quinn," Rachel told her. "The apple probably fell farther than you think."

Quinn pushed back the tears that were welling in her eyes. Rachel still wasn't looking at her, but Quinn thought she could see what the girl was doing. She was giving her a chance, an opportunity to try and make things right.

"Rachel, I know I could probably say I'm sorry a thousand times and it not mean anything," Quinn started but she was cut off by the brunette.

"Or you could say it just once and it could mean everything," Rachel said, finally turning to look at her.

A tear slipped down Quinn's cheek as she spoke, "I'm sorry, Rachel." And she meant it.

Rachel's voice wavered as she responded with a soft, "thank you, Quinn. And I also apologize for times I've hurt you, like when I told Finn about Puck."

"No, that's ok, Rachel. You were just doing what I was too scared to do. You're braver than I am," Quinn told her.

"Yes, that's true, Quinn," Rachel said, but she was smiling.

Quinn let out a small laugh and said, "And this doesn't mean that we're going to be best friends at school or anything, Berry."

"No, of course not," Rachel answered quickly, but she was still smiling. She understood. Baby steps.

Quinn started the car and backed out of the driveway. It took her a moment to really wrap her head around what had just happened. She had apologized to Rachel Berry of all people. Rachel was normally the bane of Quinn's existence and yet here she was playing chauffeur and seeking forgiveness. If Quinn had been presented with this scenario twenty-four hours ago she would have laughed. But now she felt… better. There was no reason to keep on hating Rachel Berry besides the fact that she was Rachel Berry and, for Quinn, that wasn't a good enough reason anymore.

Rachel was glad that they seemed to have come to some sort of cease fire. It would certainly make living in the same house for a week that much easier. The idea of being friends with Quinn was not something new to Rachel. She imagined she could be friends with anyone. She would grasp onto little moments from a day and carry it around with her. She once had heard Kurt talking about a party he was going to throw and had geared herself up for the fun she would be able to have. It would be a normal teenage thing that everyone did. It wasn't until she returned to school that Monday and heard the entire club speaking about what a great party it had been that Rachel realized she was never going to be invited in the first place. Another disappointment, but she was awfully used to them at this point.

"Rachel?" Quinn broke the silence.

"Hmmm?"

"Tell me about your dads."

Rachel drew in a breath. She had been waiting for this. She had no idea how she could get around it. It would be such a great relief to be able to tell someone. Was Quinn that person? Rachel realized that they were almost to Quinn's house and she needed to get this all out before they were around Judy.

"Pull over, Quinn. Up there in that shopping center," Rachel instructed.

Quinn did as she was told and shut off the car before turning to look at Rachel expectantly.

"My dads," Rachel started, "are very busy. They have to be away for work all the time and now that I'm older they think it's ok for me to stay by myself. It's great when they're home though," she said, falling back on a familiar lie. Why was it so hard for her to simply tell the truth? "We make the most of the time we spend together." Even as she said it she could feel the emotion welling up in her eyes.

"Rachel," Quinn said, seeing through the girl.

"Quinn. I just don't think they care anymore," Rachel admitted, for the first time out loud, she realized. She told Quinn about the marital problems they had how they started spending more and more time at their respective jobs and how she was always the one left alone. Rachel related how they came home late from work most nights and mostly kept to themselves. The business trips had become more frequent in the last few years and now they didn't worry about one of them being home with her. They just scheduled one for whenever they wanted and if there was a conflict, oh well. She told how they both would leave her money, a lot of it sometimes, so that Rachel would be able to get whatever she needed. Rachel made sure Quinn knew that they weren't bad guys, just not really there. Even when they were home they weren't really there.

"Wow, Rachel. I'm sorry," Quinn said. "How come you never told anyone?"

"I guess it just became normal for me," Rachel said. "Besides, do you think anyone would have really cared?"

Rachel had her there. A year ago Quinn would have brushed Rachel off and probably would have added a joke about even her fathers couldn't stand to be around her.

"Quinn, I don't want your mom to know all of this," Rachel said.

"Why? She already knows they left you alone all week? How can you explain that away?" Quinn asked.

"I'll just tell her that it's never happened before and that this was a one-time thing. A scheduling conflict that neither of them could get out of," Rachel said, thinking up a quick lie.

"I don't think she'll believe you," Quinn said. "Maybe you should just tell her. She's been great since I moved back in. She'll want to help."

"That's just it though, Quinn. What kind of help? I have no one else to turn to. If trouble were to start up with my dads, where would that leave me?" Rachel questioned. "I'm better off on my own rather than losing all of the control I have now."

"It doesn't seem to me like you have any control," Quinn said. "Your fathers stopped being parents and you were left all alone."

"But I'm not you, Quinn. When your parents stopped being parents you had friends you could turn to. And a mom who figured it out and is making things better," Rachel said. "I don't have any friends. And my mother made it quite clear that I couldn't turn to her."

Quinn thought about whether she should tell Rachel about her conversations with Shelby and how Shelby said she loved her. But she had to talk to Shelby first. There was no way she was going to mention it to Rachel and get her hopes up in case she were only let down again.

"I'm your friend now, Rachel."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

Just then Quinn's phone chimed letting her know she had a text message. It was her mother wondering what was taking them so long. Quinn sent a message back that they were almost there and started up the car again.

Rachel had gotten her things settled in the guest room and had received a tour of the house from Quinn. Judy had made it very clear that Rachel feel at home and Quinn was busy pointing out linen closets and pantries. Rachel glanced at her watch and saw that it was now 9:17. She half hoped Quinn had a bedtime and that they would be sent there soon so that she could avoid this conversation with Judy. They were settled on the couch discussing morning routines; Rachel was going to make sure she didn't get in the way in the morning when they were getting ready for school, when Judy spoke up from the dining room.

"Rachel, come here please."

Rachel shut her eyes in frustration. So much for getting out of that tonight. She opened her eyes to see Quinn giving her a look of encouragement.

"Come on, Rachel. Tell her. Let someone else help you," Quinn said, rising from the couch. The pair made their way to the dining room and found Judy sitting at the table enjoying a glass of wine.

"Sit down and tell me what's going on," Judy instructed.

Rachel and Quinn sat in chairs opposite Judy and Rachel looked down at her lap as she idly fiddled with the tablecloth. She was reluctant to trust the woman, even with Quinn's reassurance. It had been a long time since she found much comfort in the presence of an adult. She trusted Mr. Shue, of course, but they never really saw eye-to-eye. And she knew she couldn't tell him or Miss Pillsbury because they would have to report something like this. She had begged Shelby to love her but Shelby had walked away. Maybe if she had said more to her mom. Maybe if she had explained it. But Rachel had a difficult time sharing with anyone in authority, whether that authority was real or imagined.

And Judy Fabray had been a Stepford Wife up until a few months ago. She didn't want to judge her, but she had walked away from her pregnant teenager. Of course, Rachel knew she had no room to judge. Her fathers were kind of doing the same thing and Rachel had never made a mistake near as bad as the one Quinn had made. Judy did have one thing on her fathers. She had come back and she was working to make it right. Rachel knew Quinn's shift in attitude wasn't something that had grown all on its own and Rachel figured she had to give some of the credit to the woman seated across from her.

"Honey?" Judy prompted.

"My fathers lead separate lives now," Rachel began. "Lives that involve their work and travel and whatever other extracurricular activities that they participate in that I don't know anything about. But their lives rarely involve me or each other. They're home most nights when they're in town but we don't really talk that much. And sometimes, like this week, they end up travelling at the same time. Not together, of course," Rachel added. "It's been like this for about three years now. I'm old enough to take care of myself though so it's not a big deal," Rachel said, trying to downplay the whole situation.

"You most certainly are not old enough to take care of yourself," Judy said. "And you especially weren't at 12! Take it from me, Rachel. I learned the hard way about thinking your child should handle life on their own when they were too young to do so." She cast a glance at Quinn who looked down. "What about your mother?"

"Mom, Shelby is her biological mother," Quinn explained. "Remember?"

That's when it dawned on Judy who Rachel was. She had simply assumed she was a friend of Quinn's from school. But yes, she remembered Quinn explaining everything about the girl's fathers and how Shelby had been a surrogate.

Judy glanced at Quinn and they exchanged a look. Rachel recognized that a silent conversation was being held between mother and daughter and she wished she knew what it was about.

"Oh yes, of course I remember. I'm sorry, Rachel, I didn't realize you were that Rachel."

Rachel smiled sadly. Yep, she was _that_ Rachel.

"Things can't continue like this, Rachel," Judy said. "You can't be left alone like this."

"Of course I can," Rachel argued. "It's working just fine. I can take care of myself. It's not the ideal situation, I'll agree, but it's all I've got and what I know," Rachel could feel herself starting to get worked up and she was trying to keep that at bay. She needed to appear older than she felt right now.

"Rachel, you should not have to take care of yourself," Judy answered. "You are a child and what your fathers are doing could be considered neglect in court."

"Right and then I would be taken from them," Rachel said, her voice rising. "And sent where? I don't have any other family. I've got a mother who doesn't want me and nothing else. And I'm fairly certain the foster care system just couldn't handle me. I'll be 16 in December and then I've got just two more years until I'm on my own anyway. What's the problem with it now?"

"Rachel, I'm not trying to upset you, I'm just trying to make you understand that you are not grown up yet."

"I know I'm not grown up yet," Rachel said, rising to her feet. "I remind my fathers of school activities in the hopes that maybe they'll come and see me. I told Shelby how much I needed her and that I wasn't as grown as she thought I was and she walked out the door. I'm not grown up enough to drive but I can walk to the store for groceries and forge permission slips all so that I can still appear to be a kid to everyone else."

"Rachel, what about your friends? Why didn't you talk to them?" Judy asked.

"I haven't got any friends!" Rachel started to storm out, but was surprised to find that Judy was quicker and was now standing in front of her blocking her path with her hands on Rachel's arms to hold her in place.

"What do you mean you haven't got any friends? Quinnie?" Judy looked at Rachel and then over to Quinn who could not meet her mother's gaze.

"I mean that no one likes me. I am barely tolerated by a group of people that are supposed to be my teammates. I know why they keep me around and it's not because any of them have ever actually been interested in my life." Judy's eyes never left Quinn as Rachel spoke. Quinn still refused to meet her mother's look and ended up staring at her hands in her lap.

"Do you know what it's like to start off every day in the hopes that someone just might give you the time of day that day?" Rachel continued. She was crying now. Judy had somehow managed to get her to open up and for Rachel years of pent up emotions started flooding out. These were things she never even mentioned to the therapist her father's had paid for. I guess they figured if they weren't going to talk to her than they could pay someone to do it. Rachel had never cared for the man and had slowly stopped going.

"Do you know what it's like to want so badly for someone to pay just a little bit of attention when you're speaking? To have any idea about why it is you want all the solos instead of just scoffing when you fight for them?"

"Stop. I think I understand." Judy said, returning her attention to Rachel and pulling the crying girl into a hug. Rachel was stiff at first, but she finally allowed herself to ease up and be held.

It all made sense to Quinn now. All of the tantrums and storm outs and arguing was Rachel trying to grasp at attention. No wonder she fought so badly for everything and no wonder she hated it so much when a promised solo was taken from her. Rachel didn't have a soul in the world who actually listened when she talked. The whole Glee club could tell you that Rachel's dream was to be a star on Broadway, but could any of them tell the reasons why.

"Mrs. Fabray," Rachel said stepping back. "You can't say anything to anyone. Please."

"All right," Judy said, trying to alleviate the girl's worries. "We'll figure something out, ok? But we don't have to talk about that right now. You should go on up to bed now."

Rachel nodded and headed out of the room. Quinn stood up to follow, but was stopped by her mother.

"Sit back down, Quinn. You and I need to talk."

Quinn shrank back from her mother's stare and resumed her place in the chair. She hadn't seen that look on her mom's face since she was nine and she had poured glue in her older sister's shoes a few minutes before the other girl had stepped into them.

Rachel headed straight for the bathroom upstairs so she could wash her face and get ready for bed. She really hoped that Judy kept her word and didn't say anything. She still didn't really like the fact that Quinn and her mom now knew her biggest secret. But there was nothing she could do about it now. She would spend the next few days working to convince the Fabrays to understand her point of view.

Rachel thought back to how this whole evening started as she crawled into the bed. Oh yeah. Couldn't she have just waited until school to return Quinn's clothes?

There was a knock at the door about ten minutes later and Quinn entered the room asking if she was asleep. Rachel could see that she looked upset.

"I explained to my mom about everything," the blonde said, sitting down on the bed. "She's not too happy with me right now."

"I bet not," was Rachel's reply. "And when you say that you explained everything, what does that mean?"

"I told her about slushies and how I picked on you and about the Glee Club's general disdain for you."

"Oh. Well that's always a fun tale to tell," Rachel said. "You should hear when people tell it to your face."

"I know, Rachel. I'm sorry. I told her that too. That I had apologized," Quinn added.

"I'm sorry too, Quinn. I'm just worked up. I believe your apology," Rachel assured her. And she did believe it. She trusted Quinn now; she had to. But Rachel had noticed sincerity in Quinn's eyes that day that she knew she had never seen before. And she needed a friend, even if it came from the unlikeliest of places.

Judy entered the room then to tell them that it was getting late and they needed to get to sleep.

"And Rachel, before I forget, what happens if one of your parents gets home earlier than you expect?" Judy asked.

"I left them a note," Rachel answered. "I said I was staying the night at a friend's house. And thank you, Mrs. Fabray, for letting me stay here."

"You're more than welcome, Rachel." The woman leaned down to kiss Quinn on the forehead before saying a final good night and a "bed, Quinn" before leaving the room.

The blonde girl stood and started to leave as well.

"Quinn?" Rachel stopped her. "Please don't mention any of this to anyone at school."

"Oh please, Berry, like I'm going to let anyone know that you're staying in my house," Quinn said with a smile. Rachel grinned at the blonde before the door was closed and then she settled her head on the pillow.

**A/N – Please leave a review if you are so inclined. I really do appreciate them. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N – Guys, thank you so much for all the reviews. I'm overwhelmed. Thank you. **

**Disclaimer – I still own nothing. I'm actually pretty bummed about it. **

Quinn and Rachel had gone their separate ways when they got to school that morning. Quinn had Cheerio commitments and Rachel spent the extra time in the music room reading over the first assignment for her history class. Brad the piano player drew her out of her reading and Rachel realized it was close to the start of the day so she made her way to her locker to exchange some books. She didn't notice Karofsky coming at her with a full cup of cherry slushie. In turn, he didn't notice the blonde head cheerleader walking towards him. Quinn passed Rachel without a word; the brunette was too focused on her books to notice anyway, and met up with the hockey player before he even had a chance to get to Rachel. Without breaking her stride Quinn put her hand on the bottom of the cup and tipped it up into his face. He shrieked as the cold, sticky liquid hit his head, neck and chest. There was a collective gasp and then laughter broke out in the hallway.

"What the hell, Fabray! What did you do that for?" He demanded.

Quinn turned and shrugged as she smirked at him, "I just thought it would be fun."

When she turned back around to continue on her way, the students in the hall parted to let her walk by. Quinn wore a satisfied smile. Oh yeah, she still had it.

Rachel finally looked up to see what all the commotion was about and saw Karofsky covered in slushie and Quinn walking away. She quickly put two and two together and smiled despite herself. She knew she shouldn't feel like laughing at another student who was covered in slushie, but another part of her felt that he had it coming. That being said, she shut her locker and scurried off the other way. She didn't want him to see her smiling. She'd get it worse for sure if he thought she was laughing at him.

Quinn waited until the middle of her lunch period to grab a moment to herself and call Shelby. She didn't have time to tell her the whole situation right now, but she needed to give the woman a heads up and let her know that Quinn would need to speak with her at length very soon.

"Hello. Quinn?" was Shelby's greeting. "Aren't you in school? Are you ok?"

"Hey, Shelby. Yeah, it's my lunch period," Quinn explained. "I'm fine. Listen, I need to talk to you about something important."

"Important? What's this about, Quinn?"

"It's about Rachel. I was hoping I could meet with you somewhere this evening. Could you get a sitter for tonight?" Quinn asked. She was dying to see how Beth had grown, but Quinn knew without a doubt that she was not ready for that. And neither was Shelby.

"Rachel? What's wrong with Rachel?" Shelby asked a hint of panic in her voice.

"She's fine, Shelby. Calm down. But it is really important. Can you meet me?"

"Of course," was Shelby's response. "I'll get a sitter as soon as I get off the phone with you."

They worked out the particulars of when and where and then Quinn sent a quick text message to her mother letting her know about her plans for that night. She made sure to emphasize that she wasn't telling Rachel until after she talked to Shelby. She didn't want her mom to inadvertently give it away. And after last night Quinn figured that Rachel needed a night where she didn't have to talk about her fathers.

Quinn arrived to Glee practice a few minutes late that afternoon and by the time she got there Rachel was already up in front of the group talking about the things they would need to do to prepare for Nationals this year. Quinn surveyed the club from the doorway and was able to notice what Rachel could see. Santana was rolling her eyes and whispering to Brittney who then laughed at whatever had been said. Kurt seemed to be listening but as his eyes flickered to the clock on the wall Quinn knew he wasn't. Mr. Schuester was staring off into space and Finn was taping out a rhythm on his leg. A quick glance at everyone confirmed that none of them would remember Rachel's speech in about five minutes.

Quinn made her way across the room, passing in front of Rachel to get her chair.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Quinn," Rachel said. This caught the attention of the group who looked the blonde, no doubt waiting for a biting comeback.

"Why don't we prepare for Sectionals before we focus on Nationals, Rachel?" Quinn asked. "Take things one step at a time."

"That's true, Rachel," Finn jumped in. "We need to keep the cart and the horse together." The silence that followed that statement allowed everyone in the room to try and put together what Finn was saying. He noticed the looks he was getting and added, "Or whatever it is."

"I think what Finn is trying to say, Rachel, is that you're getting ahead of yourself," Mr. Shue spoke up. "Let's start with Sectionals."

Rachel took a seat by herself at the end of the first row of chairs. Of course she knew they needed to start with Sectionals. She said that when she started her speech, but no one had been listening to her. One sentence from Quinn had helped get the attention of the group back where it needed to be and Rachel started taking notes on the ideas that were being brainstormed throughout the room. Rachel cast a quick glance at Quinn and matched the small smile Quinn was giving her.

Rachel had to admit that she had been apprehensive about how this day would go. She trusted that Quinn wouldn't be outright mean to her, but she knew that they couldn't suddenly be seen as friends. There would be too many questions about their newfound friendship and that was exactly the type of information that Rachel was trying to keep a secret. Quinn had still been Quinn, but she had toned it down where Rachel was concerned and, so far, no one had noticed.

Rachel walked to Quinn's house after school. The weather was really pleasant and Quinn's house was closer than hers so Rachel hadn't minded. Judy was out checking the mail when Rachel walked up and bid her a "good afternoon."

"Did Quinn make you walk home? I told her she better not-"

"No, Mrs. Fabray," Rachel cut in. "She was talking with her friends or something when I left. Besides, it's gorgeous out. I enjoyed the walk."

"Ok then," Judy said, guiding the girl inside. "How was your day? Everything go ok? No one threw anything at you, right?" Judy had been horrified to hear about the slushies. And she was even more horrified to know that Quinn had ever participated in something like that. If she ever heard of Quinn doing something like that again…

They heard Quinn's car in the driveway and the door slam when the girl got out.

Rachel was taken aback as she was peppered with questions. This was certainly new to her, but she loved it all the same. She was about to answer when Quinn stepped through the door and stopped in surprise to find Rachel and her mom standing right there in the foyer.

"Hello, Quinn," Judy greeted turning to look at her daughter who was standing behind her. She turned back to Rachel and asked, "Well?"

"Well what?" Quinn asked.

"I was asking Rachel how her day went," Judy said. Quinn looked past Judy to Rachel as well, waiting for an answer.

"Everything was fine today," Rachel replied to her small audience. "And no, I wasn't slushied. Quinn stopped that before it could happen."

Quinn's smile at Rachel's good day faded. She shook her head at Rachel, but quickly stopped when her mom turned to look at her.

"Oh? How did she do that?" Judy asked, turning back to Rachel.

"She slushied him first," Rachel said, only noticing Quinn frantically shaking her head no half way through the sentence. "What?"

Judy's eyes darkened as she turned to look at Quinn who was glaring at Rachel. Quinn had received the scolding of her life the night before about this very subject.

"Quinn," Judy started.

"But I did it for a good cause, Mom," she said, side-stepping her mother to go and stand by Rachel. Quinn took the smaller girl by the shoulders and held her out in front of her, effectively placing Rachel between herself and her mother. "See. She had a good day."

With that Quinn let go of Rachel and turned to race up the stairs yelling out that she had to get ready to go out later.

"She's going out?" Rachel asked, hoping to move the conversation away from slushies.

"Yes, she asked me earlier if she could meet some people from the Cheerios later," Judy said. "She said it was something about something Coach Sylvester wanted done."

"Oh," Rachel said.

"Why don't you help me make dinner?" Judy asked.

"I'd love to," Rachel said. "But I'm a vegan. I was just going to have some of the fruit I had for breakfast."

"Nonsense. You're going to eat more than fruit. And I know you're a vegan, Quinn told me last night. I went out today and bought a ton a vegan items from the specialty grocery store up the street."

"Really?" Rachel asked. She was touched.

"Of course. You're not going to starve while you're here," Judy answered easily. "Come and look at what I got and we can decide what to make."

Quinn left the house about an hour after dinner was over to go and meet Shelby. They had chosen an out of the way coffee shop so they could sit alone and not be bothered. Both were settled into comfortable chairs with the lattes of their choice when Shelby spoke up.

"Ok, Quinn. What's going on? I've been thinking about it all day."

Even with having all day to prepare, Quinn still wasn't quite sure how she wanted to broach this subject. She couldn't just come out and ask the woman how she could have left Rachel like that. Quinn wasn't trying to accuse or blame. She believes that Shelby will want to help once she really knows the truth.

"How much did you know about Rachel's fathers when you agreed to be their surrogate?" Quinn finally asked. She knew it wasn't really a fair question. People change and who the two men were sixteen years ago is probably very different from who they are now.

That was the last thing Shelby had expected to come out of Quinn's mouth. "Umm, enough, I guess. They were both finished with college and were well on their ways to very successful careers. They were financially stable and seemed very loving with each other. They seemed so desperate to have a child. It felt easy enough to be able to help them out."

"Oh. Did you ever keep in contact with them?"

"No. The contract was in place from the moment she was born," Shelby answered. "You know all of this, Quinn. What's going on with Rachel now?"

"Well," Quinn took a sip of her drink and put her thoughts in order. "She's been having a pretty rough time for the last few years."

"What does that mean? Talk to me, Quinn. Tell me what's going on," Shelby pleaded. Quinn could hear the anxiousness in the woman's voice.

So Quinn did. She relayed everything she had learned since last night. She told of how Rachel had come to be staying with her. She gave Shelby a glimpse into what her daughter's life at school was like. Quinn did not miss the hardened look Shelby gave her when she told her of own bullying. But Shelby's features softened at the mention of how much Rachel was hurting and how scared she was.

"Rachel wants to keep everything a secret and just go on like this until she finishes high school and can leave, presumably for New York," Quinn said. "She doesn't even know I'm here talking to you."

Shelby was shell-shocked. Her heart ached for Rachel and what she had been through; what she was still going through. She silently cursed herself for turning away from the girl last year.

"Her dads have been leaving her home alone since she was 12?" Shelby asked as if trying to still wrap her head around it.

Quinn confirmed it again and said, "When she was trying to form a relationship with you in the spring, she was really asking you for help."

"I had no idea," Shelby said, the tears pooling in her eyes. "I thought her fathers were there for her. I thought she had everything she needed."

"Everything except you," Quinn said and Shelby's tears spilled over. "She was too afraid to tell you the truth."

"I can't believe I just turned away from her like that," Shelby said. She replayed her meetings with Rachel in her mind and thought she could now hear the pleading in Rachel's voice and the desperation in her visits during Vocal Adrenaline rehearsals. "I'm so ashamed, Quinn," Shelby admitted.

"You couldn't have known," Quinn said. "Rachel didn't tell you everything."

"I know now though," Shelby said, her resolve building. "We have to leave now. I have to go and get her. I've got to talk to her and let her know how much I really do want her."

"Do you mean that?" Quinn asked. "You would take her?"

"Of course."

"Because she is scared to death that if someone finds out and they try and take her from her fathers that she'll have nowhere to go," Quinn said.

"She's going to come with me," Shelby said. "I'm going to take her from her fathers. Come on, Quinn. I need to go and get her," she said getting to her feet.

"Whoa whoa, Shelby, slow down. You can't just go marching into my house and get her right now," Quinn said. "She doesn't even know that I talk to you about Beth, much less her. I need to talk to her first. Let me explain it to her. I just needed to talk to you first so that I knew you were going to be there for her before I went and got her hopes up again."

"Ok, Quinn. But I want you to understand that I'm not going to give up on her this time. I'm not going to let her sit back and keep living like this because she's afraid. I'm going to be her mother," Shelby said.

Quinn smiled. Shelby had just told her everything she needed to know. "Don't worry. I don't think Rachel realizes it yet, but my mother isn't going to let things stay the way they are either."

Shelby only let Quinn leave after promising that she would call the woman everyday and let her know how Rachel was doing. Quinn assured her that she would talk to Rachel soon and then let Shelby know what was going on. All Quinn asked for in return was for Shelby to give Beth a kiss from her.

By the time Quinn arrived home it was closing in on 10pm, after her mother's 9pm curfew, but Quinn didn't really think her mother would say anything this time. She found Rachel and her mother sitting side-by-side on the couch watching a movie, both of them crying.

"What's going on?"

"Shhh, Quinn," her mother admonished.

Quinn looked to the screen to see Barbra Streisand singing a song about her man and how she loved him so. Oh, brother. She took a seat and waited as patiently as she could for the song to end and the movie to be over.

"Have you ever seen this movie, Quinn?" Judy asked when the credits started to roll, drying her eyes. She turned the TV off and looked over to Quinn.

"I don't even know what movie it is," Quinn answered.

Both blondes turned to look at the brunette when she gasped. "Quinn, this is Barbra Streisand at her absolute best. This is _Funny Girl_. I brought it with me from home because I didn't know if you would have it. It's a good thing I thought of it because your selection of musicals is quite lacking."

"Sure, whatever," Quinn said rolling her eyes. "Maybe we can watch it some time."

"Oh we will watch it some time," Rachel left very little doubt about whether or not there was a maybe in that statement.

"You really do have to watch it, Quinn. It's fantastic," her mother said.

"I'm sure I'll see it very soon," Quinn said. If it was up to Rachel they would probably start the whole movie over right now.

Judy nodded, seeing the determined look on the small girl's face. "I'm sure you will. But right now you two need to get to bed. It's after ten."

Quinn rolled her eyes. They weren't little kids. Rachel chose that moment to yawn, completely negating the argument Quinn was about to make. Judy looked to her daughter as if to say, 'see!'

Judy stood and pulled Rachel into a hug, rubbing her back and landing a few motherly pats on the girl's backside. "Goodnight, Rachel. Thank you for sharing that movie with me."

"Goodnight, Mrs. Fabray," Rachel said. "Thank you for watching it with me."

Judy placed a kiss on the girl's forehead before sending her on her way with another pat. She waited until Rachel was out of the room before turning back to talk to Quinn.

"You two look like you had a nice night," Quinn said.

"She's really very engaging," Judy replied. "How did your night go?"

"Shelby was really upset. She wants to see Rachel and talk to her and take her in," Quinn said. "She was ready to come and get her tonight. She had no idea any of this was going on. I told her to wait until I talked to Rachel first."

"That's probably wise. This week is probably going to cause a lot of upheaval for her and we need to make sure nothing in rushed or overlooked," Judy said.

Quinn nodded in agreement before picking up the remote to turn the TV back on.

"Oh no you don't; you're going to bed too," Judy said pulling her daughter up off the couch and playfully pushing her out of the room.

Quinn found Rachel already in her bed and reading some more of her history book. "Are you reading for school already? It was the second day. How can you have homework already?"

"I just want to get ahead," Rachel said. "Thanks for letting me borrow your mom tonight, Quinn." Rachel had really enjoyed her evening. She was nervous when Quinn left because she didn't really know Judy and was afraid things would get awkward. But they hadn't been. Judy listened to Rachel talk about Glee and Broadway and being a vegan all before they decided to watch the movie. Rachel understood that the attention given to her by Judy was partly to do with pity from the woman, but that didn't make it feel any less good to have someone to talk to. The hugs and kiss on the forehead were just an added bonus as far as Rachel was concerned. She hadn't been held by a parent in a long time, and certainly never a mom. She usually kept her one hug from Shelby close at hand in her mind to call up when she needed it, but this had been even better.

"No problem, borrow her whenever you want," Quinn said with a laugh. "She told me she had a really nice evening." Rachel's 100 watt smile lit up the room.

"Oh and thanks for stopping Karofsky this morning. That was very good of you, Quinn."

Quinn shrugged, playing it off. The truth was, she had wanted to slushie him ever since she and Finn had gotten it from the football team last year. This had just been the perfect opportunity.

"It was nothing," Quinn said. "But thanks for telling my mom about it," the blonde said sarcastically.

Rachel winced slightly. "Sorry. I take it she doesn't want to hear your name and slushie in the same sentence ever again."

"You could say that," Quinn said.

The girls got lost in a conversation about school and Coach Sylvester being crazy and creepy Jacob. Fifteen minutes has passed without either of them realizing. Quinn thought about bringing up Shelby now, but Rachel had spent the whole evening not having to think about her fathers and Quinn reasoned that it wasn't right to say anything just before they were going to sleep. It could wait until tomorrow.

Their conversation was cut off when they heard Judy. "I know of two little girls who are going to be very sorry if they don't go to bed," the woman sing-songed as she passed by in the hallway.

Quinn rolled her eyes once again at her mother but noticed the expression of worry that graced Rachel's features. "What does she mean by that?" the smaller girl asked.

"Nothing," Quinn waved it off. "It's the same thing she used to say to my sister and me when we were little and would sit up talking instead of going to sleep. It's an empty threat."

"And empty threat?" Judy asked from the doorway, a serious expression on her face.

Both girls whipped their heads around to face her. "Geez, Mom, make a sound," Quinn said. "You're like a ninja, silently sneaking up on people and lurking in doorways."

Judy couldn't help but laugh at this and Rachel did too once she realized the woman wasn't serious. "Come on Quinn, Rachel, its bedtime," she said, a hint of parental authority returning to her voice.

"Fine," Quinn sighed. Judy left them to say their goodnights and headed to her own room. She didn't know how the kids did it. She was exhausted.

"Goodnight, Rachel," Quinn said heading to the door.

"Goodnight, Quinn," was the response she received through a yawn.

Quinn shut the light off and closed the door on her way out. She couldn't believe she had spent all that time and energy hating someone she suddenly felt so protective of. She shook her head and laughed at thought of them being friends. She could just imagine the heads that were going to explode when people figured out about their friendship. And Quinn found that she was looking forward to that.

**A/N – Please review if you would like. I really do appreciate it and I love getting to see what you guys think. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – The reviews are incredible. Thank you so much. A lot of people have been asking if this is going to be a friendship or a romance and the answer is it's a friendship. I think Rachel (and especially the one in this story) really needs a friend. She doesn't need a romance right now. She needs a really supportive friend.**

**Disclaimer – I still don't own anything.**

Shelby spent the morning after her meeting with Quinn looking through old documents pertaining to her time spent as a surrogate and Rachel's birth. She didn't really think they would be helpful in this matter but she thought maybe they might jog her memory and then she would be able to recall some small detail about the men that would have given her a clue to how they would end up treating her daughter. She sifted through legal documents, medical records, contractual information and photos of herself at the time, but nothing new came to her. A cry from Beth brought her out of her search and she left the office to tend to her hungry baby.

Shelby had barely slept the night before, spending her time tossing and turning instead. Quinn's words echoed in her ears and she eventually ended up crying into her pillow for the little girl now being housed by the blonde. It was true that Rachel had never really been Shelby's to keep. The role of a surrogate is pretty clear and even as Shelby had become attached to her growing baby, she always reminded herself that she would be gone soon. She just wished she had been able to hold her. She could see a newborn Rachel looking back at her for that one moment just as clearly as she could picture Beth.

Shelby sat at her kitchen table holding Beth in her right arm and a pencil in her left hand and was writing down questions on a legal pad. It was an hour until her first student would be here and she was taking the time to think. As soon as Shelby had resigned from Vocal Adrenaline she had taken out ads for her services as a private voice teacher and music instructor. Her reputation preceded her and she soon found herself giving private lessons to a fair amount of children, many of whom she had coached previously at Carmel. Shelby really loved what she was doing. It became the perfect job that allowed her to stay home with Beth but not have to give up on her music. Despite some of her methods, Shelby was a gifted teacher and the community knew that. It paid the bills and then some and Shelby was quite pleased with it.

Shelby had started the list she was working on in the middle of the night when she couldn't sleep. She was writing down any and all questions she could think of about the prospect of a surrogate being able to obtain custody of her 15-year-old. She was going to contact a lawyer who didn't know her situation and present the 'hypothetical' situation to him. She needed to make sure she understood this from a legal standpoint as well as an emotional one for when she eventually met with Rachel. She wanted to be prepared to answer any questions that Rachel may have as well.

Rachel sat in her English class, the middle desk in the front row of course, furiously taking notes as the teacher was explaining an upcoming assignment. She wasn't having the best of days, but she was doing her best to push it all aside and concentrate on her class. She had not slept very well the night before and she awoke to find a text from her father, Scott, saying that he wouldn't be home on Friday as he originally planned, but was now coming in Sunday evening. Her other father, Henry, wasn't due back until Monday. The morning had started with her being slushied by Karofsky and one of his friends; making up for the missed attack yesterday, she assumed, and her day had just gotten worse from there. She learned that the chapters she had been reading for history were not the right ones for the assignment. So much for getting ahead. She saw Finn making out with some random girl she didn't know and when Finn noticed her, she simply turned away. She didn't want to be with Finn really, and seeing him with the other girl, a cheerleader, just confirmed she was right in breaking up with him. But it still stung. They spent the entire summer together and it had taken him one whole day to move on. When he caught up with her to tell her it was nothing, just some kissing, she smiled and told him not to worry about it. She had no right to tell him otherwise. They weren't together; he could do what he wanted.

There was a general sense of melancholy following her around and tried as she might, she couldn't shake it. She was tired and becoming increasingly cranky and she hoped her spirits had lifted somewhat before Glee. She needed to sing. She needed a song that was sad and powerful that she could belt out and cry along to. That would make her feel better.

"Happiness," Mr. Shue said to the gathered Glee clubbers. "That's our theme for the next couple of days. I want all of you to come up with some songs about happiness so we can present them on Friday. You can work individually or in groups or sing duets or whatever. Just make it happy."

Great. Just great. Rachel was curious to know if there was a way she could start this day over.

"Rachel?" Mr. Shue caught her attention. "Are you ok? You don't seem very excited about this assignment."

"I'm just not having the best of days," Rachel told him. Quinn's head shot up from across the room to stare at the smaller girl. What was wrong?

"Well then this is perfect for you, Rach," Mr. Shue told her. "Start thinking about happy songs and then you'll start to feel better."

It took a great deal of effort for Rachel not to roll her eyes at the man. Really? He sounded like Peter Pan. Think happy thoughts and you can fly.

Quinn was watching the interaction from across the room with great interest. This was not lost on Santana who was now watching Quinn watch Rachel.

"What are you doing?" Santana finally asked.

"What are you talking about?" Quinn asked, turning to look at her fellow Cheerio.

"You're like creepy staring at Berry."

"No I'm not. I'm eavesdropping so I can hear some of the songs she comes up with," Quinn said. "I'm drawing a blank on happy songs and she's always spouting off titles a mile a minute. I thought maybe I could steal one."

"Whatever. Just tone it down a bit. You look like a stalker," Santana said.

Quinn reluctantly turned back to the conversation she had been having with the Latina and Brittney. She kept her ears trained on Rachel though.

"I guess I could do Happy Days Are Here Again," Rachel said to Mr. Shue, a hint of a smile on her lips. Some Barbra was just what she needed. "It's a beautiful song and it fits the theme of the assignment."

"I know that song," Mercedes piped up from a couple of chairs down. "That would be a great one for me. I could liven it up a bit. Give it some soul and add an R&B flavor to it."

Rachel's jaw went slack. Liven it up? Give it some soul? She was not hearing this. She shuddered to think of what Mercedes would do to the song. If a person could not hear the nuance and emotion that Babs gave that song than they were deaf. Rachel imagined that somewhere in the world right now Barbra Streisand had a sudden ache in her heart and she didn't know why. But it didn't matter. Mercedes was not doing the song. It was hers. She had just told Mr. Shue that she was doing it.

"That's a great idea, Mercedes," Mr. Shue said. "I look forward to hearing it on Friday."

"Wait," Rachel said. "That's my song. I just brought it up."

"Why can't you both do it?" Mr. Shue said.

"Why can't she pick her own song?" Rachel shot back.

The rest of the club was watching now. Quinn could feel Rachel's frustration this time.

"Rachel, you have to let other people try out the songs you want to sing," Mr. Shue said. "I know! We could do another diva off!"

Mercedes smirked at Kurt. She had this in the bag.

"I don't want to do a diva off," Rachel said, rising to her feet. "I don't want to do a competition."

"Why? Are you scared?" Kurt chimed in. "We all know Mercedes would win." He exchanged a high five with his best friend.

"Yes, she would win because all of you like her better and it wouldn't have anything to do with how well either of us actually sang the song," Rachel countered.

"Or it could have to do with the fact that you're jealous of me." Mercedes said.

Oh no. Quinn nearly got to her feet to so she could usher Rachel out of there. She saw the look on the girl's face as she turned to Mercedes. Rachel's expression changed from one of anger and disbelief to quiet strength. This was not going to be pretty.

"Don't kid yourself, Mercedes," Rachel spoke in a calm, even tone. She no longer sounded argumentative or angry. She was speaking plainly, stating a fact instead of a challenge. "I could out sing you right now, tomorrow, and three times on Sunday. I know it. Mr. Shue knows it. And I'm pretty sure you know it too."

The room was silent with shock before Mercedes jumped to her feet in anger. "Excuse me!" she shouted, moving towards the small girl. Rachel held her ground, not backing down. Quinn was on her feet now too, followed by Santana, Puck and Finn, all of them moving towards the trouble brewing in the center of the room.

"Stop it! Everyone sit back down," Mr. Shue said, trying to regain control. He turned an angry expression on his resident diva and said, "Rachel, that was uncalled for. Mercedes will do the song."

Rachel was angry again and about to argue, but she was cut off by Mr. Shue.

"You can go and sit in my office for a while. In fact, I would like an essay on-"

"You know what, I can't do this," Rachel cut him off before he could finish handing out his punishment. She turned to grab her school bag so she could execute a perfect storm out. She learned years ago to always take everything with you when you storm out because it is much less effective when you have to go back for something. She was headed for the door when she heard Kurt say that it had only taken her three days to walk out. She also heard Mr. Shue calling her back. He legitimately sounded angry and from the sounds of things he was following her. But she didn't stop.

Rachel pushed the door open with as much force as she could muster, which was quite a lot at the moment, but was surprised when it slammed into something instead of just swinging open like she expected it to. When she got into the hall she found that the door had hit the first of two Cheerios that were walking a line, carrying a rather large cheerleading trophy between them. Rachel watched in horror as the girl stumbled back and lost her balance. Mr. Shue was there now too, looking over her shoulder as they watched the two girls fall, dropping the trophy. There was a crack and Rachel could see pieces flying off in all different directions. Her eyes focused on the little golden decapitated head of the trophy cheerleader as it rolled away from the mess and came to a stop right in front of one Sue Sylvester. Rachel looked up from the tennis shoes, along the red track suit and finally to the face of the Cheerio coach who was glaring at her, pointing, "You!"

Rachel found herself sitting across from Principal Figgins in his office with Coach Sylvester on one side of her and Mr. Shue on the other.

"Fighting is a serious offense, Miss Berry," Figgins said.

"I wasn't fighting," Rachel said, looking to her Glee coach to back her up on this. He remained silent.

"And destruction of property is serious too," Figgins continued on as if she hadn't spoken. "Someone could have been seriously injured by your carelessness. And the janitor is going to have to spend extra time picking up the bits of the trophy that are now scattered all over the school."

Well that was an exaggeration. Rachel couldn't believe this.

"That trophy was priceless to me and my Cheerios. I want her expelled," Sue said.

"Sue," Mr. Shue said. "Expulsion is a bit much." Rachel looked up at him, but he didn't look at her. She could tell that he was still angry. Good. She was still angry too.

Rachel returned her gaze to her lap when Figgins spoke up again. "You will serve detention starting tomorrow for the remainder of the week and all of next week." Sue scoffed and Will nodded. "And I would like one of your parents to come so I can talk to them. Today," Figgins finished.

Rachel's head shot up and she met the man's unwavering look. This was not happening. She thought frantically about what she could tell him. Will and Sue were looking at her expectantly, waiting for her reaction.

"Principal Figgins, can I speak with you privately?" she finally asked. This caught Mr. Shue and Sue by surprise and they exchanged a glance. Sue was ready to argue but Figgins stopped her before she could start.

"Of course." All three were surprised by this, but the two teachers left the office.

"Keep your toddlers in line, William," Sue said before stalking off. Will was waiting there for Rachel to be done. Before he sat down he picked up a pad of paper and a pen from the secretary's desk so he could compose a note to Rachel's parents. He didn't want to step on Figgins toes, but he had some things he would like to the say to the Berry men about their daughter as well. He tried to remember their names before realizing he had never actually met them. No matter, he brushed it aside. This note would do for now.

"My parents are actually out of town for a family emergency," Rachel told Figgins. "I'm staying with a friend. Just until Saturday," she added quickly. "It's all perfectly legal and safe. I've actually only been there since yesterday," she fudged the actual timeline. She didn't want it to see as if she had been there too long. "Can you talk with the woman I'm staying with instead? Maybe just call her?" She was really hoping he would change his mind and say the whole thing wasn't necessary, but given the option, she would rather he called Judy right now rather than trying to plan a meeting with her dads. That would be nearly impossible.

Figgins sat back and thought it over before finally relenting and nodding his head. "What is her name?"

"Sir, can I ask that you will keep her identity to yourself?" Rachel asked. "This family emergency and my living arrangements throughout are a private matter for my family and the family I'm staying with."

"Yes, of course," was the administrator's reply.

"I'm staying with Judy Fabray."

Even Principal Figgins who sometimes seemed to have no clue of what was happening in his school seemed surprised by this.

The man quickly pulled up Quinn's records to find the number and made the phone call. Rachel sat and listened as he told Judy about the fighting (she hadn't been fighting) and destruction of property. He mentioned her sulky behavior and poor attitude and finally concluded with the punishment that had been handed down. Rachel sank lower and lower into her chair. She was close to tears as she listened to the man rattle off her misdeeds, real or otherwise. What must Judy think of her now? Rachel had taken such a liking to the woman and now she had gone and got in trouble. Rachel hated to think that Judy might be disappointed in her. She wished he had put it on speaker phone so that she could hear the woman's reaction. All she was left with now were her worst case scenarios of how Judy responded.

After Figgins hung up the phone he retrieved a paper from the printer and handed it to Rachel.

"That is a list of your dates for detention and the reasons for it. You need to have Mrs. Fabray sign it and you need to return it to me tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," was her meek reply, all the fight gone from her now.

He sent her on her way and she stepped out of the office to find Mr. Shue still waiting for her. He stood and held out a once-folded piece of paper to her.

"This is a note I wrote that I want you to give to your fathers," he told her. "Have one of them sign it and bring it back to me tomorrow."

Rachel only nodded taking the note but not looking up at him.

"I'm really disappointed in you, Rachel. I thought perhaps we had gotten past all of the tantrums and storming out," Mr. Shue continued. She simply looked at the floor not bothering to plead her case.

"And I still want you to write an essay. On teamwork. Turn it in to me first thing in the morning," he finished.

Another meek "yes, sir" left her mouth and then he indicated that she could go. She made her way to her locker and found Quinn there pacing the hall.

"Rachel, are you ok?" Quinn asked.

The girl nodded, the unshed tears in her eyes telling a different story. Rachel opened her locker and grabbed the bag of slushy-stained clothes she had left there earlier along with a couple of text books. She shoved the books and notes in her bag and shut the locker door with an exhausted sigh.

She didn't look at Quinn and instead started making her way towards the double doors that led to the parking lot.

"Rachel," Quinn said, following. "Wait, talk to me."

"Not right now, Quinn, please. I just need to go," Rachel said, not breaking her stride.

"Ok then, let's go home."

"No. I need to be alone."

"Rachel," Quinn put her hand out and touched the other girl's arm stopping her when they reached the doors.

"Quinn, please," Rachel said, looking up at her friend.

Quinn nodded and removed her hand and watched Rachel walk out the doors and into the parking lot. It looked like she was headed in the direction of her own house. Quinn would give her some time and go and pick her up later.

It was three hours before Rachel heard the doorbell at her house. She had done laundry and cleaned up around the house. She was trying to keep her mind off of school and Quinn and Judy Fabray's reaction. She sang sad songs and cried while she folded clothes, but nothing seemed to make her feel any better. She was snuggled into her favorite blanket on her bed as the doorbell rang a second time. She didn't get up to answer it though and simply sat and wallowed in her self-pity. There was one song she had thought about listening to since she got home, but she hadn't tried it yet. She honestly wasn't sure if it would make her feel better or worse and so she simply sat and thought about it. A few more moments and another chime from the door and she decided she would try it.

Quinn waited another few seconds before trying to doorknob and found that it was unlocked. Entering the house she called out for Rachel, but didn't get a response. Not seeing any sign of her downstairs, she climbed the steps and stopped outside Rachel's open bedroom door when she saw the small brunette inside. Rachel was standing near her desk in the un-Rachel like outfit of sweatpants and a t-shirt with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as if it were a cape. She stood and watched as Rachel put a tape into the tape deck on her stereo and hit play. Quinn didn't make out the first couple of lines that were said, but could hear it clearly when the woman on the tape started singing. It was a song she didn't know, but the voice was strong and beautiful and she could tell Rachel had started to cry as soon as she heard the voice.

"Do you know who this is, Quinn?" Rachel asked, never turning to look at the blonde in the doorway.

"No," Quinn said, taking this as her cue to step in the room. She stood beside Rachel and listened.

"It's Shelby. She made it for me. That's how I knew who she was that day at Carmel," Rachel said.

And Quinn recognized it now. She knew they had been there to spy on Vocal Adrenaline that day, but she had been really impressed with their coach's voice when she had sung that song. Funny Girl, Quinn remembered. Ohhh.

The voice on the tape was just as clear and strong… and sad as it had been that day. The song itself was dramatic and as I Dreamed a Dream washed over the two girls, Quinn took Rachel's hand and held it. She didn't know what other way to show her support right now. Rachel held firmly to Quinn's hand in return. Silent tears were streaming down her face and Rachel made no move to wipe them. She simply stood and listened.

When the song ended Rachel reached out and hit stop and then rewind to return the tape to the beginning. Quinn had no idea what to say, a condition that helped her decide she would wait for Rachel to be ready to say something first. It only took a few moments for the brunette to turn and look at her and speak in a soft, quivering voice.

"I want my mom."

**A/N – Please review if you would like. I love hearing from you guys.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N – Again, thank you for all the reviews. I have such a good time reading them.**

**Disclaimer – Yeah, still nothing. **

Thirty minutes later Quinn had Rachel and some more of Rachel's stuff in her car and on her way back to the Fabray residence. Quinn had helped Rachel pack some more clothes and movies for her stay. They also brought the blanket Rachel had been wrapped in along with Rachel's radio (Quinn didn't think she had a tape player anywhere in her house) and Shelby's tape so that Rachel could listen to it again if she wanted.

"Is your mom mad at me?" Rachel asked, breaking the silence. She had calmed down considerably from her state in her room, but Quinn could tell she was still upset.

"I don't think so," Quinn shrugged. "I explained to her about what happened in Glee and she seemed to understand."

That was a relief to Rachel. "Good."

"She still wants to talk to you though," Quinn said. "This is my new and improved mom," Quinn laughed. "She wants to talk about everything." Quinn didn't mind though. She would take this mom over the person that had lived with Russell Fabray all those years.

Rachel nodded. She expected as much. And despite Quinn's reassurances she was still nervous when they entered the house a few minutes later. There was no sign of Judy though and Quinn and Rachel made their way up the stairs to deposit the new things they had brought into the guest room.

"Girls? Is that you?" Judy called from downstairs. She had just stepped in from the laundry and had noticed Quinn's car in the driveway.

"Yeah, Mom," Quinn called back. "We're up here."

"Come down here and get ready for dinner please," was the reply.

Rachel reached into her school bag to grab the notes. She paused when she held up Mr. Schue's note and almost put it back in her bag. She didn't have to give that one to Judy. He had no idea her fathers weren't home and she could simply forge a signature to it later. Rachel hadn't even bothered to read it. She took it anyway. Judy had been so good to her, there was no reason she shouldn't be honest with the woman now.

They found Judy in the dining room setting the table for three. She sent Quinn into the kitchen to check on the food and instructed Rachel to sit down. Both girls did as they were told and Rachel found herself in the same spot she had been in a couple nights ago when she told Judy her biggest secret. Now though she was wringing her hands and hanging her head.

She handed the woman the note from Principal Figgins and waited as the woman read it over and then quickly signed on the line for a parent or guardian. She handed it back her small house guest who mumbled, "sorry."

"Rachel, relax," Judy said. "I'm not angry with you."

Rachel visibly relaxed and looked up, meeting the woman's gaze for the first time. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Except for your blow up in class everything else seems to have been an accident. I know how Sue Sylvester is and how she exaggerates," Judy told her. "In fact, I think seven days of detention is a little excessive and I've got a mind to go in there and talk to Principal Figgins about it tomorrow."

Rachel smiled a relieved smile, but shook her head. "You can't. He'll call in Miss Sylvester and Mr. Schue and then they'll know I'm staying here with you. I'll do the detention. It'll cause me to be late for Glee for those days and maybe that's for the best right now," Rachel said sadly. "And speaking of Glee, I've got a note from Mr. Schuester too," Rachel said producing the second note. "But don't sign it. He wants one of my dads to sign it and I can do that later."

Judy nodded as she took the note and started to read over it. Rachel watched for her reactions and found herself pretty anxious. Looking back on it, she probably should have read it first so that she knew what she handing over. She shrank back a bit at one point when Judy stopped reading and looked at her over the top of the note.

"He basically writes that you have a complete disregard for his authority and are showing that you can't, or won't, participate in a team environment," Judy said. "He wants you to write an essay on teamwork to turn in to him tomorrow."

"That's such bull!" Quinn said coming through the door from the kitchen where she had been listening. "Yes, it's true that Rachel has her fair share of arguments with Mr. Schuester and that she has been known to storm out of practice at times and sometimes is overly critical of how people sing," Rachel looked at Quinn like she was mad. This probably wasn't helping.

"But," Quinn continued, "today was completely justified. He was so unfair today. He gave her song to Mercedes not even a minute after Rachel said she wanted to sing it. And then Mercedes and Kurt were egging her on. If anyone should be writing an essay on teamwork it should be them."

Judy just looked at her daughter in amusement. For a girl that was arguing to keep Rachel out of her house just two days ago Quinn was very protective of her now.

"Ok then," Judy said. "Let's eat."

Both girls looked confused and Rachel asked, "That's it?" She was not a person used to being in trouble, but even if she didn't have her dads around all the time she knew this wasn't the normal reaction from a parent for being sent to the principal's office and coming home with a week of detention.

"It doesn't sound like you were solely to blame for this whole thing, Rachel. I have a few things I could say to Mr. Schuester but I don't think you'll let me go in there, so there's not much else I can do," Judy said.

"But I thought that you would-"

"Would what?" Judy asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said. And she honestly didn't.

"I'll tell you what. You can do the dishes tonight. And after that you can go up to your room and write that essay," Judy said. "Is that better?"

Rachel smiled sheepishly accepting the punishment as lightly as it was given. "Yeah."

"Good, then let's eat," Judy said getting to her feet and heading to the kitchen.

Later that evening Rachel was sitting at the desk in the guest bedroom and was reading over the essay she had just written. She hadn't really put much effort into it and she had made sure to recite cheesy platitudes about working together and friendship, all the stuff she was sure he wanted to hear. She had also inserted a few clever digs at Mr. Schue himself and hoped that he would understand what she was trying to say. She really didn't understand why, in this case, she was on the only one who was supposed to make the effort. But she did as she was told.

Quinn entered the room after a soft knock to see how she was doing. When she learned that Rachel was done she quickly pulled up a chair to sit next to her.

"I've got something I need to talk to you about," Quinn told her. The blonde didn't really know if this was the right time to do this, especially after the day Rachel had, but if she kept waiting for the perfect time, she knew it would never come.

"Ok," Rachel said, looking at her friend expectantly.

"I still talk to Shelby," Quinn blurted it out. She held her breath and waited for Rachel's reaction. She had planned to ease into it, but the words were out of her mouth before she really realized what she was saying.

"What? Why? Is she?" Rachel couldn't seem to be able to put a sentence together. "Is the baby ok?" she finally said.

"She fine," Quinn answered. "Beth is the reason we talk. Shelby talked to me after she was born and she said I could call her and she would let me know how Beth was doing. Puck too, but I don't know if he talks to her."

"Oh," Rachel said. She couldn't stop the pang of jealously that overcame her. Quinn got to talk to Shelby and she got nothing. She knew it wasn't rational, but it was how she felt all the same.

"I've been talking to her a couple of times a month since Beth was born. In fact, I talked with her last night. I met with her," Quinn waited for Rachel to understand.

"You what? You met with her?" Rachel asked. "About me? How could you do that? I told you I didn't' want anyone else to know! I had a chance with her and I wasn't good enough. She already said no."

"Rachel, just listen," Quinn said. "She asks about you every time we talk on the phone. She always wants to know how you're doing. And I never had an answer to give her until last night."

"She asks about me? Why couldn't she call me and ask?"

"Because she thought she would be interfering in your life even more," Quinn answered.

"But I told her I needed her. I begged her to stay and be my mom."

"I know that, Rachel. And she knows that. She understands she made a mistake," Quinn said. "Even before last night she was questioning if she had done the right thing."

"How much did you tell her last night?"

"I told her everything you told us."

"But… Oh my god. What did she say? She doesn't think I'm the biggest loser alive, does she?"

"Will you stop it," Quinn admonished. "Of course she doesn't think that. She was really upset at how your dads have been treating you. She said she wanted to come and get you. She wants to be your mom, Rachel."

Rachel had to look away as the tears formed in her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. Looking back at her friend, she asked, "Are you sure? Because last time she said I was already grown up, that I didn't need her."

"I'm sure, Rachel. She was very clear last night."

"Why didn't you take me with you?"

"I wanted to talk to her about everything and be sure before I said anything to you," Quinn said. "I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"Thank you, Quinn," Rachel said sincerely. "So what do I do now? Did she say it was ok for me to call her?"

"I would say that she would love that," Quinn said. "Here, use my phone." Quinn pulled out her phone and started to pull up Shelby's number.

"Wait. I need a… Just give me a second," Rachel said getting to her feet and leaving the room. Quinn watched as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door. She figured it was more about Rachel needing a minute to gather herself than necessity. Quinn took the opportunity to send Shelby a quick text message to let her know that Rachel was going to call. She figured the older woman deserved a moment to prepare as well.

Shelby stared at the phone in her hand re-reading the text message she had just received. Rachel was about to call her. She felt her heart rate quicken as she clutched the phone. Shelby looked down at her sleeping baby in the crib and smiled before slipping out of the room so the ringing of her phone wouldn't wake her up.

Shelby sat down at the table in her kitchen and took a sip from her tea. She was tapping a pencil nervously and nearly dropped her phone in her haste to answer it when it rang.

"Hello."

"Shelby?" Rachel didn't know why in this moment she couldn't say 'mom', but it didn't come.

"Rachel, hi. I'm so glad you called," Shelby said, almost breathless with excitement. "I'm so sorry for everything-"

"Shelby?" Rachel cut her off. "Can we not do this over the phone? I want to get to talk to you, but I had actually hoped I could meet you somewhere." Rachel had decided this while she was in the bathroom. She needed to be with Shelby for this. Her life might be about to change and she at least needed to be able to see her mom when it happened. "But I have to ask. Is it true? What you told Quinn last night. Is it true?"

"It's true, honey. I'm not going to let things continue like they are. You're my little girl," Shelby's voice caught during that last sentence. Rachel's shoulders shook with silent tears on her end. "I love you, Rachel."

"Really?" Rachel squeaked out.

"Really," Shelby confirmed.

"I love you too," Rachel said.

The conversation ended with Shelby telling Rachel she would pick her up after school tomorrow and bring her back to Shelby's house so they could talk.

Rachel made her way downstairs to where Quinn and Judy were watching TV. She joined Quinn on the couch and relayed to them her plans for tomorrow. They were both happy for her. Rachel settled in her seat but was not paying any attention to the show that was on. She was thinking about her fathers and Shelby and how this would all work out. If it even could work out. Rachel was a huge dreamer, but she had learned to be a realist when it came to this situation. What were her fathers going to think of all of this? Were they even going to care? The only thing she knew for certain was that she didn't want them in any trouble. She just needed to be with someone who really wanted her there. After spending these few days with the Fabrays and having people who care about her around, she didn't think that she would be able to go back to living in a house where she was alone most of the time. And that reminded her.

"Mrs. Fabray?" Rachel said, getting the woman's attention. "I know I was supposed to go home on Friday but I got a text from my dad this morning and he said he won't be home until Sunday now. And my other dad won't be home until Monday."

"Sweetie, you can stay here as long as you need to. You're not going back to that house alone, do you understand?" was Judy's firm response.

Rachel nodded. She imagined the woman had more she would like to say on the issue but was keeping it to herself for Rachel's benefit.

By the time she was getting ready for bed that night, Rachel was exhausted. She had been put through the wringer emotionally that day and she could only hope that tomorrow would be better. It had to be better. She was going to be meeting with her mom. The last thing Rachel looked at before falling asleep was a text from Shelby telling her once again that she loved her. Rachel slept like a baby all night long.

The next morning the girls left for school early so that Rachel would have time to make her deliveries. Judy told Rachel to "be good today" as they left, but she said it with a smile and wink. Rachel dropped off the paper for Principal Figgins and then made her way to Mr. Schuester's classroom. She found the man sitting at his desk grading papers. She walked confidently into the room and handed him her essay and his note now signed by Scott Berry.

"I hope you learned something from this, Rachel," the Spanish instructor said to her.

"Yes, I learned not to say my song choices out loud lest they be stolen, and given, away before I've had a chance to even utter a note," she said. "Next time I will wait until everyone else in the room has picked a song before I dare say the one I would like to sing."

"Rachel…"

"Mr. Schue, what you did yesterday was wrong. I understand that I am frustrating and that I have a huge ego, but I am also entitled to the same courtesy given to everyone else in that room. You would not have taken away a song suggested by Mercedes and given it to me," Rachel said. "You would not have told Finn or Kurt to write you an essay on working together because you think I'm the only one who tries to manipulate others for my own gain. I know more about teamwork that you would like to give me credit for because I'm the one who wants a team the most."

"Rachel," he tried again.

"And do I want to sing a lot of solos?" she continued on. "Of course. But I have also proven that I am just as adept and useful as a member of the choir. Yet you seem to have some misguided need to teach me a lesson at every opportunity and so far the only way you seem to know how to teach me is to take things away from me. We weren't working on anything for Sectionals yesterday. We weren't deciding on vocal arrangements to best fit a song or the club. We were simply thinking of songs to sing; a chance to showcase our voices for the rest of the club. I picked a song that I thought would suit my voice and that I would genuinely love to sing and as soon as someone you like better speaks up and shows some interest you take it from me."

"It's not about whether or not I like anyone more than anyone else," he said.

"Than what is it about? Yesterday certainly wasn't about fairness because if that were the case you would have kindly told Mercedes that I had chosen the song first and that she needed to pick something else. You would have asked Kurt to stay out of it as I argued my case. You wouldn't have told me that I needed to be in timeout like a 4-year-old in your office."

"That was after what you said, Rachel."

"Right because that's the first time someone in your class has dared to speak their mind at the expense of another student. If this is a new precedent you're setting than I fully expect the next person to tell me how ugly my clothes are or to say the way I speak is obnoxious or to call me names or to insult my fathers because of their sexual orientation to be sent to your office to write an essay on kindness. I know you have this need to protect Kurt but if you were to stop and think for a second you would realize that he is not your only student that is bullied on a daily basis."

"Also," she continued, "I would like to sincerely thank you for the way you stood up for me yesterday when Principal Figgins accused me of fighting and then punished me for it. You know it's not true. You know that whole incident in the hallway was an accident but you let your anger at me cloud the facts. So I will be late for Glee this afternoon. And tomorrow. And all of next week because I have to go to detention first."

With that she spun on her heel and walked out of his classroom leaving Mr. Schue sitting in stunned silence.

Rachel spent the rest of her day actively avoiding everyone in Glee. She knew they were probably planning some sort of comeuppance for yesterday and it would just be easier if she didn't have to see any of them until she had to.

Quinn stopped her in the hallway at the end of the day as she was heading towards the room in which detention was held.

"How was your day?" the blonde asked.

Rachel shrugged, "boring. Do you think I would get in a lot of trouble if I just skipped detention and Glee and called Shelby and told her to come and get me now?"

"Wow, aren't we the little rebel all of a sudden?" Quinn joked. "I don't think I would advise it. It'll only be a little while longer before you can leave. And it'll give you a chance to do some homework or something because who knows how long you'll be out tonight."

"Wow, aren't we studious all of a sudden? Weren't you mocking me just the other night for reading to get ahead in History class?" Rachel joked back. Quinn merely shrugged as if she didn't know what Rachel was talking about.

"I better go," the smaller girl said.

"I'll see you in Glee in a little while," Quinn said, heading off in the direction of the choir room.

Rachel entered the classroom to find it empty. What had she expected, it was the fourth day of school. Maybe she had set some sort of record by getting detention so early in the year.

"Miss Berry?" the teacher asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said moving to take a seat. She was stopped by the teacher.

"Principal Figgins asked you to report to his office as soon as you got here."

What had she done now? Rachel thought back over the day trying to come up with anything that would warrant this, but she couldn't think of anything.

"Yes, ma'am," she said again and left the classroom.

Principal Figgins called her in and had her sit. "I spoke to Mr. Schuester this morning and he cleared some things up for me about what happened yesterday," he said to her. "I understand that it was an accident caused by a misunderstanding during Glee rehearsal."

That was one way to put it. Rachel was quite surprised at what she was hearing though.

"He also explained to me that he felt my punishment was too harsh, especially since he had already dealt with it on his own. So I am releasing you from detention and will let whatever punishment you already received from him stand in its place. You are free to go," Figgins finished.

"Thank you," the shocked teenager said as she got to her feet and left the office. She let her feet carry her to the choir room and she paused outside instead of going right in. She listened at the door for a moment. She wasn't sure what she was hoping to hear, or not hear, but she felt she needed a minute before she went in. She wanted to present and air of confidence, but not ego. The last she needed was for all of them to think she was acting smug on top of everything else.

When she finally did enter, head held high, the room fell silent and everyone stared at her. It was Kurt to break the silence.

"What are you doing here? I heard from a good source that you had detention and I know detention lasts longer than ten minutes?"

Mr. Schue held up a hand and silenced the boy. Rachel approached the coach and stood in front of him, her back to the other students.

"Thank you, Mr. Schue," she said quietly, just for him.

"You're welcome, Rachel," he matched her tone.

"Unbelievable," Kurt said as she moved to take a seat. In a bold move she sat in the empty chair next to Quinn. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, but she needed a friend close by, even if no one else knew it. She sat in the chair and cast her eyes down, waiting.

"How did you get out of it?" Finn asked.

"She probably talked her way out of it," Puck offered. If there was one thing Rachel Berry could do it was talk. And sing, he acknowledged to himself.

"Maybe it's because she didn't deserve it in the first place," Quinn said causing everyone to stop and look at her, shocked. Was Quinn defending the girl who was normally her favorite target? Rachel never looked up.

Mercedes scoffed at her. "You saw what she did yesterday. She threw a bitch fit and then stormed out and broke one of your precious Cheerio trophies. She probably cried to get out of it."

"I'm going with she talked her way out of it," Kurt spoke up. "But not because she had a decent argument; Figgins probably let her go because he couldn't stand the grating sound of her voice any longer."

Rachel looked up and met Mr. Schue's gaze. He was giving her a sad look as if he had just now realized how the rest of the club treated her.

"Kurt! That's enough," Mr. Schue said. All eyes turned to him. "You will not say anything bad about any of your teammates again. None of you will. This is not going to be a room where people are allowed to put others down. Does everyone understand that?" There were mumblings of 'yes' from the students. "It doesn't matter how Rachel is here early." He couldn't very well announce that he had convinced the principal to commute her sentence because he would then be expected to do to the same thing for any of his other students and might one day find themselves in trouble. Rachel understood that and was actually grateful because she didn't think some of the others would take too kindly to the idea of her getting special treatment.

"Now let's get back to our assignment out happiness. So far we have Rachel slated to sing Happy Days Are Here Again," he said. "Mercedes, you will need to choose another song. Everyone please continue to brainstorm ideas."

Mercedes and Kurt turned and glared at her, but Rachel did her best to ignore it. She was smiling by the time they turned back around and started talking to each other. Quinn gave her a smile and a quick pat on the leg before moving to sit with Artie, Tina and Mike to discuss song choices.

By the time Glee ended Rachel was ready to race out the door. She was excited and nervous and scared and overwhelmed all at the same time. Was this going to be the reunion she was hoping for earlier in the year? She had a feeling it just might. Quinn declined to walk with her out to the parking lot saying that Shelby probably had Beth in the car. That would be too much for Quinn.

Rachel stepped out into the afternoon sun and, after a quick scan of the parking lot, saw her mom standing by her car waiting. Rachel walked towards her, slowly at first, but picking up speed as she went. She stopped a couple of feet from the woman and looked up at her.

"Hi. Mom." That's all it took for Shelby to step forward and pull Rachel into a tight hug. She held on to her girl and Rachel allowed herself to bury her head in the woman's shoulder and really take in the feeling of being held by her mother.

**A/N – Please review if you can. It means a lot to me. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – Thanks for all of the reviews. I hate to sound redundant, but really, thank you. And sorry about there not being an update yesterday. I hit a patch of writer's block… and it was Sunday and there was football on, so not really my fault. **

**Disclaimer – Blah blah nothing blah blah.**

A cry from the backseat of Shelby's car pulled mother and daughter out of their hug. They stood looking at each other for a second before Shelby moved to look through the open windows at Beth who was nestled in her car seat, crying. Shelby opened the door and sat down next to the baby and fished for the pacifier that was now missing.

"She likes to keep moving when she's in her seat," Shelby explained to Rachel. "I guess she figured we'd been sitting here too long."

"Maybe we had better go then," Rachel offered.

"I guess so," Shelby said, finally finding the pacifier and giving it back to Beth. She stood and took Rachel's schoolbag and plopped in the back seat before they both got in the car and drove off.

The drive started out in an awkward silence with neither woman really knowing what to say. There were conversations to be had but the car just didn't seem the right spot. Rachel, however, was not one to keep quiet for too long and she didn't want to miss a moment of an opportunity to get to know Shelby properly.

"I have a thing for gold stars too," she said.

"What?" Shelby asked, an amused smile playing on her lips when she glanced over at Rachel.

"When you gave me that cup that day you said you had a thing for gold stars," Rachel explained. "I do too."

"Oh yeah. Did you ever use that cup?"

"I use it all the time," Rachel answered. "I thought about saving it as a memento of our short time together. I was going to put it on a shelf the same way you would a trophy or a snow globe, but then I remembered that you asked me to get a drink from it when I was sad, so I did. It has become my go to water glass."

"Oh. Well I'm glad you liked it," Shelby said, trying to match the conversational tone of her daughter, but not quite getting there. Was she sad so often that she needed drinks of water so frequently? From what Quinn had told her, yes.

"I do drink water when I'm not sad too," Rachel said, as if reading her mind. "But I only use your cup for water. It just wouldn't seem right to put juice or something in it," Rachel concluded.

Shelby laughed at this and shook her head. "No, I guess it wouldn't be right, would it?" Rachel was certainly quite a personality and Shelby knew there was so much to learn about the girl sitting next to her. She had wondered for a moment if this would overwhelm her, but Shelby now realized just how excited she really was to learn about Rachel. She couldn't think of one reason why she couldn't drink juice out of the star cup except for the fact that she had asked Rachel to use it for water. Rachel was simply clinging to a moment and Shelby understood that completely.

A short time later they were pulling into the driveway at Shelby's house and Rachel waited for Shelby as the woman removed the baby carrier with a now contented Beth and moved towards the house. Rachel took in the surroundings of the house as they walked through the opening area and into a spacious living room. The walls held beautiful paintings and some cityscapes as well as people Rachel assumed were family members.

Shelby invited Rachel to sit on the couch and she placed the baby carrier on the ground in front of Rachel.

"Rachel, this is Beth."

The baby stared at Rachel who stared right back at her. She had a ton of hair which was a dirty blondish color. It seemed to be up in the air as to whether it would be light like Quinn's or dark like Puck's and it needed a few more months to settle. Her eyes were round and blue and alert. She was a beautiful baby and Rachel couldn't help but be taken in by her. Beth was staring at Rachel with such intensity that she felt as if the baby was studying her.

"Wow," Rachel finally spoke up, reaching down to touch her. Beth took hold of one of Rachel's fingers and smiled. Shelby watched the interaction with a smile. She didn't want to come right out and say something about them being sisters because she didn't want it to be weird for Rachel, but she hoped that they would see themselves that way before too long.

"She looks just like Quinn," Rachel said, turning and looking at Shelby. "It's kind of uncanny."

Shelby nodded in agreement. "Quinn actually gave me a couple pictures of herself so that I can show to Beth one day if she wants. You're right, the resemblance is very close."

"Can I hold her?" Rachel asked.

"Sure," her mother said. Shelby watched as Rachel adeptly unfastened the straps and removed Beth from her carrier.

"I volunteered last summer at a free daycare downtown last summer. Believe it or not, I'm actually not too bad with kids," Rachel explained. "Hi, Beth," she said to the child in her arms using the same tone as if she had been talking to anyone else. No baby talk from Rachel Berry. She talked to Beth about her hair and her small shoes and more important things like one day watching Barbra Streisand movies and Broadway. Rachel didn't notice when Shelby got up from the couch and retrieved her camera and snapped a few pictures. Rachel looked up to see Shelby looking at the screen on her camera and said, "She's taking our picture, Beth." The young diva turned Beth towards her mother and then put on her famous smile. Shelby laughed and took a couple more.

In talking with Beth, Rachel had seemingly eased the awkwardness of the whole meeting and they were able to each relax and enjoy each other's company. Even so, neither woman seemed to want to jump to the heavy-handed conversation that awaited them and instead focused on Beth. Rachel fed her a bottle while she and Shelby spoke about Shelby's new job and how school was for Rachel so far. Rachel quickly changed the subject, a fact that was not lost on Shelby.

Beth finished her bottle Rachel was holding her so that Beth was now standing in her lap. The baby smiled and cooed, giving Rachel a false sense of security, before spitting up on the front of Rachel's sweater. Rachel looked down at her shirt and then back up at the smiling infant. "Thanks, Beth. Story of my life."

Shelby took Beth and gave Rachel a rag. Rachel was surprised at the sudden change in demeanor from Beth. The baby who was smiling a minute ago was now yawning and clinging to a blanket in Shelby's arms. "How did you do that?" Rachel asked. Shelby just smiled and said she was going to lay her down and then they could talk.

Rachel watched her mother held the baby close, talking softly to her and gently rocking as she left the room and headed up the stairs. Rachel felt a pang of sadness and a hint of jealously invade her chest and she tried to shake the feelings away. She wasn't going to do that. She wasn't going to be upset anymore over the choices her mother had made. She was getting what she wanted, a second, well third, chance with Shelby and she was happy about it. Besides, she couldn't be angry at Beth.

Shelby returned after a few minutes and stated that Beth was asleep and that they should talk. She sat down on the coffee table opposite where Rachel sat on the couch and tentatively reached out and took Rachel's hands in her own.

Rachel held tight as emotion washed over her. She had prepared a speech in her head, but none of those words were coming to her now. So instead of trying to find the perfect way to begin, Rachel simply said what she needed to say.

"I begged you, Mom," her voice was shaky with unshed tears. She looked to Shelby who was shaking slightly at the bluntness of the statement. "I told you that I needed you."

"I know," was Shelby's answer. "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I'm so ashamed of how I treated you. But I thought you had everything you needed. I was being selfish for forcing my way in like that and I thought that if I stepped back again I would let you get back to your normal life."

"My normal life," Rachel laughed humorlessly.

"Rachel, your dads. I had no idea it was like that," Shelby told her. "If I had known. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you had already said no," Rachel answered. "I wanted you to want me because I was your daughter and not because you felt sorry for me. I still want that. I don't want you to be there for me because you feel guilty. I just want you to see me like you see Beth." Rachel looked into Shelby's dark eyes which were glistening with tears. "I just want you to love me as much as you love your baby." The girl ducked her head shyly, embarrassed.

"You are my baby, Rachel," Shelby said as she put her hand on Rachel's chin and forced the girl to look up at her. "I have always loved you. More than you will probably ever realize. If nothing else gets worked out, you have to know that, ok?"

Rachel nodded and Shelby used her hands to wipe some tears off of her daughter's cheeks before pulling her in for a hug. After a moment Shelby shifted to sitting on the couch next to Rachel and kept her arms around the girl as Rachel settled her head on Shelby's shoulder. The two of them cried it out together, allowing themselves to just be in each other's company.

"Mom?"

"Hmmm?"

"What happens now?"

"Well now… how about we have some dinner?"

"Mom," Rachel said sitting up and fixing her mother with a look of teenage annoyance. Shelby's first, she realized.

"Come on," Shelby laughed and stood up, pulling her daughter along with her. They entered the kitchen and Rachel helped Shelby get the vegan lasagna into the oven. Shelby made some tea and they sat at the table to wait for the food and to continue their conversation.

"Rachel, a lot of what's going to happen is going to depend on you," Shelby answered her earlier question. "I would like you to come and live here with me. In fact, I'm not going to let you go and stay at your house all alone again."

"You sound like Mrs. Fabray," Rachel said. "She said the same thing."

Shelby smiled. "I've talked with a lawyer and he said it's possible for me to be granted custody of you in a case such as this. If a judge determines there is neglect from your fathers-"

"No wait," Rachel cut her off. "I don't want them to get in any trouble. They're not bad guys… they're just not interested. Can't we just ask them to hand over custody?"

"We could," Shelby answered. "And that is a possibility. The courts would be involved in that case as well, but if all parties agree to it, and since I am your biological mother, it shouldn't be a problem. But that's a big if, Rachel. There's no guarantee your fathers will agree to anything and I want you to know that I will fight it if I have to."

Rachel nodded. "But you have to let me try and talk to them first. Please, Mom."

"Ok, Rachel. We'll take it one step at a time," Shelby assured her.

Once satisfied, Rachel changed the subject. "Can I see the rest of the house?"

"Of course. I'm a terrible host, huh?" Shelby showed off the downstairs that consisted of an office and formal dining room as well as the kitchen and the living room which Rachel had already seen before leading the girl up the stairs to the second story. "This is the nursery," Shelby said, opening the door to a room with purple walls and white furniture.

"Where's Beth?" Rachel asked suddenly when she noticed there was in fact no baby in the nursery. To top it off, there was no crib either.

"She's in my room for now. I'll move her in here when she's about one or so." They stepped out of the room and back into the hallway. "There are two guest bedrooms and you can have whichever one you want, although I would suggest you take the one that has its own full bath. The people who own the house before me had added on with a second master suite."

Rachel looked in the first guest room which was decorated plainly. The second one was father down the hall and much larger than the first. It was also decorated plainly but the room was bright and charming. Rachel walked through to check out the en suite bathroom and came back out smiling at Shelby. "Definitely this one."

"I thought so. We can decorate it however you like. Come on, I'll show you my room."

They walked down to another room and Shelby quietly opened the door and peeked her head in at Beth. The baby was still sleeping soundly and Shelby led Rachel into the room. Shelby let Rachel look around and smiled when the girl spent a few moments staring at the sleeping child. Rachel grinned at the picture of the New York City skyline that hung on one wall. Her eyes wondered over the dressers and knick knacks, taking in small pieces of her mother's world.

Rachel's breath caught when she looked at one of the bedside tables and found a framed picture of herself. Her still image was laughing at something unknown and Rachel couldn't remember ever having seen it before. She walked over and picked it up from its spot next to a picture of Beth and studied it.

She finally looked to her mom with questions in her eyes and Shelby answered. "Jesse gave it to me. He said he snapped it one day after Glee practice. It's the only picture I have of you. Well except for the ones I just took downstairs."

"Oh," was Rachel's eloquent reply. She couldn't say anymore without her emotions betraying her. She returned the picture to its home and made her way to Shelby who wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her out of the room.

Dinner was spent getting to know each other better as each lady peppered the other with questions. It was enlightening and fun and Rachel could feel herself settling in. Shelby was easy to be around, much more so that Rachel would have initially imagined, and the joy of getting to feel like she belonged was overwhelming. She hoped she would remember everything Shelby was telling her, but gave up trying to take mental notes and decided to enjoy her mother's stories instead.

There was one question that Rachel really wanted to ask, but she hadn't been able to do it so far. She wanted to know what kind of mother Shelby would be. It wasn't a fair question, Rachel knew, but she was curious all the same. It wasn't a fair question because Shelby had never had to be a full-time parent to a teenager before, especially a kid like Rachel, and so how would she even know how she would be? On the other hand, Shelby had been coaching teenagers for years and from what Rachel had seen, her mother was certainly capable of being quite strict and demanding. That didn't change the fact that Rachel hoped she would soon be living with her mom permanently. But still, she decided to test the waters.

"Can you ask you a question about your parenting style?" Rachel asked, ever blunt.

Shelby laughed and nodded, "sure."

"What would your reaction be if, hypothetically of course, I had come home with a week's worth of detention on the third day of school?" Rachel asked. She seemed to be only one who thought she was good at spelling out hypothetical situations because Shelby saw through it immediately.

"You got a week's worth of detention? Already? What did you do?"

"I said it was hypothetical," Rachel pouted.

"Rachel."

"I just want you to know that most parties involved have already seen the error of their ways and that I no longer have to serve even one day of detention," Rachel started. She then explained to her mom about choosing the song and what she said to Mercedes and Mr. Schue trying to send her to his office. She told of the mishap with the trophy and Figgins' accusations and Mr. Schue's lack of a defense. She explained about the phone call to Mrs. Fabray and the notes that were sent home.

Shelby looked at her, wide eyed. She didn't say anything until she realized Rachel was looking for an answer.

"Well, ummm… In this l case I think I would have liked to have taken that meeting with Principal Figgins. And I would have wanted to talk to Mr. Schuester. It sounds like a situation that could have been avoided all together," was her answer.

Rachel smiled. She approved with this approach.

"How did you get out of it?"

Rachel delved into the second half of the story and Shelby was pleased to hear about the way Rachel stood up for herself to Mr. Schuester. She knew, from the teacher's standpoint, that it was often hard for students to take such a bold step and tell their teacher they felt wronged.

"I'm proud of you, Rachel." Rachel beamed. Those were words she hadn't heard in a long time.

"And honestly, I don't know what my reactions will be, but I'm not afraid to parent," mother told child. "I've been dealing with kids a long time, so this is not foreign territory to me. We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it, ok?" Rachel nodded. "But how about you make it a rule to stay out of the principal's office? That'd probably be best."

Rachel helped with the dishes and fed Beth again and found herself liking the normalcy of this routine more and more. This was turning into a better week than she would have ever imagined on Monday morning. The Fabray's had made her feel like family, and now she was here with her mom where she actually was family. And what Rachel liked best about the evening was that they had been able to get past the initial awkwardness and delve into the issues that they needed to touch on. And once they had done that they were able to really act like mother and daughter, like this is how they spent every evening, together and comfortable. All of the tension and hesitation was gone and they were simply a family.

Rachel would be returning to Quinn's house that night since it was closer to school and she had stuff there. Shelby got Beth settled in the car and they were on their way when Rachel asked Shelby if they could stop at Rachel's house for a few minutes first. Once there, Rachel had Shelby wait in the car while she ran inside to get something. Rachel returned a few minutes later with a cd and a folded-up note and gave them to her mom.

"Just look at them later, when you get a chance," Rachel said.

Judy met them outside when the car pulled up, but Quinn was nowhere in sight. Rachel introduced the two women who had never met despite everything and they exchanged pleasantries.

Judy couldn't keep her eyes from straying over to the car seat in the back and finally asked if she could see her.

"Of course," Shelby said and opened the backseat to take her out.

"Oh no, I'll just sit in here with her," Judy said before sitting down in the back of the car next to Beth. She sucked in a breath when she got her first proper look at her since that day in the hospital. She was the image of Quinn.

Outside the car Rachel and Shelby were saying their goodbyes.

"Goodnight, Mom. Thank you for tonight. And for everything."

"Thank you, Rachel, for being able to forgive," she said hugging the girl tightly. "And don't worry; we'll work this all out."

The two separated and Shelby said, "I hope you have a nice day at school tomorrow. And be good."

Rachel rolled her eyes and gave a sarcastic, "Yes, Mom" before gathering up her school bag and heading into the house.

Shelby stared in disbelief. Had Rachel just rolled her eyes at her?

"They learn that quickly, don't they?" Judy said, standing beside Shelby. "You may be the coolest mom ever, but there's always something you do or say that will warrant an eye roll."

"Thank you for looking after her," Shelby said to the blonde woman. "I can't believe I didn't know."

"Nobody knew," was Judy's response. "And thank you, Shelby. For… just thank you," she finished with tears forming in her eyes. She said a quick goodbye before heading to the house, waiting at the door as Shelby got situated in the car and drove off.

Rachel found Quinn already in her bed. The cheerleader was sitting up reading a book and smiled when Rachel entered after a knock.

"How was it?"

"It was wonderful, Quinn. I really think it's going to work out," Rachel said happily.

"I'm sure it will," Quinn said. She then added softly, "How was Beth?"

"She's great, Quinn. She looks like you."

"Is she a happy baby?"

"As a clam," Rachel said.

Quinn wore a relieved, but still sad smile. "Good."

"She spit up on my sweater," Rachel told her, trying to lighten the mood. "You'd have been really proud."

This got a laugh from Quinn as Rachel bid her a goodnight and left to go to her own room.

At her own house, Shelby settled Beth into her crib, the child never waking from the car ride home, before sitting down to read the note Rachel had given her. It explained that the contents of the cd were pictures of Rachel growing up. A few years ago, before everything got bad, her father Henry had made a project out of scanning and making sure there were digital copies all of all of their pictures. Rachel, being as organized as she was, had created a folder for all pictures and then folders that were for pictures of just Rachel and one for just her fathers. Rachel had been dutifully adding pictures to her folder for the last three years. They were mostly just school photos and what not, but she wanted to make sure her folder stayed up to date even if her dad wasn't going to do it anymore. Rachel had also spent years captioning every picture with the stories that went along with them. She wanted to be able to remember the pictures forever and so captions were important. A quick copy to the cd and Rachel felt she had something nice she could give to Shelby.

Shelby quickly made her way to her computer after reading the note and put in the cd. She spent most of the night greedily looking at pictures of Rachel from the day she was born up through a picture of her at the fair she had attended over the summer with Finn. Shelby read every caption and looked over every picture multiple times. She started making notes of ones she wanted to have printed to be framed. She wasn't even a third of way through her notes when she decided that she had to get to bed. The pictures would still be here in the morning. And every day after that.

**A/N – I really do appreciate any reviews you can leave me. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N – Thanks for all the reviews! I'm having such a good time writing this. And I know Rachel just sang Happy Days Are Here Again on the show, but she sings it here as well. Ryan Murphy didn't call me to ask me my plans first, so that's what happens. Kidding, of course. At least we all know that Rachel rocked it so there you go. **

**Disclaimer – Frankly, I'd like some royalties at this point. Kidding again. I own nothing. **

Rachel spent most of her Friday at school daydreaming and smiling. She was floating through the day almost oblivious to the world around her. It was a blissful day that had been free of slushies and even the normal name calling. Well, if there had been name calling Rachel hadn't noticed. She was in her own world and was quite happy to stay there. She was going to stay the night at Shelby's and then spend Saturday with her mom and Beth. She would have to return to her own house on Sunday when her dad came home and she found that she was even looking forward to that. Her other father, Henry, wouldn't be home until Monday and this would give her a chance to talk to them one at a time. A chance to divide and conquer, if you will. She honestly had no idea how any of it would go, but she knew she needed to talk to them before anything could advance.

Rachel was brought back to reality when a balled up piece of paper hit her in the side of the head during her biology class, the last one of the day. People snickered and she looked around to see her had thrown it. She eyes met Quinn's reprimanding stare from across the room. The blonde had thrown the paper at her when the teacher had turned her back. More teasing from Quinn Fabray, the rest of the class assumed. Rachel gave her a questioning look.

'Pay attention,' Quinn mouthed to her.

'What?' Rachel mouthed back, not understanding what her friend was saying.

'Pay attention,' she tried again. Rachel still didn't understand and shrugged at her.

Quinn picked up her book and pointed to it and then pointed to the front of the room. Rachel turned and looked forward, still not understanding, but thinking that maybe there was something Quinn wanted her to look at. Quinn continued to watch her small friend with a growing sense of frustration when she saw Rachel scan the front of the room clearly looking for something.

"Miss Fabray, would you care to join us here in this world instead of staring off into space," the teacher said when she had turned to find all of her students facing forward except the cheerleader.

Quinn's head snapped around and she quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. I was paying attention," she said the last two words pointedly.

Ohhhh, now Rachel understood.

As soon as the teacher's back was turned again Quinn trained her glare to Rachel and narrowed her eyes. Rachel pouted for a second before she let a sheepish smile sneak out and shrugged her innocence. Quinn rolled her eyes and went back to taking notes. Someone had better because she was certain Rachel was going to need them.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day and Quinn caught up with Rachel as the students filed out of the classroom. They headed towards the choir room together for Glee.

"Sorry about that," Rachel said, smiling.

"Sure you are. It's a good thing I was taking notes. Now you'll have something to study for the quiz on Monday," Quinn smirked at her, lengthening her stride so that Rachel now had to work to keep up on her shorter legs.

"There's a quiz on Monday?" Rachel squeaked out. Everything else aside, Rachel was a good student and the fact that she missed the information she needed for a quiz got her back into focus.

"I'll make you a copy of the notes. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks. I'm just really excited about staying at Shel-"

"Shut up, man hands," Rachel was cut off by Santana who had approached them from a side hallway.

"Santana, don't say-" Quinn started to say, but she too was cut off by other cheerleader.

"Coach Sylvester wants to see us," Santana said, grabbing Quinn's arm and turning her around and walking her down the hall in the direction she and Rachel had just come from. Rachel turned and watched them go for a moment before continuing on to the choir room by herself.

Santana was able to lead her around a corner before Quinn finally pulled away. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Santana shot back.

"What are you talking about? You're the one who just practically dragged me down the hall."

"Why are you talking to her?"

"Who? Rachel?" Quinn asked.

"Oh, it's Rachel now. Because last time I checked you still hated her."

"Well you haven't checked in a while," Quinn said. "She's my friend," Quinn was not ashamed to say.

"Your friend?" Santana said, shocked. "Since when?"

"Since none of your business," Quinn said before turning and walking off. "Get to Glee," she said looking back over her shoulder at the stunned Latina. Santana followed behind her after a few moments unconsciously proving why Quinn was once again head cheerleader.

The two cheerleaders entered the choir room to find that everyone was still milling about. Mr. Schue was late and so nothing had started. Quinn took a seat next to Rachel and Santana sat on the opposite side of the room next to Brittney. Rachel tried to ask Quinn what was wrong but the blonde just shook her head.

Rachel decided to take the opportunity of Mr. Schue being late to address the club so she took her place in the center of the room to predictable groans from everyone else.

"I know the last couple of days have put a strain on some of us here in Glee," Rachel started. "That was never my intention, but I think some good may have come from it."

"Good for you, you mean," Kurt said.

"No, good for all of us," Rachel protested. "You heard Mr. Schue yesterday. He said that there wouldn't be anymore bullying allowed in here."

"Not all of us are worried about being bullied in here," Santana said. Quinn shot her a glare.

"I know, but some of us," Rachel faltered when Santana rose to her feet and headed her way.

"But I guess you won't have to worry about it either anymore."

"Right, because Mr. Schue-"

"Or is it because you've managed to make Quinn your new best friend?" Santana asked.

There was a collective gasp from the room and everyone turned and stared at Quinn who had now also gotten to her feet and moved to the center of the room.

"Back off, Santana. I don't remember asking for your opinion or approval about my friendship with Rachel," Quinn said. "That's because I don't care what you think about it."

Rachel smiled. She couldn't help it. Her smile quickly faded though as the two cheerleaders made their way towards each other. Rachel stepped forward so that she was in between them blocking their paths. They simply continued to talk over the top of her head as if she weren't there.

"Have you lost your mind, Quinn? Look at her! She's wearing a sweater with a unicorn on it and argyle knee socks!" Santana reasoned.

Rachel looked down, suddenly embarrassed and self-conscious. Kurt gave her a once over and nodded along with Santana's argument.

"So what! If she's happy in those clothes than so what!" Quinn yelled back.

"You can't be serious," Kurt chimed in. "There is never any call to dress like that."

"There's not usually any call to be a self-centered prick twenty-four seven either, but you don't seem to have a problem doing that!" Quinn turned her anger towards Kurt.

"Quinn," Rachel scolded softly. To her amazement Kurt looked contrite for a second, but the look passed and he fixed Quinn with an unaffected gaze.

There were murmurings of more questions before Quinn yelled for everyone to "just back off!" That only got everyone more riled up and soon there were eleven kids all yelling over one another. Brad and the musicians sat back and watched in silence. They were surprised by nothing at this point.

"Stop," Rachel said, but no one heard her. "Stop," she yelled this time and still no one heard. Rachel jumped to her last resort, sticking her thumb and middle finger in her mouth just enough to get off a high pitched whistle. Just another hidden talent she had. The room fell silent and everyone was staring at her except for Santana who was grimacing and covering an ear.

"Seriously, Berry?" was her only response.

"Now that I have your attention," Rachel started, "Yes, Quinn and I are friends. I know it must come as a shock to find out that the tormentor and the tormented have come together to form a friendship, but it has happened. There is no need for all this yelling and insulting."

"We're just surprised," Tina said.

"Yeah, I think Hell may have frozen over a little bit," Artie said.

Quinn rolled her eyes but smiled at the boy.

"What about your reputation?" Santana asked from her spot on the other side of Rachel. "Rachel Berry is toxic for your reputation. Just ask Finn. It's one thing in here but it's another thing to be seen walking the halls with her."

Rachel wondered if Santana realized that she was there. They were talking about her like she wasn't here.

"Who cares?" Quinn said. "There are more important things than that."

Santana scoffed. "Whatever." It was good talk from Quinn, but Santana knew better. If Quinn wasn't so worried about her reputation she wouldn't have fought so hard to become head cheerleader again. "Just don't expect all of us to fall in line and be best friends."

Rachel was finding her spot between the arguing pair to be growing increasingly uncomfortable. They were still talking over her head but seemed to be trying to step closer to each other to make their points.

"I don't expect that, but I do expect that the rest of you show her some respect," Quinn answered right back.

"We respect her talent," Artie said. "Even if she is-"

Quinn cut him off. "Good. Now how about you respect the rest of her well."

A moment of silent tension filled the air and Quinn looked around just daring anyone to contradict her.

Mr. Schue chose that moment to make his appearance. "Hey, guys," he said cheerfully before he took in the scene. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Mr. Schue," Quinn answered for everyone. "We were just talking about the songs we're going to sing today. Rachel wants to go first," Quinn said before finally moving and going back to her seat. Santana did the same, leaving Rachel where she stood.

"Ok, sounds great," the clueless coach said. He took a seat and looked up to Rachel expectantly.

Rachel turned her back to her teammates and took a moment to compose herself. The last few minutes had not been what she was expecting to happen today and she was still trying to wrap her head around it. She checked with Brad to make sure he had the music and then turned back around to face the room. Her face was completely different. Her flustered expression had been replaced by one of true confidence and showmanship. Yes, Rachel Berry was about to get her Barbra on.

Despite what had just happened, the group could not help but find themselves taken in by the song and her vocals. As Artie had said; they respected her voice. It was a beautiful rendition of the classic and Rachel did it justice. Even Brad couldn't help but smile. The lyrics were especially significant to her right now. She had her mother now. She had a friend in Quinn. Mrs. Fabray had become her protector. It was true; happy days were here again.

"You didn't have to do that," Rachel said when they got into Quinn's car to go home. "But thank you."

"Didn't have to do what? I was never going to lie about being friends with you, Rachel," Quinn told her. "It was only a matter of time before someone asked about it."

"I hope no one outside of Glee bothers you because of it," Rachel said.

"Don't worry about that; it'll be fine," Quinn brushed it off. She had spent most of last school year dealing with ridicule, not to the extent Rachel dealt with, she acknowledged, but still she had returned to the top. And now she was stronger because she didn't really care what people thought anymore. Ok, that wasn't true. But she didn't care if they knew she was friends with Rachel.

A couple hours later Rachel had finished packing. Well, finished with everything she could. Judy had insisted that the girl leave some things at her house just in case. Rachel had tried to argue, but she soon discovered where Quinn had inherited her intimidating glare from and acquiesced. She was going to stay with Shelby tonight and tomorrow and then Shelby would take her home Sunday.

"Rachel, your mom's here," Judy called from downstairs. Rachel stole a glance out the window of the guest room and saw that Shelby was waiting by her car. Rachel took her bags down the stairs and out to where Shelby was waiting. She left them with her mom who started to put them in the car. Rachel made her way back into the house to talk to Judy and Quinn.

"I can't thank you enough for letting me stay here," Rachel said. "And for everything. You made me feel more welcome than I've felt in a long time."

"We loved having you here," Judy said hugging the girl tightly. "You are welcome here whenever you want or need." She pulled back from the girl, but still held her by the shoulders. "And I don't want to hear of you staying that house by yourself again, do you understand?" Judy said, giving her small shake for emphasis.

Rachel nodded, "You won't."

Quinn stepped in to get a hug, "See you later, Rachel."

"Thank you, Quinn. This is not quite how I imagined this week would turn out, but I'm glad it did," Rachel said. "I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive at the thought of staying in the same house with you."

Quinn smirked. "What'd you think? That I was going to slushie you in your sleep?" The comment earned her a swat from her mother, effectively wiping the smile off her face. Judy was still dealing with learning of what Quinn had been like at school for so long and so she was not amused by the joke.

It was Rachel's turn to smirk now, "Well not anymore."

Another round of goodbyes and Rachel was out the door and in the car with Shelby.

"Mom, what's your family like?" Rachel said after a couple minutes of listening to the radio.

"Well, they're not too bad. My parents are named Paul and Rebecca. And I've got an older brother named Sam," Shelby told her. "Sam is married to Maggie and they have two boys. Jack is ten and Michael is 7. You'll love them. They're all really excited to meet you."

"They know about me?" Rachel was genuinely shocked.

"Yes, but to be fair, you were almost 6 before I told them," Shelby confessed. She cast a sideways glance at Rachel who was waiting for her to continue. "When I moved back from New York City I didn't want to move to Columbus which is where they all live; I wanted to move to Lima. I knew I couldn't see you, but I felt that if I moved into the same town than somehow I was closer to you. It was a rough time and I worked odd jobs for a few years before I was able to get the job at Carmel. My mom could tell that I was bothered by something, but I never would let on. I was back for more than a year before I told them. They were shocked and angry, but mostly just sad. I explained the contract and formalities of it all, but it didn't stop my parents from being hurt that they had a granddaughter they knew didn't know about. I think it took them, my mom especially, a few years to reconcile with what I had done."

"I guess I had always expected that you never told anyone about me," Rachel said.

"It started out that way," Shelby said, honestly. "I will tell you that nothing compares with their hurt and anger at me when I explained what happened between us earlier in the year. My mom saw the picture of you in my bedroom and so I told her the whole story. They really helped me to understand just what a mistake I was making by walking away from you. My family spends most of their time visiting me split between really excited about Beth and really angry about you."

Rachel smiled. She had a feeling she would like these people. She had never known she fathers' parents or siblings or extended family. It had always just been the three of them. But from the sound of it, Rachel felt like she could get used to being a granddaughter.

"Do they know about this past week?"

"Yes, I called and talked to my mom a couple nights ago, after I talked to Quinn. She was pretty outraged at your fathers," Shelby told her. "They're standing by to help in whatever way we need to get this all straightened out."

"I've got grandparents…" Rachel said, almost in awe. "I can't wait to meet them."

"Well, that might happen sooner than you think," Shelby said as she pulled the car into the driveway and shut it off. "They're all coming over tomorrow."

"What?" Rachel asked, getting out of the car.

Shelby reached in the car to get Beth and Rachel got her bags out. "I couldn't keep them away," Shelby said. "Once I said you would be here this weekend they started making plans to come. I can call them and tell them it's too soon."

"No, don't do that," Rachel said. "I'm excited to meet them. I just- do you think they'll like me?"

"Rachel. They already love you."

A few hours later, after dinner and a shower, Rachel was dressed casually and exploring the house more thoroughly this time. Shelby was downstairs feeding Beth and talking to her mother on the phone, finalizing plans for tomorrow. Rachel wondered each room looking over nooks and details that she may have missed the night before. She still knew that she had chosen the right room between the two guest rooms, but now she was taking her time to really get a layout of the house.

Rachel entered the nursery and took in the smell of baby power and lavender that always seemed to follow babies around. She cooed over outfits and flipped through the baby book resting on the dresser. She took her time lingering over photos on the walls, coming across one that made her gasp and tear up. There were four pictures under scripted wall art that said 'Family.' One was a picture of Beth. The other two were pictures of two boys Rachel didn't know. Shelby's nephews, her cousins, she assumed. But it was the fourth picture that made Rachel's breath catch. It was a picture of her when she was about four-months old. It was in a frame that matched the others as if it had been there all along. Rachel took the moment to simply let the feelings of family that she hadn't felt in so long wash over her.

Rachel finally stepped out of Beth's room and walked towards her mother's. She stopped herself from entering, however, thinking it wouldn't be right to be in there without permission. She had seen it yesterday and so she would wait until later to go in again. She didn't want to feel like she was snooping through her mom's space.

Next Rachel opened the doors that didn't belong to bedrooms. She expected to find only closets or storage and this was the case until she opened the door that was at the end of the hall closest to her bedroom. When she opened it she discovered a flight of stairs leading up into a room Rachel didn't even know was there. She had resisted Shelby's room, but this was too much not to look in. Flipping on the light, Rachel climbed the stairs to what she assumed would be an attic. Instead she found herself standing in an open room with a beautiful baby grand piano in one corner. There were couches and chairs and another TV. There was even a small refrigerator at one end. This is what captured Rachel's curiosity the most and when she checked it she found that it only had bottles of water in it.

Rachel's eyes scanned the room and found some more pictures on an opposite wall. There was another picture of Rachel and again she found herself staring in awe at the fact that Shelby had only received the pictures the night before and yet there were already some framed and on the walls. The picture showed a grinning Rachel, 7-years old and missing some teeth, and holding up an ice cream cone that held what was left of the lime green sherbet she had tried to eat. It had been a really hot day and most of the ice cream had ended up all over her. Her arms, hands and face were covered in green ice cream. It was all over her clothes and even in her hair. It was melting faster than she could eat it.

The next picture showed an equally messy child and for a moment Rachel couldn't remember when it had been taken. Upon closer look, Rachel realized that it wasn't her, it was Shelby. She was taken aback by the resemblance for a moment. She knew she shouldn't be, she could tell how much they looked alike, but it was still very cool to see. This was the first time she'd seen a picture of Shelby as s kid. In the picture, Shelby looked to be about 5-years-old and had clearly been eating chocolate cake just moments before the picture was taken. And maybe not just eating it. There was chocolate all over her face and Shelby was giving a grin as enthusiastic as the one Rachel had given in her picture.

Rachel wore a smile as she turned from the pictures on the wall and sat down at the piano. This room might just become her favorite in the house. She ran her hand over the keys and then started to play a simple tune, one that she had learned years ago.

"I didn't know you played the piano," Shelby said as she entered the room. She and Beth had been watching Rachel for close to a minute.

"I used to take lessons when I was younger, but I haven't really played in years," Rachel answered, her hands sliding off the keys and stopping the music.

"I can teach you if you like," Shelby said coming over and sitting on the bench as well. "Well, give you some help I guess would be a better way to put it. You already seem to know all the basics."

"That would be fun," Rachel said. "I don't know if I could handle Coach Corcoran though," she said, ribbing her mother. "From everything Jesse told me about your methods…"

Shelby slowly turned to fully face her daughter, fixing her with a patented Coach Corcoran glare. Rachel sat up straighter, defiantly. Shelby cocked her head to the side a little at Rachel's show of confidence. Nice. "And just what did Mr. St. James say about my methods?"

"Nothing really," Rachel said, breaking the character. "He adores you."

"He should, that little punk," Shelby said following suit. "You should have seen him groveling for forgiveness after I found out about the egging incident."

"At least he did to you," Rachel said. "It's a relief to know you did something about it though."

"Of course I did something about it," Shelby answered. "They all practiced until they could barely stand anymore. And then we practiced for a few hours after that. Even the people who weren't involved were asking for forgiveness by the time it was over."

Shelby noticed Rachel's downcast eyes and decided to change the subject. "Here," she said, passing Beth to Rachel, "let's sing a song. Scoot over some."

Rachel did so that Shelby could be more centered at the piano. "What do you want to sing?" she said speaking to her mom, but making a face at Beth.

"How about something more traditional than Lady Gaga this time? How about Tomorrow from _Annie_?"

"A classic," Rachel said. "It's one of my favorites. I could probably do it in my sleep." Shelby didn't doubt it.

Shelby started the opening stanzas and then she and Rachel created a beautiful harmony on the song about hope. They sang it as if they'd been singing it together for years. They hit all the breaks in time with each other and held all the notes for just the right amount of time. Rachel couldn't help but tear up and Shelby did the same. If this was life with mother, Rachel would take it.

The last note of the song still lingered in the air when Beth started to fuss. Shelby checked her watch and found it to be close to ten. "She's probably tired. I should try and lay her down."

"Can I do it?" Rachel asked.

"Of course," Shelby answered.

"Why didn't you show me that room yesterday?" Rachel asked as she made her way down the stairs.

"I was going to surprise you and show you tonight, but you beat me to it."

"Oh," Rachel blushed. "I was just exploring."

"It's perfectly fine. Explore away," Shelby assured her.

The two parted ways at the nursery where Rachel was changing Beth. Shelby instructed Rachel to make sure Beth had her blanket and pacifier and showed Rachel which light needed to be on before she left them saying she was going to go and finish up the dishes.

When Rachel laid Beth in the crib she was certain the baby was asleep. She didn't even get two full steps away when Beth started to cry. "No, Beth, shhh," Rachel said, going back and reaching over the side of the crib to try and comfort the baby. "I don't want Mom to think I can't even get you to sleep."

Beth didn't seem to care about this argument as she continued to cry. Rachel picked her back up and swayed gently with her, trying to lull her back to sleep. Three tries later, Beth was still having none of it.

"You went to sleep just fine last night," Rachel told the infant. "What else do you need?"

Beth gave no reply except another cry. Rachel decided to try another tactic. She climbed onto Shelby's bed and laid down, laying Beth on her stomach across Rachel's chest. Rachel held the baby securely and rubbed her back. She started to sing softly. It was the first song that came to mind, no doubt brought on by the recent selection from _Annie_ they had just covered.

"Maybe far away," she sang and Beth started to settle, the gentle hum in Rachel's' chest soothing her. "Or maybe real nearby." Beth gripped hand on her blanket, "he may be pouring her coffee, she may be straightening his tie," Beth's eyes fluttered closed and the baby's breathing grew deeper and evened out.

Rachel's eyes were suddenly heavy and she closed her as well. "Maybe in a house, all hidden by a hill," she sang, even as her breath started to deepen and the circles she rubbed on Beth's back slowed.

Rachel almost fully asleep on her mother's bed with her baby sister already sleeping on her chest when she sang the last line she was able to get out before sleep completely overcame her.

"She's sitting playing piano…"

**A/N – Please review. I'd love to know what you guys think. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N – Thank you for all of the reviews! You guys are great. Sorry for the delay with this one. I was out of town all weekend.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own anything but the idea.**

Shelby was putting away the last of the dishes when she realized that Rachel had never come back downstairs. Well, at least she hadn't come into the kitchen and Shelby hadn't heard the TV on. She went and checked the living room and confirmed that Rachel wasn't there. A quick glance at the still dark dining room confirmed that Rachel wasn't in there either. Shelby hadn't heard Beth crying, but she thought that maybe Rachel was having some trouble putting the baby to sleep.

Upon entering her bedroom, Shelby felt her breath catch and tears form in her eyes. She simply stood and watched for close to a minute before slipping out of the room so she could go and get her camera. She couldn't pass up the opportunity to capture the image of her daughters asleep together on the bed. Rachel was reclined back on the pillows and Beth rested peacefully on her chest, Rachel's hands holding the baby in place. Shelby snapped a few pictures, careful to use a low light setting so there would be no flash to disturb the girls.

Shelby set the camera down and then moved to the bed so she could pick up Beth. The mother gently moved Rachel's hands to her sides and lifted the sleeping baby. Neither girl stirred and Shelby was able to lay Beth in her crib without so much as a whimper. Shelby grabbed a blanket that was folded up on a nearby chair and then moved back to the bed. She took a moment to remove the ankle socks Rachel was wearing and then covered the teen with the blanket. She gently brushed Rachel's new bangs back from her forehead before leaning down and placing a kiss there. Standing back up, Shelby grabbed the socks and dropped them in the hamper in her bathroom and then left her bedroom, shutting off the light as she did, and made her way back downstairs to catch the news.

Rachel awoke with a start the next morning, sitting up in bed and trying to get her bearings. She had no idea where she was. It took a few seconds of looking around for her to realize that she was in her new bedroom at Shelby's house, but she didn't know why she couldn't remember going to bed the night before. She thought back to the previous night and the last thing she remembered was lying down with Beth on Shelby's bed. She groaned but got out of bed all the same. It was Saturday and it would be nice to be able to sleep in, but the sleep seemed to have been shaken from her during her panicked and abrupt wake up.

Fifteen minutes later Rachel was changed and downstairs in the kitchen drinking some water and stretching. She had decided to go for a run. If there was one thing she had missed all week it was her normal work-out routine in the mornings. And as there was no elliptical machine to be found at Shelby's, Rachel opted for an old fashioned run. She was out the front door and adjusting the earphones for her iPod just as Shelby was beginning to stir.

Shelby glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 6:20 and groaned. Beth was still sleeping, but would be up soon, Shelby knew. She had been awake with the baby just four hours ago and knew she had enough time for a quick shower and a cup of coffee before Beth would be awake and ready to eat.

Shelby stopped by Rachel's room on her way downstairs and paused outside the closed door. She was just going to check on her, probably coming on a little too strong, Shelby realized, but she couldn't help herself. She assumed Rachel was still asleep so she didn't want to knock and disturb her, but she also didn't want to just open the door and barge on in. She didn't want Rachel to think she was intruding on her space and, in a moment of reflection, realized just how little she knew about the girl and her habits. This was just another of the many things that they needed to talk about. Shelby felt she should be making a list. Snapping back to reality, Shelby realized that she must look silly standing there at the doorway not doing anything. She opted knock softly while she opened the door just enough to peek in. All of her reflection had been for nothing because Rachel wasn't there. Shelby shut the door and laughed at herself as she made her way down to the kitchen to start the coffee.

"Good morning, Ra-" Shelby had expected to see the girl sitting at the table in the kitchen when she entered, but found the room to be empty as well. Shelby grabbed her coffee can and took a moment to smell the grounds as she poured them in the filter. Heaven!

As the coffee brewed, Shelby made her way back upstairs, to the music room this time, to find Rachel. It was empty as well and Shelby couldn't understand it. Where was she? She tried to stamp down her worry level as she went back down to the second story and checked Rachel's room again, going all the way in this time and checking the bathroom as well. Still nothing.

"Rachel," Shelby called out, taking a second to listen for a response.

Shelby was back downstairs before she tried again. "Rachel, answer me please." Nothing.

Remembering the girl's comment yesterday about exploring, Shelby went all the way into the formal dining room that normally wasn't used. There was no one there and so she headed out onto the back patio and scanned over the back yard.

"Rachel," she called out again, for good measure.

Shelby quickly made her way back inside and up to her room to grab her phone. Beth was still sleeping soundly and Shelby gave thanks for small miracles and that her baby had picked today to get some extra sleep. She stepped back into the hallway and called Rachel. She heard the girl's phone ringing from her bedroom and Shelby hit cancel in frustration. Where was Rachel? She was not enjoying this at all. She scrolled through her contacts to get to Quinn and was about to place the call when she heard the front door open.

Racing down the stairs to the door, Shelby found Rachel standing in the doorway catching her breath and removing her shoes.

"Where have you been?" Shelby asked, relieved and angry all at the same time.

Rachel looked up in surprise at the tone of her mom's voice and quickly straightened when she saw her face. Why was she mad at her?

"I went for a run," she answered. "I usually work out every morning but I didn't get a chance to while I was at Quinn's. I didn't think you'd mind."

"I had no idea where you were," Shelby said. "I was worried."

"I'm sorry. I just thought… Are you mad at me?" Rachel asked. She hadn't even been here a full twenty-four hours and she'd already managed to make her mom mad.

Shelby softened then. "I'm more worried than anything."

"I should have left you a note," Rachel said. "I haven't had to tell anyone my whereabouts or ask permission for a while now. I'm used to keeping my own schedule and pretty much coming and going as I please." Her fathers rarely wondered what she was up to or where she was going so she had simply stopped telling them after a while.

"Rachel, I don't want to take anything from you, but I'm going to need to know where you are and everything like that," Shelby told her and Rachel nodded. "We'll set aside a time later on to come up with some rules and expectations for both of us," Shelby said. "I'm so excited for you to come and live with me, but as happy as I am, I know that it's going to take a lot of work on both our parts. But I'm up for it if you are."

Rachel smiled at her, "Of course I am."

"Good. Now you go get cleaned up and then we can have some breakfast" Shelby said, stepping towards the kitchen. The coffee was done and she needed it.

"Oh hey, Mom," Rachel said stopping Shelby. "How did I get in my room last night? I remember lying down with Beth to try and get her to go to sleep and then I woke up in my room."

"You two were so cute," Shelby gushed while Rachel blushed. "I took pictures!"

Rachel nodded. Shelby was in total new mom mode, even if the newest addition to her household was already 15.

"Yeah, but how did I get to my room?" Rachel questioned again.

"I woke you up a couple hours later and helped you moved over there," Shelby told her.

"I don't remember. Sorry about that," Rachel said.

"Don't be," Shelby said. "You didn't really wake up fully. And you're funny when you're half asleep." Shelby smirked and turned towards the kitchen leaving the embarrassed teen still standing there.

Rachel thought about asking her mom what happened, but she decided against it. Shelby could have that one. Instead she bounded up the stairs while Shelby pulled her favorite mug from the cabinet. She poured the coffee and inhaled the sweet aroma. Nothing was quite like your first cup of coffee in the morning. Shelby sat at the table and wrapped both hands lovingly around the mug and brought it to her lips. She was about to get the taste of her first sip when she heard Beth crying upstairs. Shelby sighed and set the cup back down before getting up to go and get her baby.

Later that morning Rachel stood inspecting the clothes she had and decided that none of them would be suitable for the first meeting with her grandparents and aunt and uncle. She needed to get to her house but she didn't want to ask Shelby because her mom was busy with last minute clean-up and other preparations for the company. Rachel thought everything looked great as it was but Shelby insisted that there was so much to do.

Rachel sent a quick text message to Quinn telling her of the dilemma and Quinn said that she would come and get Rachel and drive her to her house so she could get the right clothes. Rachel sent a reply saying she would be waiting outside.

"Mom," Rachel said entering the living to find Shelby returning some stray DVD cases to their proper storage. "Quinn is coming over to pick me up so I can go to my house to get some clothes to wear."

"Rachel," Shelby started.

"Oh, I mean, Mom, can Quinn come over to get me?" Rachel asked, finding it more awkward than she thought to ask for permission.

"Rachel, I already told you that whatever you have here is fine," Shelby said. "It's casual."

"Mom," Rachel whined, sensing the feeling that Shelby might actually say no. Shelby cringed at the whine in her daughter's tone. Already?

"Besides, she's on her way," Rachel continued. "I want to make a good first impression."

Shelby smiled, "Yes, of course. But I want you back here in an hour because they should be here not too long after that."

"Thanks, Mom," Rachel said, leaving and heading out the door to wait for Quinn. Shelby shook her head and laughed, not really sure if Rachel had believed her when she said it would be casual.

Quinn spent the ride to Rachel's house listening to her friend describe Shelby's house in detail from the music room on down. Rachel went on and on about how glad she was to be there and couldn't help but smile at her friend's enthusiasm. Rachel purposefully left out most mentions of Beth, never quite sure how much Quinn wanted to hear. And if Quinn noticed the omissions she didn't say anything.

Quinn stared in awe at Rachel's closest. It wasn't because of the amount of argyle and plaid that jumped out at her, it was because of how meticulously organized it was. Everything was arranged to be near other items of the same color or cut or pattern.

"So what are you going to wear?" Quinn finally asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "Shelby said it's casual, but my casual doesn't really seem to match everyone else's."

"Very true," Quinn said as she watched Rachel push dress after dress to the side. "How about some jeans?" Quinn suggested. She couldn't remember a time Rachel had worn jeans outside of a Glee performance and the look she was getting from the short brunette conveyed the same message.

"I've got it," Rachel said, pulling a brown skirt and yellow shirt out of her closet. She placed them on her bed and went back for a blue cardigan and a pair of flats.

"That's your perfect outfit you had to come over here to get?" Quinn asked. Rachel nodded and smiled at her. It looked like the same type of outfit Rachel wore everyday, but at least there was no plaid or argyle involved with this one. Quinn figured that that was something Rachel's new family needed to be eased into.

"Do you want to come in?" Rachel asked before really thinking about. They had just pulled back into the driveway at Shelby's.

"No," Quinn answered.

"Quinn, I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine, really. I'm just not ready," Quinn told her. "And you can't just spring that on Shelby. You've got to give her some time too, Rachel. Have fun with your family today. Let me know how everything goes."

"I will. Thanks again for driving me," Rachel said as she got out of the car.

Thirty minutes later Rachel was fidgeting on Shelby's couch. She was dressed and ready and waiting. She cast a nervous glance at Shelby when they heard the cars pull up in the driveway. Shelby got up to meet get the door, Beth in arms, followed by Rachel.

"Relax, honey," Shelby said before opening the door to reveal a woman who was about to ring the doorbell. The woman didn't look much older than Shelby, but had the same dark hair and eyes. They looked alike, but not as alike as Rachel and Shelby did. Behind her stood a taller man with dark hair that was gray around the edges. They were both looking past Shelby and staring at Rachel. For her part, Rachel was staring right back.

Rachel stepped back as Shelby ushered them in. They were followed in by another man, younger than the first and his wife and two dark haired boys. There was an awkward silence as Shelby shut the front door and tried to get everyone to move past the doorway.

Shelby smiled gratefully at her sister-in-law Maggie when the woman took Beth so that Shelby could stand with Rachel.

"Rachel," she setting putting her arm around her daughter who looked just a little shell shocked. Rationally Rachel had understood that her family would be walking through the door, but standing there face-to-face with them was completely different. "These are my parents, Rebecca and Paul. That's my older brother Sam and his wife Maggie and their boys Jack and Michael. Everyone, this is Rachel."

Rebecca Corcoran had tears in her eyes as she looked at her granddaughter who looked so much like Shelby. She couldn't believe she was finally getting to meet the little girl she'd heard about close to ten years ago. She had been sad for Shelby all those years ago, but furious with her when she found out about their meeting earlier in the year. She had lectured Shelby about walking away from her child and then cried with her when they found out about Rachel's fathers.

"Hello, Rachel," Rebecca said, gently. She was doing everything she could not to reach out and pull the girl into a hug, but she didn't want to scare her. Rebecca knew that she could be quite forceful when she wanted to be. It was a trait she had passed onto her daughter. And granddaughter, though she didn't know it yet.

"Hello, Mrs. Corcoran," Rachel replied. "It's nice to meet you." Rachel wasn't sure of the protocol for meeting your grandparents; she and Shelby had barely looked at each other during their first meeting, so she did the polite thing and held out her hand for the woman to shake.

Rebecca bypassed Rachel's outstretched hand and grasped her around the shoulders and pulled her in for a hug, unable to contain herself any longer. Rachel was stunned at first, but eventually brought her hands up and returned the embrace.

"Call me Nana," Rebecca told her. "The boys do." Rebecca pulled back and Rachel nodded although she didn't think the woman looked like a 'Nana' at all. She looked like she could be Shelby's older sister and not her mother and somewhere in the back of her mind Rachel registered a thought about getting good genes.

"And this is your Grandpa," Rebecca said. Paul took his turn to hug Rachel and then she was passed on to 'Uncle Sam and Aunt Maggie' before saying hello to Jack and Michael who were apparently not yet the huggers that the rest of the family was. At least they didn't have any hugs for her yet. They both practically leapt at Shelby who held them adoringly.

Rebecca hooked her arm with Rachel's and led the girl into the living room so they could sit. "Shelby has told us all about you," Rebecca said. Rachel glanced back at her mother who simply smiled in return.

"She said you're a wonderful singer; the star of your Glee club," Paul continued.

Rachel beamed. "Yes, I am one of the leads in the club," Rachel agreed. "We're not as big or as deep as Vocal Adrenaline, but I'm positive we'll beat them this year since they don't have their biggest asset anymore. I hear their coach quit. Something about having gone too soft for it, according to the rumors."

Everyone looked to Shelby who rolled her eyes at her daughter. She may have stepped aside, but Shelby had hand-picked her replacement. She still consulted with him on club matters and she still provided private lessons to many of the students involved. If anything she had gone from front and center to secret weapon. Of course now she was willing to help Rachel and New Directions in any way she could too.

"This will certainly be an interesting year for the competition," Shelby conceded.

"You'll have to sing for us, Rachel," Maggie spoke up. Beth had fallen asleep in her arms and she rocked her side to side.

"I'd love to," Rachel answered, never one to pass up an audience. She looked to Sam then, "Do you sing too?"

Shelby answered when she laughed, "Not even a little bit."

Sam narrowed his eyes at his little sister before turning to his new-found niece. "No, I don't sing. Shelby did enough of that for the both of us growing up. I'm a professor of History at Ohio State," Sam told her.

Rachel enjoyed the teasing between the siblings, but was duly impressed that Sam was a professor.

"Tell me about my mom as a kid," Rachel said to Sam, sitting up straighter on the couch. Sam liked this kid immediately and he too sat up. His mind was racing to think of which stories he could tell.

"There's so much to tell," Sam said, grinning.

"Rachel," Shelby quickly cut it. She put an arm around her daughter and lifted her into a standing position. "Why don't you come to the kitchen and help me with lunch."

"Leave her alone, Shelby," Rebecca said, standing and removing Shelby's arms from around Rachel so the girl could sit back down. "I'll help you with lunch." Rachel smirked at how a grandmother's authority seemed to automatically trump a mother's authority. Maggie got up and passed the sleeping Beth to her grandfather so she too could go and help. Sam had the undivided attention of the young brunette as he launched into one of his favorite stories.

"What do you think?" Shelby said once the three women were in the kitchen.

"She seems delightful," Maggie said.

Shelby beamed, "She really is. From everything I know about her, I know that she can be a handful, but I just love having her around so much. I can't believe how much I've missed."

"You can't dwell on that now, Shelby," Rebecca told her. "You're here now and she needs you."

"I want her to really start to settle in here, but I think she's still very self-conscious about everything," Shelby said. "She's trying to be on her best behavior. I'm looking forward to when she feels like she can relax. But there's still so much to get through before she can stay here permanently and I know she's worried."

"Give it time," Maggie said. "Once everything is settled you'll be looking back on this time and wondering where that best behavior went to."

"I don't mean for it to sound like she's a troublemaker," Shelby said. "She's just very much her own person and very opinionated and wants to get her way. She doesn't have the best social skills and I think she lets her mouth get her into trouble. But on the flip side it's easy to see how sweet and caring she is and how much she desperately craves attention."

"Opinionated and lets her mouth get her into trouble?" Rebecca said. "Now where have I met someone like that before?" she asked, her eyes twinkling at her daughter.

"You couldn't have gone with the sweet and caring part, could you?" Shelby replied.

Just then a peal of laughter rang out from the living room and Shelby groaned good naturedly. Her brother could be telling Rachel anything.

A few minutes later Rachel entered the kitchen, unable to keep the smile off her face. She reached into the refrigerator and took out three bottles of water. Shelby watched her curiously and Rachel had to stifle a laugh when she glanced up at Shelby.

"Ok, missy, what's so funny?" Shelby asked, hands on her hips, trying to pull off an intimidating stare, but it never quite reached her eyes.

"Oh, nothing," was Rachel's innocent reply.

"Uh-huh."

"But really, Mom? The rabbi ended up with orange hair?"

Maggie and Rebecca burst out laughing at the familiar story and Rebecca quickly went to Rachel's side and wrapped an arm around her grinning granddaughter's waist in a show of solidarity.

"Sam!" Shelby yelled as she left the kitchen causing the three ladies to laugh even harder.

Three hours later lunch was long over and the Corcorans were settling into their cars for the drive back to Columbus. Paul had entered all of their phone numbers into Rachel's phone and they had taken hers. Rachel promised to call regularly and to keep Shelby in line, a notion Shelby huffed at, before the two cars pulled out of the driveway.

They watched the cars drive down the street and then Shelby suggested they go back inside. Beth cooed her agreement at the plan and the three made their way to the living room. Shelby sat on the couch and put her head back, tired. Even Beth seemed worn out as she rested in Shelby's lap. Rachel, on the other hand, was practically bouncing from the excitement of it. Her family was great!

"That went much better than I may have initially anticipated. Don't you think, Mom?" Rachel said, breaking the silence.

"Why did you think it might not have gone well?" Shelby asked in return, turning her head to look at Rachel.

"I don't know. I don't always give off the best impression, I know that," Rachel said. "I know how most people see me."

"We're not most people, Rachel," Shelby said sitting up and giving Rachel a look to let the girl know she was serious. "We're your family. We love you."

"I know that," Rachel said. "But…" Rachel trailed off, looking away sadly. "I'm going to go and check out the rest of the music room," the teen said, jumping to her feet with the return of her excited bounce.

"But what? Rachel?" But the girl was already half way up the stairs and didn't look back at Shelby. "What do you think that meant?" Shelby asked of Beth. She looked down to see that her baby had fallen asleep. She smiled and got to her feet and headed for the stairs herself. She put Beth in her crib and then climbed the next flight up to find Rachel. She saw her eldest looking through her catalog of sheet music.

"Rachel, but what?" she asked, pulling up a chair to sit next to her.

"I have a family who should love me. Except that they don't seem to care anymore. So when you tell me that they love me because they're my family, I guess I just don't necessarily trust that. It's not a good enough reason," Rachel said.

She moved to get up, but Shelby took her arm and stopped her, sitting her back down.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. I hadn't thought about it like that," Shelby said. "I don't know what happened with your dads that make them act the way they do now. But I believe they still love you, even if they can't show you."

"That's not good enough," Rachel said, trying to get up again, but Shelby's grip was firm.

"I know it's not good enough. I'm going to do everything I can to fix this. Look at me, Rachel," she held the girl's chin to keep her from looking away. "We are going to fix this. And you are going to come and stay with me. Because I adore you," Shelby said, her voice catching. "And my family, your family, thinks you're wonderful. Can you trust me on that one?"

Rachel nodded and then let her head rest of her mom's shoulder. "What if my dads say no? Rachel asked, letting her worry really show. "What if I don't ever get to spend any more time with you?"

"That's not going to happen. I'm not going to let that happen," Shelby said. "Let's take it one step at a time and not get ahead of ourselves. You're going to get a chance to talk to Scott tomorrow and we'll know more about how to proceed after that."

Shelby was really worried too but she was trying her best not to let on to Rachel. She knew this could turn into an ugly court battle if it came to that. She wanted it all handled quietly and at the lowest possible level, but would not hold out hope for that until she heard more about what Rachel's fathers had to say. And until then she would stay positive for her daughter.

"Come on, let's go watch a movie," Shelby said, standing up and taking Rachel's hand and leading her out of the room. Shelby hoped a movie would be a good distraction to keep Rachel from spending the rest of the day worrying about what might happen tomorrow.

**A/N – Reviews would be lovely. Thanks! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N – Thank you for all the reviews; it's so great to read them all. We have finally arrived at the meeting of the Fathers Berry. Hold onto you hats. **

**Disclaimer – Nothing but the idea is mine.**

Shelby's car was parked in the empty driveway at the Berry house and though she was there to drop Rachel off, neither made any move to get out.

"I want you to call me tonight before you go to bed," Shelby said. Again. She had been peppering Rachel with instructions all morning. "If your fathers want to talk to me I'm available whenever. I've already retained a lawyer."

"I know, Mom. I promise I'll call," Rachel said. She had found herself surprisingly less nervous today than yesterday. She was defiantly up to the task and was ready to get it over with. Whether or not she still felt this way in a few hours when her father was actually home was another story.

Rachel's phone chirped to tell her she had a text message. "It's from Quinn. She wants me to call her tonight too."

"You have people that care about you, Rachel. We're all here and ready to help," Shelby told her.

Rachel smiled at her and nodded. "I know. It's kind of hard to believe sometimes, but I think I'm really starting to get used to it. Quinn said that her mom had spoken to a lawyer as well. I don't know how I'll be able to repay you or Mrs. Fabray. Lawyers aren't cheap."

"There's nothing to repay, Rachel. You're my daughter," Shelby said. "And Mrs. Fabray is doing everything she knows to do to help you. Just accept it."

Rachel nodded again and turned back to her phone so that she could type out a reply to Quinn. As she did so, Shelby got out of the car and started to unload Rachel's things. There was less than what she had come with because, like Judy, Shelby had made Rachel leave some things at her house. Rachel had argued that she wasn't going to have anything to actually wear to school, but had relented when she realized that she wasn't going to out-argue Shelby on this point.

Rachel got out of the car still looking at her phone. "I told Quinn I would call her tonight too." Rachel climbed into the back seat so she could talk with Beth. "Bye, Beth. I'll see you soon, ok?" Rachel placed a soft kiss on the baby's forehead before getting back out of the car and making her way over to Shelby.

"Thanks, Mom, for everything. I'm so glad that you changed your-" Rachel stopped though, not wanting to bring up the past again. Not at this moment.

"Me too," Shelby said, putting arms around Rachel's shoulders and holding her tightly. Rachel wrapped her arms around her mom and inhaled the faint scent of lavender that always seemed to surround Shelby and filed it away, creating the memory.

"I love you, Rachel," Shelby said, pulling back and placing a kiss on Rachel's cheek.

"I love you too, Mom," Rachel said with a smile, though it was hidden behind sad eyes. "I'll talk to you later."

Shelby waited until Rachel was inside and had shut the door before she got back in her car and left. "Don't worry, Beth," Shelby said, tears in hers and her voice wavering. "We'll have her back with us soon."

Rachel took some time to unpack and get everything back where it belonged. She studied the notes Quinn had given her from the Biology class so that she would be ready for the quiz tomorrow. She checked through her email and surfed the internet for a while, something she hadn't done since leaving her house the previous Monday. As wonderful as her week had been, and it really had been great, this was the first time she felt like she could truly relax. For better or for worse, this was her house and where she felt the most comfortable. She wanted to live at Shelby's house more than anything, but she understood that it would take some time before she felt like this. There was still so much for her and Shelby to talk about and learn about each other, but Rachel was looking forward to it. She relished the idea of getting to know her mom and getting to the point where she felt like she was home in Shelby's house and not a guest. They were getting there, but two nights wasn't enough to do it.

Rachel was lying on the couch watching a movie that evening when she heard the front door open. She looked up to see her father, Scott, walk in the door. She watched his lanky features trying to gauge his mood before diving right in and asking him to release custody of her. Rachel knew she was blunt, but she also knew which situations required manipulation as well. She stopped the movie and turned off the TV and got up and headed to the kitchen to meet her dad there.

"Hi, Daddy," she said, smiling at him.

"Hi, Rachel," he returned the smile and Rachel knew again how much she loved him. She didn't understand why he couldn't show the same to her in return.

"How was your trip?"

"Oh, you know, the same," he answered, already trying to move away.

Rachel didn't know, actually, since he never talked about it. "I had a nice week too. School started and I made a friend this year."

"What happened to your friend from last year?"

Rachel wanted to ask what friend from last year. She hadn't had a real friend since middle school and that girl had moved away.

"The boy?" Scott said, confused. And he needed to unpack. He was exhausted and was ready to lie down.

"Oh, Finn. We're just in Glee together."

"Oh. Right," he started to move towards the stairs once more only to be stopped by his daughter again.

"Daddy, can I talk to you?" It was now or never. Once he retreated up the stairs Rachel knew she wouldn't see her dad again tonight. "Please."

Scott sighed and set his bags down before turning back to sit at the table with his daughter. "Sure." He hoped for a short conversation about Glee something or other and then he could get to bed.

Rachel studied him for a second trying to determine how she should go about this. He had always been the softy when it came to her parents. He'd sneak her ice cream when Henry sent her to bed without supper. Not that Scott hadn't been able to put his foot down when need be, he had, but Rachel had always found it easier to talk to him.

"Daddy, while you and Dad were gone this week I stayed at my new friend's house. Her mom didn't want me to stay alone."

This caught Scott's attention and he was now fully focused on his child. "How did she know you were alone?"

"I kind of let it slip," Rachel said.

"Rachel," he admonished. "You know the rules. We trust you to be able to stay by yourself, but you're not supposed to let anyone know."

This was one of those unwritten rules that Rachel knew too well. The first time they had both gone out of town and left her alone had been an accident of one booking a trip and not knowing the other already had. Instead of trying to find a sitter they reasoned their 12-year-old was mature enough to handle it. It had been a weekend. They sat her down and let her know they trusted her but that if anyone asked, she was most certainly not staying alone. It had been an adventure at first. That weekend Rachel stayed up late and ate junk food and watched her musicals really loudly and sang along. She had even sneaked a sip of beer from one of the bottles in the refrigerator before declaring it gross and dumping out the rest. She'd been told time and again she was too young to try any and the she felt guilty about it afterwards. She'd half wished one of them had been there to catch her and scold her because she felt it would help her feel less guilty. What she realized by the end of her two days alone was that she was just lonely. Her fathers had been distant before that weekend but one of them had always been home, even if they didn't always want to talk.

She had started to come up with ways to get her fathers' attention when they came home from being out of town. She would leave a mess in the living or dishes in the sink. She was hoping they would see that she really did need them around, but it never seemed to work. The last time she tried to leave them a clue was later that year just before she turned 13 and she decided more drastic measures were needed. She had taken another bottle of beer and dumped a little more than half of it out and then put the bottle back in the refrigerator. When Scott asked if she had drank it she nonchalantly replied that she was still working on it. It certainly got his attention, but had earned her a spanking, a punishment she hadn't anticipated, and so she gave up on leaving her not-so-subtle clues that she wanted them home.

"I know," Rachel answered her dad. "It was an accident, honestly. But it got me thinking about how you and Dad are gone all the time."

"Rachel, you know we have to be gone for work. We're both very busy."

"I know. I know you are," Rachel said. "But it made me realize how nice it was to be home with a family where the parent was home too," she said carefully.

Scott met her eyes and she did all she could not to look away. She was serious about this. She could see him working through it in his mind and she could tell that he was really thinking about it even as he was getting angry.

"We do everything we can for you, Rachel," his voice was hard.

"No you don't," she answered. "You don't even try to do everything you can for me."

"Excuse me?" he said, rising to his feet. She shrank back, but defiantly kept his stare.

Rachel was about to respond when the front door opened, drawing their attention away. Her father, Henry, walked and stopped when he saw the scene in the kitchen. He dropped his bags next to Scott's and moved to stand beside him, adjusting his glasses and running a hand through his brown hair as he did.

"What's going on?" Henry asked.

"I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow," Rachel deflected. Her plan had been to talk to Scott alone knowing that he would talk to Henry. It would be much harder to talk to them together.

"I wasn't, but my flight was changed. What's going on here?"

"Please, sit down. Both of you," Rachel said.

Ignoring her, Scott turned to his partner and said, "Rachel has just been telling me how nice a week she had because she stayed at a friend's house. A friend who has her parent home every night. A friend who knows that she was to be home alone all week."

Henry's head snapped around as he turned to look at Rachel. He was already angry. "Rachel, how could you?"

"How could I what?" she seethed, rising to her feet as well. She needed to take away some of the large height advantage they already had over her. "How could I seek out someone to spend some time with so I'm not alone in this house all the time?" she yelled.

"Don't raise your voice at us, Rachel," Henry said, using a tone she knew better than to argue with. "You are not alone in this house all the time. We travel occasionally, but you are old enough to handle it. I didn't think you needed a babysitter."

"Was I old enough when I was 12? And I don't need a babysitter, I need a family. I need a parent!"

The silence that hung in the air was deafening. The seconds that ticked by were tense and Rachel realized she was holding her breath waiting for one of them to speak.

"What did you say?" Henry said, quietly. The edge in his voice was worse than if he had yelled.

"I said, I want a family. I want a parent," she said, the same edge in her voice, surprising even herself. She was treading dangerous ground and pushing her limits, but this had been building for a long time.

"You have two parents, Rachel," Scott said, trying to diffuse the ticking time bomb of father and daughter, easily falling back into the roles they had played so long ago. Scott had always been the mediator when Henry and Rachel would butt heads. Both were sure they were usually right.

"It doesn't feel like it. We all simply live here. It doesn't seem like we've been a family in a long time."

Henry softened a bit and sat down. He knew that things were so different now from what they had been. Somewhere along the lines he and Scott had fallen out of love and in their efforts to get away from each other, they had both left Rachel behind as well. But she had always been so independent. Well maybe not independent, he admitted to himself, but self-confident. There had always been cracks in her confidence though and even looking at her now he could really see the little girl behind the angry expression. But still, he was angry as well. How could she just spring this on them? She was telling people and they could get into serious trouble.

Scott sat down as well and thought on her words. What exactly did she need? He didn't want to admit that she was right, but he had no idea how to fix things now. He enjoyed his business trips. He had friends there and it felt like he had a real life. A glance to Henry and both men could see that they were thinking along the same lines. Their lives outside of the house were tipping the scales at being more important than the one inside the house. They both loved Rachel, more than she could realize, but neither was ready to change back to what she wanted.

Rachel joined her fathers at the table and looked at them sadly. She knew she wasn't getting through, not really. They looked sad and no doubt were reflecting on what this family had become, but the weight of their silence spoke volumes. There were no immediate solutions or 'I'm sorrys' or questions about what she needed. They were simply looking at each other as if trying to work out between the two of them how they could keep things as they are.

"There's something else," Rachel said. How could she say this? They looked at her expectantly and she decided to just rip the band-aid off. "There is someone who wants me to come and live with them. This person wants custody of me."

The men looked as if a good wind could knock them over. This was not something either of them would have ever considered. And how dare she suggest such a thing. They were her fathers.

"Who is it? This friend you stayed with?" Scott asked, angry. "You stay there for a few days and they want to take you from us?"

"Rachel, what are you thinking?" Henry said. "Who are these people?"

"It's not the friend I stayed with," Rachel said. "It's Shelby. It's my mom."

"Your mom?" Henry exploded. "Your mom?" he said in a mocking tone this time. "You don't have a mom, Rachel. She was a surrogate and nothing more."

"Rachel, I thought you were past wanting to spend time with her after what happened earlier this year," Scott said.

"You don't really know what happened," Rachel shot back. "You two wouldn't even talk about it with me, you let my therapist handle everything like you always do. I spent two nights at Shelby's this week and I had a great time. She paid more attention to me than you have in over three years."

"She's using you, Rachel," Henry said. "She doesn't care about you, she never has."

"She loves me," Rachel said, tears forming. "She wants me to live with her and she wants to take care of me. She wants custody of me. And I want her to have custody. Let me go. Let me go and live with her and you guys can do whatever you want. She's my mom."

Henry slammed his fist down on the table, scaring Rachel who jumped and stopped talking to stare wide-eyed at her dad. "She is not your mother. You want a parent? Fine. You're grounded, indefinitely. You'll go to school and then come home. You are not to go anywhere else."

"Dad," Rachel choked out.

"Give me your phone," Henry continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Now."

She hesitated at first, but ultimately handed over her phone, turning it off before she did.

"You are not to see this new friend of yours," Henry said. "And you will not see Shelby again. I will not allow you to have contact with her."

Rachel was crying openly now. For a moment she thought maybe she had been getting through to them, but then things had turned so quickly.

"Go to your room," Henry finished.

"Daddy," Rachel said looking to Scott for help.

"Go to your room, Rachel," was the only thing he said to her.

Across town Shelby was pacing her bedroom trying to calm a fussy Beth. She was anxiously waiting for any word from Rachel and her anxiety had carried over to Beth who was having a rough time falling asleep. It was getting late and she would have expected that Rachel would have called by now. She sat in her nearby rocker and softly hummed to the baby, trying to calm both of them. Beth fell into a fitful sleep that she was able to maintain even when Shelby jumped at the sound of her phone telling her she had a new text message. Her shoulders sagged a bit when she saw that it was from Quinn. She was asking if she had heard anything from Rachel and Shelby replied by telling that that she too hadn't heard anything.

Shelby got to her feet and laid Beth down in the crib, praying that she would stay asleep. She did, giving Shelby the chance to leave the room and call Quinn.

"Shelby," Quinn said when she answered the phone. "She said she would call me tonight and she hasn't. And when I call her all I get is her voice mail."

"It's the same with me," Shelby told Rachel's worried friend. "I knew I shouldn't have let her do this alone. She said she needed to talk to them first. Her dad Scott was the one coming home tonight and she said she felt she could reason with him."

"I would go over there, but I'm worried it's too late," Quinn said. "Is it possible that she just forgot to call?"

"No," they both answered simultaneously.

"Quinn, you'll see her at school tomorrow. Find out what's going on and make sure you tell her that she needs to call me," Shelby said using the no nonsense tone she had so often used with Vocal Adrenaline.

"Yes, Ma'am," Quinn answered. "We'll talk to you tomorrow."

Shelby hung up the phone and sighed in frustration and worry. She needed to talk to Rachel. She scrolled through her contacts until she found Rachel's name and pressed the call button. The call went straight to voice mail and Shelby left another message telling her daughter to call. Shelby knew that she would go over to the Berry house tomorrow if she still hadn't heard from Rachel by the time school let out.

At her house Quinn hung up with Shelby and then spoke with her mother. "Shelby hasn't heard from her either. She's worried."

"It could be anything," Judy said. "Maybe she forgot to charge her phone," she offered lamely not even believing it herself. "If she's not in school or you don't get a chance to talk to her, we'll go over there tomorrow," Judy assured her daughter.

Quinn nodded and took out her phone, calling Rachel again. "Rachel, you need to call me back," she said to the voice mail, trying to keep it somewhat light and not sound too desperate.

Rachel's phone remained silent despite all the activity surrounding it. Rachel had known to turn it off before handing it over to her father because she was certain that when she didn't call them, Quinn and her mom would start calling her. Henry had taken the phone to the study and placed in a basket on a shelf that was too high for Rachel to reach.

Up in her room Rachel had finished crying and was now lying on her bed looking blankly at the ceiling. Scott had come up and removed her laptop about an hour ago, leaving her no chance to email Quinn or Shelby. He hadn't even talked to her when he came into the room despite her attempts to explain. He wouldn't tell her how long this punishment was supposed to last nor would he talk with her about where they would go from here. All she got in return for her questions was silence.

She knew this whole week had been too good to be true. She had let herself be deluded by the idea of getting to live with Shelby and form a relationship with her. It had been a great two days, but somewhere deep inside she had known something like this would happen.

She missed it already. She missed the attention and love that she had been shown. She wanted Judy to come in and tell her the lights were supposed to be out or for Shelby to kiss her goodnight. She wanted to hear Beth crying at 2am. She wanted to see Quinn smile at her, a genuine smile that made her realize what it was like to really have a friend.

Rachel didn't think she would ever be able to talk with her fathers about this again. They had been so angry and she knew they were not going to listen to her about this subject. It was closed as far as they were concerned. She suffered while they did nothing to change it. For the first time ever Rachel her found herself looking forward to the next time they both went out of town.

She lied awake far into the early morning thinking of what she needed to do next. She needed a solution that would help her leave quietly before Shelby and Judy Fabray came in with guns blazing. Even after this evening, she didn't want to hurt her dads. She just didn't want to live with them anymore.

An idea came to her and she wondered if it could actually work. She didn't dare to think it might because she didn't want to go through having her heart broken again. But it was something she felt she might be able to try. Rachel fell into a dreamless sleep for the last few hours before she had to get up and go to school. Her mind seemed it appropriate to finally provide her the reprieve she needed from the horrible day.

**A/N – Please leave a review if you can. I really do appreciate them. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N – Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. I'm having such a good time writing this, even if it is somewhat serious, so I'm glad that others are enjoying reading it.**

**Disclaimer – Alas, I still own nothing. **

Rachel heard her fathers leave for work the next morning while she was still in her room getting ready for school. This was their normal morning routine. They were both always gone by the time she left in the morning. She didn't mind so much today. She waited a few more minutes and then made her way down to the study hoping to find her phone. She didn't really know where her father had put it; he could have it on him for all she knew, but she thought she would look anyway. She didn't what to do if she did find it. Part of her said she should go ahead and take it. Another part said that she should leave it where it was so as not to anger her fathers any further. But if she did find it at least she could check her messages. She opened a few drawers but found nothing. She stopped and glanced around the study. It was a useless search. She had no idea where to even start and decided she would worry about it later.

Rachel left the study and went to grab a quick breakfast before leaving for school. She passed the house phone sitting in its cradle and picked it up excitedly. Why hadn't she thought of it before? She could call Shelby right now… no she couldn't. It occurred to Rachel then that she didn't actually know Shelby's phone number. Or Quinn's for that matter. They were saved in her phone and she never actually bothered to memorize them. Defeated, she set the phone back down. She'd be at school in half and hour anyway and she could talk to Quinn then.

Quinn paced in front of Rachel's locker waiting for her friend to arrive at school. Quinn had arrived there earlier than she normally does, but she was too anxious to see Rachel to sit at home any longer. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Rachel turn the corner and head down the hall.

"Rachel," Quinn said, moving down the hall to meet her friend. "Are you ok? You didn't call. We were all really worried. I think Shelby was ready to go your house last night to check on you."

Rachel stared up at her friend, almost wanting to smile at her. The roles were usually reversed and Rachel was the one to ramble, not Quinn. She couldn't quite bring a smile to her lips though.

"Yesterday did not go well," Rachel understated when they reached her locker. "I am grounded and forbidden from seeing you and Shelby. They took my phone and computer. I'm supposed to go to school and go home from now on. And that's it," Rachel told her. "They told me that I had broken their rules and trust by letting people know they had been leaving me alone. And," her voice cracked and tears formed in her eyes, "they said that I don't really have a mom and that Shelby really doesn't care about me." Rachel knew that the last part wasn't true, but it still stung to hear it said.

Quinn quickly pulled her younger friend into a hug and held her. Other students gave them strange looks as they passed by, but neither girl seemed to notice.

"That's not true," Quinn soothed.

"Is she ok?" Puck asked. He had walked up to them from behind Quinn and was ready to make an ill-advised sex joke, but stopped when he saw that Rachel was actually upset.

Kurt appeared at their side as well. "Is she crying?"

"What's going on?" Tina said, popping up as well.

"Did she finally realize how ugly that sweater is?" Santana asked as she and Britney joined the group. She received a glare from the four other club members and held her hands up in surrender. "Geez, sorry. What happened?" Santana asked genuinely when she realized that it seemed to really be serious.

"Why are you guys blocking the hall?" Artie asked when he approached. "What's wrong with her?"

"What's up?" Mercedes said, joining them. "Oh," was all she got out when she saw Rachel.

"Is there a Glee club meeting I didn't know about?" Finn asked when he joined them. "Who made her cry? Rachel?"

Rachel looked up from Quinn's shoulder and hastily tried to wipe some tears off her face. She looked at the concerned faces that surrounded her in shock. She didn't think it exactly made them friends, but it was nice to know that, for once, they seemed worried about how she felt.

"I am going through some personal troubles," she told them. "It will all hopefully be resolved soon, but I thank you for your concern. And now I need to go and attend to some business," Rachel tried to sound aloof and grown up. She didn't want to announce that she was going to call Shelby because she didn't quite think that would go over so well with this group. Not yet. Quinn understood and handed Rachel her phone and the group all turned and watched as she walked off.

There was only a few seconds of silence before a mix of voices erupted as everyone started to ask questions.

"Everyone, be quiet," Quinn demanded. "Rachel is going through something pretty significant and she is going to need friends around her," she said, looking at each of them pointedly. "I'm not saying you need to start carrying her books for her or anything, but you all need to just back off for a while. Got it?"

They all immediately started side conversations as they walked, each group already trying to come up with ways to get the information.

Rachel found an empty classroom and ducked into it so she could have a bit of privacy to use the phone. She quickly scanned through the contacts until she found Shelby's name and hit the call button.

"Hello. Quinn?" Shelby said after just one ring. "Quinn, did you talk to her?"

"Mom," Rachel said.

"Rachel," Shelby said. Rachel could hear the emotion in her voice. "Sweetie, are you ok? What happened?"

Rachel motioned Quinn into the room when the blonde stuck her head in the room looking for her friend.

"They were really angry with me," Rachel said. "Basically the whole thing is my fault for breaking their trust by telling Mrs. Fabray about being left alone. I told them everything about how I didn't like being home alone and that I wanted a parent around and how you want custody. I asked them to let me go and give me to you."

Shelby was upset for her child. "What did they say?"

"They said that you didn't really care about me and that you were using me. I'm grounded now. They took my phone and my laptop and I'm not supposed to have any more contact with you or Quinn, although they don't know who Quinn is. I am to go to school and then go home and nothing more."

And now Shelby was angry. First things first, "Rachel, honey, you know I love you, right? I want you to come and live with me more than anything."

"I know," Rachel said.

"Good. I am going to call my lawyer when I get off the phone with you and I'm going to have her set my challenge for custody in motion with the courts. I'm sorry you weren't able to get through to them by talking, but now we've got to get others involved."

"Mom, no wait," Rachel said. "I don't want them to get in any trouble. If you challenge them in court they could end up being arrested."

"That's right," Shelby said.

"But Mom, I don't want that," Rachel said.

"Rachel, you tried talking to them already. We tried what you wanted and it didn't work and now you're being punished because of it. We're doing it my way now," Shelby told her.

"No," Rachel said. "Mom, please. Let me try one more thing."

"Rachel." There was annoyance creeping into her voice. Shelby would feel much better if she could start the process and get Rachel out of that house.

Rachel needed to try this one last thing. She needed Shelby to understand that after everything she didn't want her fathers in any type of trouble. She needed to feel like she still had some control over this whole thing. She needed to get her way. So she went for the heart.

"Mommy," Rachel said, sounding younger and hurt. Quinn smirked.

Shelby melted into a puddle of goo and smiled on her end, tears forming in her eyes. It took a good fifteen seconds before she realized she'd been played and by then she had already lost the fight.

"Ok, Rachel. But I want you to tell me everything you're planning and I want to be there this time," Shelby said sternly. The little miss may have just gotten her way, but Shelby wasn't going to back all the way down.

"Ok, I'll call you later when I know more," Rachel promised. "But right now Quinn and I need to get to class. Bye, Mommy," she threw in another one for good measure and hung up the phone. Shelby smiled again on her end and then shook it off. She laughed at herself realizing she was going to have to get control over that soon or Rachel was going to be able to get anything she wanted out of her.

There was still ten minutes left before the first class of the day and Rachel had one more person she needed to talk to before then.

"What are you going to do now?" Quinn asked her.

"I'm going to go and talk to Miss Pillsbury," Rachel told her.

"She's your plan? Miss Pillsbury?" Quinn asked incredulously.

"I need someone to talk to my dads. They're not going to listen to me again. They're just going to be angry if Shelby and her lawyer show up and start demanding things," Rachel said. "If Miss Pillsbury could talk to them and let them know the consequences they could face, they might actually think about it. They're protecting themselves right now. I think they think it's easier to keep the status quo and not let anyone in on our failings as a family. It's a reflection on them that they don't want to face," Rachel concluded.

Quinn understood the logic, but she wasn't sure how effective Emma Pillsbury would be. Besides as a school official Quinn thought she would be required by law to report anything like this. But she left Rachel to her plan and promised to meet the first for a couple minutes between classes.

Rachel approached the guidance counselor's office and peeked in the open door expecting to see the redhead sitting behind her desk. Instead she found a very handsome man with short dark hair sitting at the desk. He was softly singing what Rachel recognized as a Beach Boys song. He was drumming along on the desk and Rachel watched for a second, momentarily forgetting why she was there.

"Rachel?" Emma had walked up the hallway to see the petite girl standing in her doorway.

"Miss Pillsbury," Rachel said in surprise, turning around. "I was hoping to speak with you for a moment, but you've already got someone in your office."

"Oh, right. Rachel this is Dr. Carl Howell," she said introducing them. "My boyfriend."

"Hello, Rachel," he said, smiling brightly at her. "I better go, Em. I've got to get to work." He gave her a quick kiss, flustering her, before he slipped past Rachel and out of the office.

"So, Rachel, what do you need? There's not much time before class," Emma said, taking a seat at her desk and indicating Rachel should do the same. Emma liked the girl, even if she found her annoying at times.

"I need to ask you a question," Rachel said.

Emma was organizing some papers on her desk that Carl had shuffled around. "Go ahead."

"As an official in this school, what types of things are you obligated to report? If you were to hear, or be told, something about a family, would you be required to tell someone?" Rachel asked carefully. She knew the answer was yes. Public school officials were required to report any type of allegation of abuse or neglect.

This got Emma's full attention and she put the papers down and looked at Rachel. "Is there something you need to tell me, Rachel?"

Rachel looked down at her hands and shifted in the chair. This was her big plan and she was already having trouble. Emma took the moment to get up and shut the door to her office, studying Rachel as she did. Rachel had been sent to her to talk before but she could tell that this was much more serious than all of those times.

"Rachel?" Emma prompted when she sat back down.

"Can I talk to you later?"

"You can talk to me now," Emma countered. "I'll write you a pass for class."

"It's just that my mother wants to be here too."

"Your mother? But I thought you had two dads." Emma knew of Shelby Corcoran, of course. But she didn't think Rachel had anymore contact with her, from what Will had said.

"I do. I need a favor from you," Rachel said. "I think you can help, or at least I hope you can, but I need you to keep it to yourself for a few days to do it."

"Rachel, if you tell me something that has to be reported, I need to do it as soon as possible."

"But a few days won't make a difference," Rachel said. "I'm not physically hurt. I'm not in any danger. Please. I need your help with this."

Emma could hear the desperation in the girl's voice and she sat back as she thought it over. "Ok, Rachel," she agreed. "I will wait two days before I say anything if there is anything to report. But no more than two days."

Rachel gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"Now, tell me what's going on."

Rachel took a breath and then started the same story she'd had to tell Judy Fabray, which had then been passed to Shelby. She told of all the time alone starting when she was 12 all the way up through last week when she stayed with Quinn and then Shelby. She finished the story with her fathers' reaction the night before and how Shelby was ready to file for custody.

Emma took in the entire story with a mix of horror and sudden understanding about why Rachel acted the way she did. She had started taking notes almost immediately, knowing she was going to want to do some research on this once Rachel left.

"Wow, Rachel, I'm sorry. I don't think I understand why you want me to wait and not report it. If you want to be with Shelby and she's willing to take you, it shouldn't be a problem," Emma said. "I'm by no means an expert on family law, by criminally speaking-"

"That's just it. I don't want there to be criminal anything. I don't want to get them in trouble," Rachel said. "I am hoping that you can talk to them as someone who is impartial and a professional. They won't listen to me and they're definitely not going to listen to Shelby. I think they honestly think that last night was it and that the situation has been handled. You can talk to them and explain the legal consequences they could face and then maybe we can convince them to turn over custody to my mom and then they won't get in trouble."

"And what if they don't agree?" Emma asked.

"You can report it," Rachel said. "This'll be my last shot at helping them. My mom already doesn't want me trying this. She wants to get the courts involved right now."

"She has a point, Rachel. You could be removed from their house and placed into her care today," Emma said. "They would put you with a relative before they would put you in the care of the state if that's what you're worried about. Why are you so adamant to help them?"

"Because they're my dads," Rachel answered simply.

They set up an appointment time for that afternoon to take place in the middle of Rachel's lunch period. Rachel said that she would call Shelby because she wanted to be there and Emma agreed that she should be. Emma wrote the pass to excuse Rachel's tardiness to class and as soon as the girl was gone the counselor started to do some research on her computer.

The choir room was empty when Rachel took a seat to eat her lunch. The Glee club was still buzzing with the little pieces of information they learned this morning and Rachel was hoping to avoid them all for now so that she could eat and then get to the meeting with Miss Pillsbury. She expected that Quinn might join her so she wasn't surprised when the door opened. What did surprise her was seeing the rest of Glee club come walking in.

"I told you she would be in here," Kurt said triumphantly.

"Well it wasn't that hard to guess," Artie said. "She practically lives in here."

They all piled in and sat around her though no one actually engaged her in conversation. They talked amongst themselves while eating their own lunches.

Quinn was the last to arrive and shrugged at the questioning glance Rachel gave her. The blonde sat beside Rachel and unwrapped her sandwich. Rachel glanced around the room at her teammates, watching them eat as if this is where they ate their lunch everyday. Puck was joking with Finn over something that happened at football practice. Santana and Britney were arguing with Kurt over what Tina was wearing. Tina rolled her eyes and glanced at Mike who smiled in return. Artie chimed in that he liked Tina's look, quieting everyone for a second, before all conversations resumed.

Rachel finished her salad and slipped the container back in her bag and then moved to the center of the room where she made most of her speeches from.

"Excuse me," she waited until she had everyone's attention. "What are you all doing?"

"We're eating lunch," Britney supplied. "Duh."

They all picked up their conversations again and only acknowledged when she said she had to leave now to get to an appointment. Quinn followed her out and if Rachel had looked back she would have noticed that everyone had once again stopped talking and were watching her leave. None of them had any idea of what they could do for Rachel now that they had learned that she was upset so they had resolved to all eat lunch with her. Not seeing her in the cafeteria they had sought her out in the choir room. Actually talking with her was something completely different and no one had been brave enough to speak up and let her know why they were there, but at least they were there, they reasoned. They figured they'd have lunch with her tomorrow too.

"What was that all about?" Rachel asked Quinn as they walked towards Emma's office.

"I have no idea," Quinn said. She had been told of the rest of the club's plan.

Rachel stopped outside of Emma's office when she saw Shelby coming down the hall from the opposite direction with a woman Rachel had never met before. The click of Shelby's heels provided a cadence for her entrance and she was the image of Coach Corcoran, dressed very sharply with her hair pulled back. Rachel hadn't seen this woman in a while. Shelby lived in her jeans and t-shirts at home. Right now though she was the image of control and confidence and it helped Rachel feel at ease.

"Hi, honey," Shelby said, pulling Rachel into a quick hug and placing a kiss on her head. "Hi, Quinn."

"Hi," both girls said together.

"Girls, this is Anna Watson. She's a lawyer and is here to help," Shelby told them.

"Nice to meet you," Quinn said politely.

"Hello," Rachel added.

Anna Watson said her helloes as Shelby knocked on the door to Emma's office.

"I'll see you later, Rach," Quinn said. "I'm going to go study for our biology quiz before class."

"You have a biology quiz next period?" Shelby asked Rachel. "Are you ready for it?"

"Yes," Rachel answered. She didn't think it would matter anyway since this meeting would probably take a while and she would miss the class.

Emma answered the door as Quinn was walking away and led the three ladies inside. Introductions were made and everyone took a seat. Rachel had explained to Shelby over the phone what her plan was and how it included Emma. Shelby had told Anna and now they were here to hash out the details of how this would all take place.

"As you know, Ms. Corcoran," Emma said, "I am obligated to report any case of neglect I learn about. But I have promised Rachel I will wait two days to try and get things accomplished like she wants. If it doesn't work though, I will report it."

"If it doesn't work, you won't have to," Shelby told her. "We have complaint and custody challenge papers all drawn up and ready to go." She looked over to Rachel, "This is it, sweetie, if this doesn't work, we're moving on to my way."

Rachel nodded. She knew as much and quite honestly she didn't know of any other way of trying to talk to her dads after this.

"I do have some concerns though," Emma said. "In order to set up a meeting with her fathers I'm going to have to speak with them this afternoon meaning that they will know all about this today. Rachel is going to home to that house tonight and after hearing about their reactions last night, I don't want to make them angrier and then send her home to them."

Rachel had not thought about this and it did seem to put a kink in her plan. Not a big one, she thought, but a kink nonetheless.

"It'll be fine," Rachel said.

"No. She can stay with me tonight," Shelby answered easily enough.

"I wouldn't advise that," Anna spoke up.

"Why not?"

"I can stay at home, really," Rachel said again.

"If she stays with you," Anna said, "they can call the police and claim you've kidnapped her."

"What?" Shelby said. "Well then all we would have to do is tell them the truth."

"It's not that simple," Anna answered. "The truth would come out eventually, but kidnapping is very serious. It's a federal investigation. They would take both Rachel and Beth while everything was being worked out."

Rachel knew where she wasn't going tonight, that was for sure.

"But she's 15-year-old," Shelby said. "Wouldn't she be able to explain to the police? Couldn't they consider her a runaway?"

"The runaway laws only apply to those 16 and older," Emma answered. "She's still too young to be considered a runaway."

"Just tell my dads that you need to see me for a behavior problem when you call," Rachel spoke up again. "Tell them I got in some sort of trouble instead of why you really want to see them."

All three adults looked at her like she was crazy.

"What? They're already angry. What more could they possibly do?" Rachel asked them.

The adults exchanged another look, completely different this time and Rachel couldn't read it.

Just then the bell rang signaling the beginning of Rachel's biology class. Rachel settled into her chair waiting to help decide how to proceed.

"You need to go to class, Rachel," Shelby said.

"What? No."

"Rachel. You have a quiz."

"But this is more important, Mom," Rachel argued. She couldn't believe her mom wanted her to just walk out now for some stupid biology quiz.

"Can you write her a pass since she's missed the beginning of class?" Shelby asked of Emma who quickly produced her slips and wrote one out. She handed it to Shelby who handed it to Rachel who refused to take it. "Take this and go to class, Rachel," Shelby said, her tone even and no nonsense.

"No."

Shelby gave her child a look that had stopped Vocal Adrenaline members in their tracks. She was not a person who was used to being told no by children. Rachel stubbornly stared right back. Emma glanced to Anna and both women sat back and calmly waited for the tension to pass. Emma was a guidance counselor at a high school and Anna was a family lawyer. Both of them had seen their fair share of arguments between parents and kids.

"Would you excuse us for a second?" Shelby asked the other two women, but never took her eyes off of Rachel.

Neither had to answer because Shelby was already on her feet and helping Rachel up and leading her out of the office with a hand securely wrapped around the girl's forearm. Rachel couldn't believe this was happening.

Once they were in the hall with the door shut behind them, Shelby gently turned her pouting daughter towards her so that she could look at her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but Rachel beat her to it.

"Mom, why can't I stay? Why are you trying to get rid of me? I have a right to know what's going on in there."

"I know you do, Rachel," Shelby said. "And I am not trying to get rid of you. We're going to talk about things you probably don't want to hear about. I'll still be here when you get out of class and I'll fill you in."

"What are you going to talk about?"

Shelby paused and glanced back inside at the two women now talking. How did she ask this question gently? "Rachel you said to call your dads and tell them you got in trouble because they're already angry and what's the worst that could happen. What is the worse that could happen, Rachel?"

"I don't know. They'll yell? I'm already grounded so I guess they could add to that. I'll just try and hide out in my room all night."

"Have they ever… has either of them ever hit you, Rachel?" Shelby said, deciding to just come right out and ask.

"I used to get spanked when I was younger, but it's been about three years since the last time that happened," she answered.

"I'm not talking about a spanking."

"I know. And no, they've never hit me like that. I'm not scared to go home for the night," Rachel said. "I'm not going to your house after what Ms. Watson said could happen. It's just one more day."

"Ok," Shelby relented and pulled Rachel into a hug. She held onto the girl and rubbed her back lightly, relieved at the answers she had given.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"No," Shelby said, pulling back from the hug. "I wasn't really mad. More annoyed than anything. I told you to do something and you told me no."

Rachel looked up at her mother and started to grin only to realize Shelby was completely serious and was giving her a look.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said looking away quickly. "I'll work on that. Even if your insistence was a little unfair in this case."

Shelby was amazed at Rachel's ability to apologize while simultaneously pointing out to Shelby that she thinks she was wrong.

"I'll give you unfair, Rachel…"

Rachel just leaned in for another hug before asking, "Can we go back into the meeting now?"

"Sure-no, you can go to class now." God, she was good.

"But-"

"Go take your quiz, Rachel," Shelby said sternly.

"But, Mommy," Rachel went back to her earlier tactic, complete with full pout this time.

"Uh-huh, not this time, little girl," Shelby said, turning her so that she faced down the hall towards her class. She placed the note from Emma in Rachel's hand and pushed lightly enough on the girl's back to get her to take a step forward. "Go."

Rachel stalked off down the hall and Shelby returned to the office, apologizing for her and Rachel. Both women waved it off and the three settled back into the meeting.

A couple minutes later Will Schuester walked by on his way to the choir room. He glanced through the large windows of Emma's office and did a double take when he saw Shelby sitting there. He glanced down the halls for any sign of Rachel and then walked into Emma's office without knocking first.

"What are you doing here?" he angrily asked the shocked Shelby.

**A/N – Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. I really appreciate it. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews! I really do appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer –I don't own Glee; I'm just using it for my own entertainment.**

Rachel entered her biology class and handed the note over to the teacher who had just started handing out the quizzes. Quinn shot her a questioning glance and Rachel shook her head and flopped down in her seat acting more like a sulking 6-year-old than her normal self. Rachel stared glumly down at the quiz on her desk and picked up her pencil. This sucked. She didn't care at all about this quiz and her mind wondered back to the office where the three adults were talking about her.

The three adults in the office were now four as Will stood there demanding to know why Shelby Corcoran was there at McKinley. He knew that Shelby had simply walked away from Rachel earlier that year and he saw first-hand how upset Rachel had been. It suddenly occurred to him that he should have talked to Rachel about that at the time. He had let it go, getting caught up in worrying about Glee club getting another year and finishing out the term. But now he had no earthly idea what Shelby Corcoran could be doing there now and after the talk he and Rachel had had the other day he wasn't going to let the woman come back in and hurt the girl again.

"Does Rachel know you're here?" he asked. "What are you up to?"

"Will," Shelby said. "Please calm down. You don't know-"

"Know what? I know that you can't just waltz in here and get to see her," he stated, looking to Emma to back him up.

"Will," Emma said rising to her feet and coming around the desk. "This is a private meeting and you need to leave." She was uncharacteristically forceful and Will was taken aback for a second.

Anna watched the scene with a mix of amusement and annoyance. Shelby had explained her past with Rachel so the lawyer wasn't surprised about what he was saying. But did other teachers make it a habit to just walk in on private meetings? And why did the guidance counselor's office have such huge windows anyway? So much for there being any type of privacy.

Rachel quickly wrote the answer to the final question on the quiz and then got up to turn it in. That had to be a record for her. She normally took her time on quizzes and tests, wanting to make sure she understood and answered each question properly, but she had sped through that one and was pretty certain she had just failed it. But her mom said to go and take the quiz. And so she had. She asked permission to use the restroom and, though she had just arrived, permission was given and Rachel practically ran out of the room. Quinn was barely half way through with her quiz, but decided to hurry up and follow suit. Something interesting must be happening down there and she wanted to know what.

"But Emma," Will said, "you don't understand. She's-"

"Will," Emma stopped him. "I know you're upset, but please leave."

The Glee coach gave Shelby one more withering stare and then left the office. Emma returned to her seat and offered the other two women a nervous laugh.

Will stormed down the hallway only to see Rachel walking towards him from the other direction. Will knew that look and that walk and he knew instantly that Rachel knew Shelby was here. He didn't know how she knew, but she knew. He had to stop her.

"Rachel, what are you doing out here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?" he said, making her stop to talk to him.

"I'm just running to the restroom," she lied.

"You passed one back there," he said pointing behind her.

"I don't like that one," Rachel said, looking up at him and not trying to hide her annoyance.

"If that's the one closest to your class than that's the one you need to use," he told her.

"But, Mr. Schue…"

"Go on now, Rachel," he said still pointing her back down the hall.

She turned in a huff and started to walk towards the restroom he indicated. _Oh my god!_ Annoyed, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. She paced for over a minute, mumbling about how people were seriously getting on her nerves today before chancing a peek out in the hall. She noticed her coach was not standing there any longer and so she set out down the hallway again.

Judy Fabray got out of her car and set out for the main entrance to William McKinley High. She had been at an appointment earlier in the day when Quinn had called to tell her about Rachel's idea and the meeting with Emma. She had only listened to the message about twenty minutes ago and had made her way straight to the school. She wanted to be there to let them know that she was available to help in any way she could.

Quinn turned in her quiz and followed Rachel's lead and asked for permission to be excused from class for a moment. The teacher looked at her suspiciously, but relented and let her go. Quinn hurried out to make her way to Miss Pillsbury's office.

Will saw Rachel go past the entrance to the choir room and leapt up to go out and try and stop her again.

"Rachel, wait." She ignored him this time and just kept walking. He pursued and if he'd taken time to look behind him he would have seen that Quinn was following.

Rachel came to a stop outside the office, but off to the side of the windows. She wanted to see if she could look in without being seen first. She'd only been gone a little over ten minutes and so she wanted a peek at them to see if things appeared to be really serious inside.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" Will asked, drawing her attention.

"Mr. Schue, lower your voice please," she whispered and turned back to the window.

"But Rachel," he said in his normal speaking voice. She sighed indignantly when he did so before rounding on him again.

"Mr. Schuester-"

"How's it going?" Quinn said, catching up to them and failing to whisper too.

"Quinn?" Judy said as she came around the corner.

"Mom?"

"Rachel?"

"What is going on here?"

Rachel held her hands up and whispered, "everyone be quiet!" and was shocked when they all actually complied. "Thank you."

She turned back around to try and get a look in the office again and crashed right into Shelby as she did so. The occupants of the office had heard the commotion in the hallway and upon spotting her daughter Shelby had gotten up to investigate.

"Rachel…"

"I took the quiz," Rachel said, looking at her mom, not trying to appear intimidated. Shelby gave her a look that let Rachel know they would talk about it later and then turned her attention to the group.

Shelby opened her mouth to say something, but found herself at a loss of who she should address first. Judy helped her out by speaking up first.

"I got a message from Quinn so I came to see if I could help in any way," she supplied, almost feeling as if she was in trouble too. Shelby was a commanding presence and it was completely clear to Judy how the woman had been able to coach so many kids all those years.

"Thank you so much," Shelby said, softening for the woman. "We're trying to work some details out but we keep getting interrupted," she looked pointedly at Will.

"What details?" Will asked. "Rachel, you knew she was here?"

"Yes, Mr. Schue," Rachel answered. "My mom has recently come back into my life…again, and we're making it work this time."

"But, I...ummm- you were…and... she…what?"

"Will," Emma said, coming up beside the group. "I know you're confused and curious, but I need to ask you to leave. It's a private matter and my meetings with students and families are confidential."

"It doesn't seem all that private," Will said, gesturing to Quinn and Judy.

Shelby glared at him. She would ask if he was always so meddlesome, but she knew the answer to that. She stepped back into her Coach Corcoran stance and was going to get him to go away.

"Will-" but she was cut off my Rachel.

"Mr. Schue," Rachel said, stepping forward in front her mother. "I appreciate your concern and I know that you are just trying to help, but please let it go for a little while. You'll know everything soon enough. Please."

Will nodded and offered an encouraging smile to Rachel. "Ok. I'll see you both in Glee this afternoon?" he asked looking from Rachel to Quinn. Both girls nodded before he turned and walked away. Emma also stepped back into her office to give the mothers a moment with their daughters.

"Aren't you supposed to be in a class right now?" Judy asked Quinn.

"I hope you can get yours to go back," Shelby said to Judy. "Mine doesn't seem to want to listen today."

"I took the quiz," Rachel said, using her earlier defense but not meeting her mother's eye. She did look at Quinn though and gave her the faintest of sly smiles, which Quinn returned, before going back to looking contrite.

"It's only about half an hour until the end of the day anyway," Quinn said. "And then we have Glee."

"Well good. Then you may as well go back to class," Judy told her. "And we'll let Shelby get back to the meeting."

"Thank you. I'll call you sometime this evening and fill you in on what happened today," Shelby told Judy. She liked the woman and was thankful to her for all that she did for Rachel and she wanted to keep her in the loop.

"I'd like that very much," Judy said. The blonde woman said goodbye to Quinn before sending her back to class and then exited around the corner she had come from, leaving Shelby and Rachel alone in the hall. Shelby fixed her hands on her hips and stared at Rachel. Rachel remained silent and looked everywhere but at her mother.

"Get in there," Shelby said, indicating the office, and Rachel couldn't hide her smile as she complied with her mother's order.

Rachel settled into the chair she had occupied earlier and waited for someone else to start talking.

"We're almost done here," Emma filled Rachel in. "I just need to make the call to your dads and we were trying to figure out we needed to tell them to get them in here tomorrow."

"I thought you were going to tell them I got in trouble," Rachel said, "since you can't tell them the truth."

"But we don't want you to get into anymore trouble," Anna told her.

"Oh, right. Make it generic."

"Just tell you need to speak to them about how she has been behaving. It's usually a sure fire way to get a parent in your office," Shelby said. "Just don't give them any specifics."

"But you'll have to insist they come in here," Rachel said. "It doesn't matter which one you talk to, they'll both want to know what exactly is the problem and they'll both not want to come in."

Emma nodded. She had a feeling this wasn't going to be very pleasant.

"I don't want Rachel in that meeting tomorrow," Shelby said. "I mean it, Rachel," Shelby turned to look at her daughter. "You are not to come down here." To her surprise Rachel just nodded.

"What about you? Where will you be tomorrow?" Rachel asked.

"I'll be at the school, but not talking with them. Unless they want to and then Emma will be able to call me and I'll be right here. Same with Anna. She'll be here to speak with them."

"Ok," Rachel said.

"I'm going to make the call now," Emma said. She tried the Berry household first and Rachel was surprised when someone answered the phone. Neither of them was usually home this early.

"Hello, Mr. Berry, this is Emma Pillsbury from William McKinley High. I'm Rachel's guidance counselor…yes, Henry. Hi."

Rachel groaned and shut her eyes. She had been hoping that Scott had been the one Miss Pillsbury reached. Not that it really mattered since they would both find out eventually.

"I have some things I would like to discuss with you and your husband about your daughter…some behavioral problems she's been having. No, no, nothing too serious. Just something I noticed the end of last year that has carried over to this year," Emma improvised. She listened for a moment and then said, "I'd rather not go into over the phone. I think it would be better if you both came in so that we could speak in person… tomorrow…1:30pm yes, great…what? Yes, she is. Hang on."

Emma pressed the hold button on her phone and then looked to Rachel. "He wants to talk to you."

Rachel got to her feet and stepped over to the desk and took the phone. She looked past Shelby at the wall so as not to have to focus on how closely the three women were watching her have this conversation.

"Hi, Dad…I'm not sure…I'm sorry." There was a long pause while Rachel listened and Shelby noticed the tears that formed in Rachel's eyes. The girl looked to the ceiling as her chin started to quiver and it took everything Shelby had not to take the phone from her daughter and proceed to cuss Henry Berry out.

"I will," Rachel spoke again, her voice watery this time. "But I have Glee…I'm not argu-…yes, sir." Rachel set the phone back in the cradle, her conversation having ended. "He wants me to come straight home. I can't go to Glee." She wiped at her eyes and sat back down, shoulders slumped. Shelby took her hand and rubbed circles over the back of her hand with her thumb.

"Rachel, are you sure about this?" Emma asked. "That seemed a little more serious than you let on it would be."

"I agree," Shelby said.

"It's fine," Rachel said. "What parent wouldn't be angry if they were called into school to talk about their kid's behavioral problems? It'll be fine."

The bell rang signaling the end of the day and Rachel got to her feet. "I need to go." She bent to gather up her school bag, but ended up being gathered up in a hug from Shelby instead.

"I'll see you tomorrow, honey. I love you so much," Shelby told her. "I want you to call me if you need me." Rachel had written Shelby and Quinn's numbers down earlier so that she would have them since she no longer had her phone.

"I'm not allowed to use the phone right now," Rachel reminded her.

"I know. But even if you have to sneak a call at 2am, you call me."

"Rachel, I'll tell Mr. Schuester that you won't be a Glee," Emma told the girl.

"Thanks. And thanks for your help," she said to Emma and then to Anna. "I need to go. Bye, Mom," she said to Shelby who pulled her in and placed a kiss to the top of her head before she could leave. Shelby sank back in the chair as Rachel walked out of the room.

A fifteen minute walk later and Rachel was quietly opening the front door to her house. She headed towards the kitchen meaning to grab a bottle of water and a banana and then retreat up to her room.

"What the hell have you been doing?" Henry asked, startling her as was reaching in the refrigerator for the water, banana in hand. She spun around to face him.

"I don't know, really. Miss Pillsbury said something about my attitude and talking back," Rachel said, trying to make it sound lame. "I'm sorry she called you and Daddy in."

"Do you know what it takes for us to get off of work?"

"I'm sorry," Rachel said again. If he suspected that it was about anything other than 'behavior problems' he wasn't letting on.

"Rachel, if I hear of some serious issues tomorrow with your behavior you can kiss Glee goodbye. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Go to your room. And you're to stay there the rest of the night," he told her.

Rachel nodded and slipped past her dad and went up the stairs. She understood that to mean she wouldn't be getting dinner either. She had just been sent to bed without supper and she was grateful to still have the bottle of water and the banana in her hand.

Henry watched her go wondering just when everything had gotten to this point. He and Scott had talked, actually talked, the night before about everything she had said. Was she right? Probably. Were they willing to admit that? No. They were both well respected in their jobs and well-liked by their colleagues. Both men weren't willing to admit it to the other, but they would each like nothing more than to go their separate ways. Why couldn't they just admit it? Because of Rachel. Both men still loved her more than she knew, but both couldn't shake the feeling that she was holding them back, and that they felt guilty for feeling that way. What kind of parents feels that? Scott had been offered jobs at hospitals in bigger cities, and Henry could get a better job within the company if he would move, but Lima was their home. Neither was willing to make the first move. Custody of Rachel between the two would be tricky because of their relationship. She was technically adopted since paternity had never been determined. Henry had to adopt her first and then Scott had been able to since two gay men were not allowed to adopt together at the time. It had been such a long and trying experience to get her and now she was begging to be let go. If all three wanted out than why were they so adamant to keep her and see her unhappy? Henry couldn't explain that. Maybe it was the idea of Shelby having her. The men had been terrified that Shelby would change her mind at the last minute and keep Rachel and there would have been nothing they could have done. That was why they had the contract drawn up. And now Shelby was back and Rachel was so willing to run to her. It had bruised their egos. They could hear the shouts about how two men couldn't raise a baby because a kid needs their mom. It would be easy enough to turn over custody to Rachel. Papers could be drawn up and social services would check her out. But she was Rachel's mother and she was well-respected and no court in the world would deny her custody. He knew it would be easy. He knew it and yet he still couldn't let go. He instead let his anger at the situation seep over into anger at Rachel and he let it cloud him to the fact that he and Scott could be the parents she needs by letting her go.

Rachel deposited her bag in a chair and the fruit on the table while she changed clothes into something she could lounge in and then flopped down on the bed. It would be a long time. It wasn't even yet 4 that afternoon and she usually had Glee to help fill her time after school. Now she was home with no TV or computer or phone. She would do her homework and then and then start a book she'd been meaning to read. But for now she would just rest her eyes.

Two hours later Rachel was awakened by a knock at her door. She jumped up seeing that it was close to 7 and went to the door. She opened it to find Quinn on the other side.

"Quinn! What are you doing here? Come in," she pulled her into the room and shut the door again. Rachel took a moment to rub her eyes while yawning all the while trying to offer Quinn a chair.

"Waking you up, apparently," Quinn answered.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"I came by to check on you under the guise of borrowing some notes for a class," Quinn said. "Your dads were eating dinner. Why aren't you down there?"

The question only served to bring the fact that Rachel was really hungry to the forefront. "I was told to stay in my room all night. I've been sent to bed without supper." Quinn looked shocked. "What? You can't go wrong with it, Quinn. It's a classic punishment. Besides I've got a banana," Rachel tried to joke.

Rachel was more light hearted about it than Quinn liked, but she let it go. "Your dad said I've only got five minutes and Shelby wants you to call her so you better do that real quick," she said, handing over her phone.

"Thanks. I'm going to go in the bathroom in case one of them comes up here." Before she did, Rachel pulled out the biology notes Quinn had given her last week and handed them to her friend. "Here, so you have some notes to leave with."

Rachel stepped into her en suite bathroom and shut the door. She quickly dialed Shelby who was delighted and relieved to hear from her.

"I'm fine, Mom."

"I'm just worried about you, Rachel."

"I know. Do you think we could take a trip when this is all over?" Rachel suddenly asked, out of the blue.

"What? I mean, yes, of course. Where would you like to go?"

"New York City," Rachel answered immediately. As if there was anywhere else to go.

"Of course. A New York City trip would be perfect," Shelby answered.

Rachel smiled; it would be perfect. Reality invaded her thoughts though and she knew she needed to hang up. "I have to let you go, Mom. I need to get Quinn her phone back. They said she only had five minutes. I love you. Tell Beth I said hello."

"I love you too, Rachel. And so does Beth."

Rachel hung up the phone and opened the door to the bathroom.

"Daddy!"

Scott was standing in the room with Quinn who was furiously reading over the notes in her hand. Rachel quickly reached over the counter in the bathroom and set the phone down, praying it didn't ring. She stepped out into the room to speak to him.

"I'm sorry, I had to use the bathroom and I asked Quinn to wait," she said quickly. "I didn't mean- we weren't…"

"It's my fault, sir," Quinn answered for her floundering friend. "She gave me the notes and then excused herself. I sat here reading them when I could have left."

"I see. But it's time you left now," Scott said.

"Yes, sir. Bye, Rachel."

"Bye, Quinn," Rachel said, profusely apologizing with her eyes at Quinn having lost her phone for the evening.

Scott showed the blonde out in the hallway and then stepped back into the room to talk to Rachel. "Who did you call?"

Rachel was stunned. How could he have possibly known? "I didn't call anyone."

"Don't lie to me, Rachel. You have to use the bathroom in the middle of a friend picking up notes? All you had to do was hand her a piece of paper and she could have left. I'm not stupid, Rachel."

"I…uhhhh…"

"Who did you talk to?" he asked again.

"Shelby." Rachel almost whispered the word. She shrank back as his features darkened. "Daddy, she just wanted to say hello. It wasn't anything."

He moved to her side and grabbed her upper arm with his left hand and turned her to the side and raised his right hand, ready to deliver a spanking. It had been three years since she had found herself in this position, but Rachel remembered. She tensed, but then stood there confused and already near tears when nothing happened. He let her go just as suddenly as he had grabbed her. She stepped back and put her hands behind her back in a familiar, childlike position.

"Turn her phone off and give it back to her in the morning," was all Scott said before he turned and left her room.

Scott stepped into the hallway, shutting her bedroom door behind him, and stopped to lean against the wall. He was angry at his daughter and angry at himself. Things couldn't continue like this. He knew what could be done to help, but like his husband, he was too angry to step up and try and do the right thing. So he did the easy thing by doing nothing instead.

Rachel wasn't sure what stopped him, but she didn't care. Her most immediate thought was that she was glad she hadn't been spanked. She huffed indignantly for a moment as his presumptuousness. She assumed herself much too old to be spanked. She smiled sadly at the thought of how she missed the playful swats she used to receive and loving pats they used to give her when wrapped in one of their arms for a hug. Much like Judy Fabray had done the second night she was at their house, she realized.

Rachel sighed and stepped back into the bathroom to turn off Quinn's phone as she had been instructed and came back out to start her homework and eat her banana. Tomorrow just had to work. It simply had to.

**A/N – Please leave me a review if you can. I love hearing from everyone. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N – Thank you all so much for the reviews. I love reading them and seeing what you guys think about the story.**

**Disclaimer – Glee does not belong to me. **

Rachel sat at the table in her kitchen eating breakfast and checking over her homework. Her fathers were already gone and she had come downstairs just after hearing their cars pull away so that she could grab something to eat before school. She had another ten minutes before she needed to leave for school and so she decided she would take advantage of having Quinn's phone and turned it on. She paused for a moment before calling, thinking that it might be too early, but she knew that Beth was usually an early riser which meant that Shelby should be awake by now.

Sure enough after only two rings she heard her mom's voice, "Hello."

"Can we really go to New York City?" was her greeting.

"Rachel? Are you at school already? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm sitting here eating breakfast and wondering about New York," Rachel told her.

"I already told you we would go to New York," Shelby answered. "Why is Quinn at your house so early?"

"She's not," Rachel answered. "Oh, the phone. I wasn't able to return her phone to her when she came by last night. I kinda got caught with it and my dad made her leave before I could give it back."

"I knew I should have told her no when she said she would have you call," Shelby said. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Daddy was mad, but he just made me turn it off and told me to give it back to her today," Rachel told her.

"Are you sure nothing happened?" Shelby asked, not quite believing her.

"Yes, Mom," Rachel said. It was a mixture of embarrassment and worry over her mother's reaction that kept her from telling the woman she'd almost been spanked. Besides, in the end, nothing had happened, so Rachel wasn't exactly lying.

"Ok," Shelby said, relenting. "Don't you need to get to school?"

Rachel was washing her bowl and glass in the sink and rolled her eyes at her mother, though the woman couldn't see her. She'd been getting herself up and off to school on her own for years now. Rachel, however, resisted the urge to say that. She knew that Shelby was just concerned and trying to help, if a bit overbearing at times.

"I'm leaving in a couple minutes. I just need to get my shoes on and my books packed up," Rachel assured her. "I'll see you this afternoon, right?"

"Yeah, you will," Shelby said, although she wasn't sure how everything was going to go, so she didn't really know for sure. "And I want you to go about your day as normal. No skipping classes or leaving them to try and get a look in Miss Pillsbury's office. Got it?"

"I got it," Rachel said. But even as she agreed, Rachel couldn't shake off the feeling that she would like to be there.

"Good. I'm going to let you go so you can get to school."

"Mom? What can we do in New York?"

"Anything you want," Shelby told her.

"Anything I want?" Rachel parroted, sounding happy.

Shelby's eyes widened at the mischievous delight she heard on the other end of the phone. What had she just agreed to?

"Within reason, of course," she amended and she swore she could hear Rachel pout. "You know what's more important that that right now?"

"What?"

"You getting to school on time. Go."

"I'm rolling my eyes at you," Rachel decided to tell her this time.

"I love you too."

Twenty minutes later Rachel was at her locker and filling Quinn on the previous night.

"I was really worried he was going to take your phone too," Rachel told her. "I couldn't believe he figured it out, but I guess looking back on it, it was kind of obvious."

"It wasn't my best plan," Quinn said, "but I figured Shelby would like to hear from you."

"Is that why you told me she wanted me to call?" Rachel asked.

"I figured you would do it if it was her wanting you to," Quinn said. "She didn't want to get you in anymore trouble."

"It's ok, Quinn." Rachel said. "That was really sweet of you for coming to check on me."

"Yeah, well, hopefully you're out of that house soon because I don't know how many more times I can go over there without saying something to your dads," Quinn said, showing her head cheerleader persona.

"You wouldn't," Rachel gasped.

"Of course I would," Quinn returned. "I may not have been able to stand up to my own dad, but I could certainly stand up to yours."

Rachel gave her a rueful smile. "Yeah, I have a few things I could probably say to your father too. I guess it's easier when it's not your own parent."

The bell sounded and Quinn cast an annoyed glance to the offending speaker and the girls moved on to their respective classes.

Shelby showed up to the school about 12:30 with Anna arriving not long after that. Not wanting to sit in her car for however long this would take, Shelby bit the bullet and went in to talk to Will Schuester. He was going to know about all of this soon enough anyway and she admired the way he tried to protect Rachel yesterday, even if she had been annoyed by it as well. She was hoping he would let her hang out in his office for the duration and meet up with Rachel there afterwards.

She rapped softly at the office door and smiled at his shock when he opened it.

"Shelby…What are you doing here?" he asked, not unkindly.

"I'd like to explain to you what's going on," she told him.

"Come in." He stood aside and let her in, shutting the door behind them and then took a seat opposite her.

"Rachel is having problems at home with her fathers," she decided it was best just to come right out and say it. "She would like to come and live with me and I'm trying to get custody. Her fathers are coming in today to talk to Emma and that's why you saw us there yesterday."

"I didn't know. I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

Shelby launched into the whole story and Will sat back and listened, saddened and angry for Rachel. He agreed to let Shelby wait it out in his office and then had to leave her to go to one of his classes.

As the clock ticked closer to meeting time, Rachel was getting more and more antsy. She tapped her pencil nervously waiting for the bell to ring to change classes. The time seemed to tick by and the longer it took the more annoyed she became. She didn't know what she would feel today, but angry and annoyed were not what she thought it would be. She was really beginning to resent the idea of not being allowed in that meeting. Maybe they didn't need her for the whole thing, but she should at least get to be there. She silently chastised herself because having Miss Pillsbury speak to them had been her idea in the first place, so she shouldn't be angry about it. But seeing as it was her idea she felt she should be able to modify the stipulations and at least get to listen in.

Most of her day had been spent thinking over the entire situation again and again. Everything was happening so fast. She wanted it to, she did, but she began to worry about what it would all mean. She let her insecurities about living with Shelby and being friends with Quinn rise to the surface. Why had these two people done a complete about face where she was concerned? They either hated her or didn't want her, but not everything was great. Rachel could not shake off the feeling that the other shoe could drop at any moment. She knew that it was irrational and she knew she was being silly and yet the feeling remained.

Lunch had been spent in the choir room with the rest of the Glee club again, but she somehow felt as if they were watching her more closely this time. She couldn't be sure though so she chalked it up to a fleeting moment of paranoia. She wasn't so sure though when after lunch she noticed a fellow Gleek in the hallway with her every time she was there.

At 1:15 the bell rang and Rachel made a beeline for the door and walked in the direction of Emma's office. She had decided to just go anyway, consequences be damned. Shelby, anticipating Rachel's inability to not try and spy on the meeting, had called Quinn and enlisted her help in making sure Rachel stayed away. Quinn, not being able to watch Rachel all day, had enlisted the help of the club. She had sent out a mass text to everyone instructing them all to keep Rachel away from Miss Pillsbury's office from 1pm until the end of the day. She had received lots of incredulous replies and refusals, but everyone was now playing their part. They didn't know why yet, but Quinn had promised to explain soon, and the intrigue was enough to keep them engaged.

Kurt tried to grab her attention by asking her a question about Barbra Streisand which she answered without breaking her stride. Finn stepped in front of her wanting to talk about an upcoming duet they were doing and she brushed him off saying she would talk him about it later. Mercedes held onto her arm and talked about solos until Rachel was able to physically brush her off. On it went until she had seen everyone but Santana and Brittney. All of them tried to stop her and all of them failed. By the fourth person Rachel understood what was going on and it only added to her annoyance. She picked up her speed and rounded the last corner to make her way to the office.

Santana and Brittney were there and immediately moved towards her. They tried to stop her, but she was able to get by without having to stop and engage in their conversation attempts. Santana watched her go and then sent a signal to a person farther along in the hall than Rachel. Before Rachel could reach the office, she found herself dripping in cherry flavored slushie. Santana had spotted Karofsky coming towards them with a full slushie and, as a last ditch effort to stop the young diva, had signaled to him to hit her.

Rachel stood shocked by the cold and sticky substance before she gained her voice back and turned on Santana. Karofsky was already long gone. Santana could see, even through the red, syrupy liquid, that Rachel was pissed. She wasn't hurt or upset or sad; she was pissed.

Brittney knew it too and offered up the only defense she could think of. "It was Quinn."

Rachel knew that. How could she not? No one else even knew that this was happening today so only Quinn could have told everyone to keep her away. She tried to wipe some of the slushie from her eyes and simply asked, "Where?"

"She said she'd probably be in the choir room around this time," Santana answered, Rachel already making her way there before the sentence was finished. Santana almost felt bad for Quinn, but she wasn't about to follow either. She and Brittney headed towards their next class, deciding that being early would be the best option right now.

Quinn had chosen the choir as sort of a command central and the others had been checking in with her about whether or not they were successful at stopping Rachel. She had seen everyone except her fellow Cheerios and now she was getting a little worried. She was about to leave for her next class when Rachel showed up. "Oh no," was all she got out when her friend walked in the door.

"Thanks a lot, Quinn," Rachel shouted at her.

"Rachel, I didn't think anyone was going to do this. They were just supposed to stop you."

"Well Santana made sure she did just that when she had one of the IQ challenged football players throw a slushie at me," Rachel shot back. "Why couldn't you have just stayed out of it? I have every right to be there!"

Shelby heard shouting from her spot in Will's office which was attached to the choir room and got up to check what was going on.

"Stayed out of what, Rachel?" Quinn yelled back. "I'm in this! You don't need to be down there!"

"Don't tell me what I need, Quinn!"

"You said as much yourself. You needed someone else to talk to them and now you have that. So let Miss Pillsbury talk. Let other people help you."

"What? Like you? Do I looked like I've been helped right now?" Rachel yelled. "What was I, Quinn? Some experimental project to make you feel better about yourself?"

"Excuse me?" Quinn said, moving and getting right in Rachel's face. "I was trying to help you."

"I don't want your help!" Rachel said. She pushed Quinn causing the girl to take a couple steps back.

"Hey!" Shelby yelled before either could make another move. She was across the room and pulling Rachel away by her arm before either girl had even realized she was there. She quickly released her hold on Rachel when she felt the sticky substance in her hand and got a look at her daughter.

"What the hell?"

"This is Quinn's idea of helping me," Rachel told her.

"I was trying to do what you asked and she got slushied," Quinn answered when Shelby looked at her.

Of course it had been Shelby. Rachel should have known.

"Thanks, _Mom_," Rachel sassed. "It must be nice to be so right all the time. 'Let me find my daughter. Sorry, you weren't what I wanted. Let me adopt a new baby since the other one is all grown up now. Just kidding, I love you Rachel, come stay with me.' God, you're infuriating!" Rachel yelled at the stunned woman. Rachel wasn't sure where it came from herself, but she was just so angry now that she was letting issues she thought she put to rest rise to the surface again.

"Rachel…" was all Shelby could get out.

"You're so perfect," Rachel started in on Shelby again. "I don't know how I'm ever going to live up to that. You're strong and poised and confident and your whole family adores you, except for that one little mistake you made. Do you know how much it sucks to be the one that's dumped on all the time?" Rachel's insecurities were showing and she couldn't stop the words she was yelling even though she understood that they were hurtful.

"Oh, don't nod your head, Quinn," Rachel looked to the stunned blonde. "You don't know what it's like. You threw yourself a pity party for nine months even though there were tons of people lined up to help you. You were able to pass off your mistake and now you get to be right back on top again. But don't worry about having to debase yourself to help me this time. I've got my own set of clothes handy for just this scenario," Rachel said, ignoring the tears that formed in Quinn's eyes.

"That's enough!" Shelby said, appearing every inch the formal school teacher and coach that she was. Rachel shook her head, not wanting to deal with it, and tried to walk out. She didn't even get two steps in when Shelby grabbed her upper arm and held on despite the slushie.

"Go to class, Quinn," Shelby ordered. She gave Quinn an apologetic look as the blonde walked past her.

Shelby waited until Quinn was out of the room before she let go of Rachel's arm. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Shelby did not like what she had heard come out of Rachel's mouth about Quinn and Beth. Or Rachel herself for that matter. No one was a mistake here.

Rachel didn't answer the question and instead tried to side step her mother so she could leave. "I need to get cleaned up."

"Fine. I'm going with you. You're going to talk to me, Rachel, if we have to stay here all night."

The two made their way in silence to Rachel's locker to retrieve another set of clothes and then to the girl's locker room.

Shelby help Rachel wipe her face off and then waited as Rachel took a quick shower in order to wash her hair. Neither spoke when Rachel came back and bagged up the dirty clothes and then started to brush her hair out. Rachel didn't protest when Shelby took the brush and started to gently brush the girl's hair. She took her time and worked through any tangles as she waited for Rachel to say something. Rachel relished in her mom's touch and opened her mouth to speak several times but her stubbornness won over every time. She was aware of the awful things she had said and she didn't know what she was ever going to be able to say to Quinn to make it better. And then there was Shelby, who had been nothing but kind and supportive since finding out everything. Rachel couldn't even bring herself to turn around and face her much less ask for forgiveness. The meeting between Miss Pillsbury was probably all in vain now because Shelby would probably not want her anymore.

Shelby finally decided that she was going to have to be the one to speak first. "Did you say everything you needed to say?"

Rachel did not turn around, opting to stare at the ground in front of her.

"Because if there's anything else you need to get off your chest, now would be a good time. I'm going to do whatever I can to help you work through all of this, but I don't want you yelling at me over things like this when you're living with me," Shelby said. "I'll warn you, sweetie, I don't take very well to being yelled at."

Rachel turned and looked up at her mother, "I can still come and live with you?"

Shelby wanted to shake Rachel sometimes if for no other reason to make her understand how much she wanted her. She pulled her into a hug instead. "Yes, of course. Everyone has moments of anger like that where we say things that have been bottled up inside of us."

"But I didn't mean it," Rachel said, sniffling against Shelby's shirt.

Shelby pulled back so she could look Rachel in the face. "Yes, you did," she said softly. "And that's ok. You are entitled to your feels just as much as everyone else. You're under a lot of stress and everything that you held onto for so long is now out of your control. It's no wonder you had a bit of a meltdown."

"But Quinn. I shouldn't have said that. She's never going to forgive me."

"No, you shouldn't have. And yes she will," Shelby assured her. "You will talk to her and she'll understand. It might take a while, but she'll understand."

"How do you know?" Rachel questioned.

"Because she's your friend," Shelby answered.

"Mommy," Rachel said, sincere this time, with no hint of manipulation. Rachel leaned forward into Shelby, burying her head in the woman's shoulder.

"Hmmm," Shelby wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her tight.

"Can I please stay with you the rest of the day? Don't send me back to my classes. Please," Rachel nearly begged.

"You can stay with me while we wait," Shelby told her.

As Rachel was getting cleaned up, Henry and Scott Berry checked in at the front office and made their way, with direction, to the guidance counselor's office. They knocked and waited and then exchanged forced pleasantries with the redhead who let them in.

Emma had pondered over how to start this meeting many times. She wasn't going to string them along about some behavioral problems when there wasn't any. She had been asked to speak to parents of a student and that she could do.

"Since the school year began," she started, "Rachel has not been her normal self. I spoke with her yesterday and she talked to me at great length and she mentioned that she has been having some problems at home."

Henry and Scott exchanged a look of understanding. They knew exactly what this meeting was about. They had taken Rachel for granted for so long that they had refused to listen the other night when she talked to them seriously. She had recognized what it was about her life that was keeping her from being happy and she had spoken honestly and frankly with them and they had punished her for it. Both had opted to maintain the status quo rather than doing what they could for their child and she had sought help elsewhere. The men found themselves surprised that she had defied them so explicitly, but if they had ever taken the time to look, they would have realized just what a force to be reckoned with Rachel was.

"Yes," Henry finally answered, deciding to be honest. "We both work quite a lot and we both travel often and she is left home alone for periods of time. It's never been more than a week," he added.

"Don't you think that's dangerous?" Emma asked. "Anything could have happened to her during the times you were away. What if she had been injured and needed to be taken to the hospital? She was 12-years-old the first time, right?"

Scott nodded, following his husband's lead. "We understand that. There are a million what ifs. We thought she could handle it. She's always been such a big personality and has always been her own person."

"A big personality and being your own person does not mean you don't need to be cared for and paid attention to," Emma said. "Do you two have any idea how Rachel acts at school? She wants to be noticed so badly it practically hurts her. She barely has any friends and she is picked on daily. What do you guys do while your home? With her as a family?"

Neither man could look at her and Henry was fighting back tears when he finally answered, "Nothing."

"What can you do to change that?" Emma said.

"She wants us to give her away," Scott answered. "To her… Shelby."

"What do you want?" Emma asked.

"Truthfully?" Henry said. "And I know how horrible this will sound, and please pass no judgment, but I want my own place. I want time to figure out the life I want outside of this family. And I don't want to stop being her father, but…"

"But you didn't think I'd be willingly to take full custody because you don't want it either," Scott finished. "Me too. I've stayed because neither of us is willing to step up to the plate and so both of us stay and make everyone miserable in the process."

Emma was horrified and they could tell. "Please," Henry said, "We know it's terrible and selfish, but it's the truth. Maybe we were just two guys who weren't meant to be fathers."

"Then why did you?" Emma said. "You two, of all people, fought really hard to bring a child into this world. You didn't know fifteen years ago you weren't meant to be fathers."

"We're a normal couple, Miss Pillsbury," Scott said. "We had our ups and downs and a kid seemed like the next logical step after a while. And we both thought it would help things."

"We'd form this family and everything would be great," Henry continued. "And it was for a while. But our lives went from professionals with a baby and cute pictures to dance classes and singing lessons and tantrums and recitals. And I'm not blaming her, but I think we each felt like we lost parts of ourselves along the way."

"And that happens to all parents," Scott continued. "Your lives are supposed to change for the kids, right? And most parents are happy with the changes and love it, but neither of us ever did. We thought it would get better as she got older and that she would outgrow some of it, but Rachel is still that same little girl. She's driven and talented and still takes dance classes and singing lessons and had the same tantrums and everything. We went from have a baby to help the relationship to staying together for the sake of the kid."

"That first time we were out of town at the same time was an accident," Henry said. "But it was just the weekend and she told us she'd been fine and had a lot of fun and somewhere along the way she just figured it would be ok and kept doing it. It was so nice to get away that I signed up for the next available business trip."

"Do you know how much you've hurt her?" Emma asked. "If you knew this all those years ago, why not let her meet Shelby then and give her a chance at the parent that you two couldn't be?"

"Pride," Scott answered.

"It would have been admitting all those years ago, as you put it, that we were wrong. And that we were doing something wrong. We were looking for the easy way, not the right way."

"Where would you like to go from here?" Emma said. "I will tell you that Rachel asked me to have this meeting with you to try and convince you to give custody to Shelby."

"I figured," Scott said.

Emma was waiting to tell them that she would report them tomorrow if they chose to simply go home again as if nothing happened. She didn't honestly know if this was a case of neglect that would hold up in court, but it would certainly be enough to investigate and that would be enough, she thought. But she didn't want it to seem like she was blackmailing them into anything. She wanted them to figure out what was right for Rachel on their own and she thought they were just about there.

"But she's not a mom," Henry said. "Shelby's not a parent."

"She is, actually," Emma told them. "She adopted a little girl in May. And she's worked with kids for years now. Have you ever seen her and Rachel together?"

Both men shook their heads and Emma motioned for them to follow. Emma knew that Shelby was in Will's office and she hoped that Rachel was there too. If not, she would pull her out of class. But if yesterday had been any indication, Rachel would be where Shelby was.

The men stood at the door to Will's office and peeked through the small window. They saw a woman they didn't know sitting on one side of the desk and on the other side sat Shelby with Rachel sitting on her lap. The office only housed two chairs and when Rachel found them both occupied by the adults, she simply sat on Shelby's lap and her mother had not resisted. They were looking at something on Will's computer and laughing.

Emma stood back and watched the men take in the scene.

"They look so much alike," Henry observed.

"She looks really happy," Scott noted.

"We can give her that," Henry said, turning to look at his husband. Emma smiled.

"Ok," Scott said, choking up.

Rachel spotted movement at the door and looked up to see her fathers peering in at her. She scrambled up off of Shelby's lap and moved away from her like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

The door opened and Scott stepped in followed by Henry and Emma.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Rachel said as quickly as she could. She hated that this was her reaction because she wanted to appear stronger than this. But she had been almost been spanked for talking to Shelby on the phone last night, so she didn't know where sitting on her lap fell in line with her offenses.

Shelby and Anna were on their feet too and Shelby moved to stand in front of Rachel.

"It's ok," Scott said. "Everything's all right," he said trying to calm everything down.

"Hello, Shelby," Henry said.

"Henry," Shelby returned. "Scott."

"How serious are you about wanting custody?" Henry asked.

Rachel glanced to Emma. What did that mean? How serious was she because they wanted to fight it? "Dad, please," was all she got out before Shelby took her hand and squeezed it, silencing her. Just be patient, the squeeze seemed to say.

"Very serious," Shelby answered. "This is Anna Watson. She's a lawyer who specializes in family law."

"Is that what you want, Rachel?" Henry asked, looking at his daughter.

"Very much."

Henry looked to Scott who nodded his approval.

"Can we give her custody without terminating parental rights?" Scott asked Anna. "We are still her fathers."

"Yes, that's the easiest way to go. It's just transferring physical custody from one parent to another. And that contract must be terminated legally. Since Rachel is biologically Shelby's it should all go very quickly and can probably all be processed within the next couple of days."

"Let's do it then," Henry said. Shelby squeezed Rachel's hand again. "She can stay with you until everything is sorted out," she spoke to Shelby. "And we can get some movers this weekend to pack her stuff up and move it to your house."

"That sounds great," Shelby said, tears in her eyes.

Rachel was crying openly. "Thank you." Shelby pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. Rachel then stepped forward and hugged each of her fathers in turn and even hugged Emma who seemed taken aback at first, but hugged the girl back eventually. She left not long afterwards, no doubt to go and sanitize.

Henry took a card from Anna and said that he would have their lawyer contact her to work with her. Henry trusted Anna, but he wanted the man he had known for years to help as well. Anna agreed and left the school to start getting things in order.

Rachel hugged her fathers again, both of them at the same time. "I have so much I want to say to both you," she told them. "But can we do it at home and not in Mr. Schue's office?"

"Of course," Scott said. "We'll see you later."

The two men took their leave of the office and Rachel took the chance to share the moment with Shelby. She practically jumped in Shelby's arms, wrapping hers around her mom's neck while Shelby had hers around the girl's waist as she held her up off the ground.

"I love you so much, Rachel."

"I love you too, Mom. Aren't you glad we did this my way?" Rachel asked grinning at her parent.

Shelby was about to respond with a sarcastic comment when she noticed that Quinn was standing in the doorway. Rachel turned, still in Shelby's arms, to see what her mom was looking at.

"Quinn, it worked. I get to live with Shelby," Rachel said.

Quinn did not show any sign that she was happy for them. She simply nodded and offered a soft, "congratulations" and turned and walked out.

"Quinn," Rachel called after her, wriggling free from her mother's grasp. Rachel ran to the door and into the hall. Quinn was walking away. "Quinn. Come back, Quinn," Rachel yelled after her. "Quinn, please, I'm sorry," Rachel was near tears now. "Quinn."

The blonde never looked back.

**A/N – Please send me some reviews. I love to know what you guys think.**

**Also, this may be my last update this week. I'll try and sneak another in, but no promises. I'm going out of town in a couple of days. I'm going to see Idina Menzel in concert and it's going to be awesome. But I'll be out of town most of the week and into the weekend so if you haven't seen another chapter by Wednesday at the latest, it means I won't be able to get another one done until probably Sunday or Monday. So yeah, sorry about the ending here. **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N – Sorry about the delay in getting this posted. But the Idina concert was amazing. Thank you so much for all of your reviews of the last chapter. You guys are great. **

**And please, please check out the story Priority Adjustment by .43. It's really fantastic. All of her stories are wonderful and she's my favorite writer of Shelby and Rachel stories. Her Shelby is amazing. **

**Disclaimer – I only own the laptop I wrote this on.**

Rachel stood in the hallway staring at Quinn's retreating form as other students started to move around her. The end of the day bell had rung and the hall was rapidly filling up with people. Rachel watched until Quinn turned a corner and then stepped back into Will's office.

"She wouldn't come back. She didn't even acknowledge me," Rachel said sadly. "I messed up so bad. I finally get a friend and then I screw it up."

Shelby moved to Rachel to try and offer some comfort. "She'll come around, Rachel. You need to give her some time."

"I need to talk to her," Rachel said. "I need to explain and tell her how sorry I am."

"That's true. You need to do that too," Shelby agreed. "But let her process it for a while. You might make it worse by trying to chase after her right now."

Rachel nodded as she ran the scene over again in her mind. It was then that she realized she hadn't apologized to Shelby either.

"Mom, I want to apologize to you too. I shouldn't have said any of those things. I was just angry and frustrated and stressed out," Rachel said. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, honey. As I said before, you're entitled to your feelings. A lot has happened to you recently and you've had to keep things to yourself for a long time. This was bound to happen eventually," Shelby told her. "I want you to feel like you can talk to me about all of this. But you can't do it by yelling and flying off the handle. This was a high stress day for you and I can let it go once, but I don't want you yelling at me like that again. Because you aren't going to like it if you do," Shelby said, tapping Rachel on the nose. The tone had been light, but Shelby felt like she got her message across judging by the chastened look on Rachel's face.

Shelby changed the subject then, thinking it was about time they got out of the school. "Come on, let's get going. We can stop by the house and grab some stuff you need and then we can go home."

"I can't," Rachel said. "I've got Glee and-"

"There's no Glee practice today," Will said, entering the office. "Principal Figgins called an impromptu faculty meeting for this afternoon and we all have to attend."

"I can lead your Glee practice today, Will," Shelby offered.

Rachel beamed. She was ready to show her mom off.

"Thanks for the offer," he said, somewhat incredulously, "but I've already spread the word that practice is cancelled for today."

"That's probably for the best," Shelby said. "I don't think your kids could handle me just yet." Will gave her a 'hardy har har' look and she smirked at him.

"Come on, Rachel," Shelby said, guiding her daughter out of the room with a hand on her back. "Bye, Will. And thanks for your office."

"Bye, Mr. Schue."

"Bye," Will called after them.

Rachel spent the entire drive to her house texting Quinn from Shelby's phone, asking if she could talk to her, but she received no response. It was frustrating, but she kept at it.

"What did I say about giving her some time?" Shelby said.

"But I can't just not try and talk to her. She'll probably be even madder if I wait because she might think I'm not trying then," Rachel reasoned. "I don't want to go back to when she hated me."

"Rachel, just let her be for a while. She'll probably be ready to talk by tomorrow."

Rachel was dubious, but let it go because she and her mother clearly had differing opinions on what she should do.

"Mom, can you just drop me off at the house and let me pack up some stuff on own?" Rachel asked, changing the subject. "That will give me a chance to talk to my dads. Don't you need to pick up Beth or something?"

"Beth is with a sitter at my house," Shelby answered. "But yes, I'll drop you off. I'll run some errands and come back for you in a couple hours. Will that give you enough time?"

"That should be sufficient," Rachel said. "I don't need to get everything today."

Shelby dropped her off and then waited as Rachel entered the house before she drove off.

Rachel found her dads sitting at the table in the kitchen going over paperwork and talking. They were discussing her custody and where they would go from there. Both looked up when she entered and waited for her to take a seat. All three sat in in silence before Rachel ended it and spoke up.

"I don't know what to say. You were both so angry and set against it the other night and then today you agreed without any fight," she said. "Thank you." She paused as tears formed in her eyes and she worked to find her voice again. "And I want to apologize as well. I can't even imagine how I must have hurt you when I asked for you to give custody to Shelby."

"Don't apologize," Scott said. "It should never, ever have gotten to the point where you felt that you had to ask."

"You've done what you always do," Henry said. "You figured out what you wanted and you went for it. It's a hell of a thing for your child to not want to live with you, but it's even worse to deny them their happiness for the sake of your own."

"We're sorry it took us so long to figure that out," Scott finished. "And though it may not have felt like it in the past, we're going to always be here for you now. I know that we both want to work on our relationship with you. But we also understand that that will take time."

"I want that too," Rachel said.

"This is our chance to make all three of us happy," Henry said. "I'm going to move out into an apartment and your daddy is going to stay here."

Rachel wasn't surprised by this and nodded.

"We'll tell you all the information when it's all worked out," Scott said. "But for now, how about we help you pack some things?"

"That sounds great," Rachel said with a watery smile. She stood up and hugged both of her fathers at the same time and squeezed them as they lifted her off the floor like they always used to do when she was little. She was truly looking forward to being able to reconnect with her dads, but she knew she knew they would never have been able to do that it they were all still living there together.

Rachel packed a couple of suitcases full of clothes and a few knick knacks she wanted from her room. She gathered up all of her toiletries and other essentials and started a pile next to the front door. Henry came to her room a little while later with the phone, laptop and iPod they had confiscated that weekend. She folded up her favorite blanket and left it on top of her suitcases.

There was still some time before Shelby was due to return and Rachel decided that she couldn't wait to try and talk to Quinn face-to-face. She spoke to her fathers and Henry agreed to drive her to Quinn's and she said she would walk back when she was ready. She didn't plan on being too long, mainly because she was worried about Quinn not talking to her, and told her dads she should be back before Shelby arrived.

Rachel knocked on the front door of the Fabray house as Henry drove away. Judy answered and smiled down at her. "Come in, Rachel." She opened the door for her to pass and greeted her with a hug when they were both inside.

"Quinn told me what happened," Judy started and Rachel hung her head. "That your dads agreed to give your mom custody. Congratulations."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks," Rachel replied. "I'm really glad and excited about that. Did Quinn tell you what else happened?"

"Yes, she did," Judy answered. "She also mentioned that she thought you might come by today and that she didn't want to talk to you."

"Oh," Rachel said sadly. "I just want to apologize. I feel terrible and I want to try to explain," Rachel said, practically begging Judy to understand and make Quinn talk to her.

"I know that, honey, but I'm not going to make Quinn come down and talk if she doesn't want to," Judy said.

"But I-"

"Rachel," Judy said, using an authoritative tone that Rachel had never heard before. "Not today. You need to give her some space and let her just be angry for a little while."

Rachel sighed, defeated. "You're not mad at me too, are you?"

"No, of course not," Judy said, pulling Rachel into another hug, trying to soothe her. "After hearing about the way Quinn has treated you for a long time now, I don't think your one blow up even comes close. You're nowhere near even."

"I don't want to be even," Rachel said. "Just because she hurt me doesn't give me the right to hurt her."

Judy smiled at her big heart. "You're a good girl, Rachel. Quinn will come around, you'll see."

Rachel left with assurances that Judy would tell Quinn she had been there and is sorry before she started the walk back to her fathers' house. Judy offered the drive her, but Rachel thought the walk might help clear her head.

Shelby arrived back at the Berry household sooner than she anticipated, but thought that Rachel might need some help.

"She's not here," Henry said when he answered the door. "I drove her to Quinn's house because she said she needed to talk to her. Rachel figured she would beat you back here."

"Oh," Shelby answered. She was now faced with the awkward situation of being alone with the men.

"Come in," Henry said. "We've got some of her stuff here and we'll help you load up the car."

"Thank you," Shelby said, stepping in the doorway.

Scott was waiting by the pile of Rachel's belongings, holding an old, black stuffed dog.

"I want to say thank you," Shelby said.

"Don't," Scott said. "Thank you for wanting her so badly this time. I know you probably think we're horrible people, but hopefully this time we're doing what's right for our daughter. And she needs you."

"I guess she always has," Henry acknowledged. "We didn't want to see it and always deflected any questions she ever had. I know hindsight is twenty-twenty, but we never should have enforced that contract. We denied her of someone who would love her, even when you went to New York. It's not right to keep a person from being able to love their child. I know she didn't start out as yours, but we knew that you fell in love with her while you were pregnant and we could see how it hurt you in the hospital. It's just-"

"I understand," Shelby cut him off. "I get it. I have a little girl that I adopted and I get it. I want her to know that I am her mom. But I guess I'm luckier than most because I can see it from all sides and I hope I can do what's best for Beth."

"You will," Henry said. "Just as you're doing what's best for Rachel now."

All three were near tears and Shelby reached out to finger the multi-colored quilt that sat atop the suitcases. She had seen it the previous weekend when Rachel brought it to her house from Quinn's.

"That's her favorite blanket," Scott said. "We received it as a present when she was born and it's always been on her bed. We used it to teach her the colors. And this," he said holding out the stuffed dog he'd been holding, "is Toto. She dressed up as Dorothy for Halloween when she was five and insisted that we find her just the right dog for Toto. We had to go to six different stores and suffer through four tantrums and a lot of crying, pouting and time-outs before we found him. She's loved it ever since though. She still holds onto him sometimes when she's sleeping."

"She doesn't like orange juice, but she loves apple juice," Henry said. "She hates anything coconut. And she thinks pumpkins are creepy so good luck trying to get her to help you carve one for Halloween. She won't do it."

"She's always been really secretive about her schoolwork, except for Glee," Scott said, continuing with their mini Rachel-lesson for Shelby. "She doesn't like to talk about papers or tests or projects, but she's always made good grades so we never really pressed the issue. I never have really figured out why she's like that, but once she stopped needing our help with homework, she stopped showing it to us all together."

"And she can be terrible to get to bed," Henry said. "It was almost a battle every night when she was little and even now sometimes it's an argument. But she's used to getting her own way with it now," he realized.

Shelby listened intently, trying to soak up all of the information she could. She had missed fifteen years worth of stories and memories and knowledge about her child and she wanted to know everything she could.

"And most importantly," Scott said, "is that she likes to be hugged. Some people don't like to be touched, but she is not one of them."

"I don't quite think Rachel gets that other people sometimes have a personal bubble," Henry said. "She always wanted to be held or patted or carried or hugged or to hold hands or sit on your lap. She's just a person who needs other people to be close to her."

"I can do all that," Shelby said. "Thank you for everything you've told me about her. I guess I had better load the car so and I'll go pick her up from Quinn's and then I need to get home to Beth."

It only took a couple minutes to get everything in her car between the three of them and they waved Shelby off from the front porch.

"Do you think we should have told her all of Rachel's tricks she uses to get her way?" Henry asked Scott.

"No. Let her figure some stuff out on her own," Scott replied causing both men to smile as they went back into the house.

Shelby saw Rachel walking when she was about half way to Quinn's house. She parked her car along the curb and got out to greet her daughter.

"Hey, kid, need a ride?" she called out when she opened her car door and stepped out.

Rachel smiled at her mom and crossed the street to join her at the car.

"You've already been to my house?" Rachel asked when she saw some of her things in the back seat of the car. "You got back earlier than I thought. I assumed I would be back from Quinn's before you got there."

"It gave her dads and I a chance to talk," Shelby told her. "Did you talk to Quinn?"

Rachel shook her head sadly. "Mrs. Fabray said she didn't want to see me and that I should give her some time."

"Now that sounds familiar," Shelby said. "Haven't you heard something like that before?" Shelby teased.

"But I had to try," Rachel said, ignoring the teasing. "At least Quinn will know I tried."

"Aw, honey," Shelby said, wrapping her arms around Rachel's shoulders. "She'll come around." Rachel gave a muffled response before Shelby decided they'd spent enough time standing in the street and directed Rachel into the car. "Let's go home."

Rachel spent a good portion of the remaining part of the afternoon unpacking and getting her new room like she wanted it. Well, she started to get it like she wanted it. There was still a lot to do until it really felt like hers. Beth played with some toys on a blanket on the floor while Rachel worked. She had offered to keep an eye on the infant while Shelby worked on dinner. The unpacking process was much slower than she anticipated, but it was mostly to do Beth wanting to be held or crying when a toy got away and she couldn't reach it. She'd end up sitting on the floor talking to the baby for periods of time before getting up to get back to work. One more escapee toy and Rachel gave up on unpacking. She took a pillow from the bed and laid down on her stomach next to Beth so that she could look at her.

"You're exhausting, you know that?" Rachel asked the smiling infant through a yawn. "You can't even crawl yet and you're wearing me out. Here," Rachel handed the toy duck back to Beth, but Beth grabbed onto one of Rachel's fingers instead and wouldn't let go. Rachel closed her eyes and took a moment to relax after the long day.

This was how Shelby found them ten minutes later when she came up to tell Rachel that dinner was ready. Beth still had a grip on Rachel's finger. Rachel was still holding the duck and was fast asleep on the floor. Beth was staring at Rachel intently, but kicked her feet in excitement when she saw Shelby enter the room.

"What'd you do to her, Beth?" Shelby asked, sitting down on the floor next to her daughters. "You've got to go easier on her, honey." She smiled at the baby and reached down to get her to release Rachel's finger.

"Rachel," Shelby said, giving her leg a light shake. "Rachel."

Rachel opened her eyes and gave her mother a bleary-eyed look. "What?"

"Dinner's ready."

"What time is it?"

"Quarter 'til seven," Shelby answered, amused.

"I was only asleep for ten minutes," Rachel said. "It feels like longer."

"If you keep falling asleep when I leave you alone with her, I'm going to need to get some monitors for this room as well," Shelby said and then smirked at Rachel's look of shock.

Rachel turned her attention to Beth who was back to staring intently at her older sister. "You were supposed to warn me when she was coming." Beth cooed her innocence.

"It's too soon for you two to start working together against me," Shelby said with a laugh.

"I think I could train her to be a great lookout in a few years though," Rachel answered, enjoying the banter.

"You will do no such thing," Shelby said.

"That's ok," Rachel assured her mother. "I don't normally need a lookout." It was Rachel's turn to smirk at her mother's expression.

Shelby placed a swat on her daughter's upturned backside that turned into a few light pats as she ordered her up for dinner. Shelby got to her feet, taking Beth with her, and the trio made their way downstairs.

Rachel did the dishes after dinner while Shelby attended to Beth. She had hoped her mother would sit in the kitchen with her so they could talk, but Shelby had left to give Beth a bath and hopefully get her to sleep. Shelby was used to spending most of the day with her baby. The students now came to her house for lessons and so she had missed Beth all day. She was taking the few moments to get some time in with her.

Rachel found them in the nursery rocking when she was finished with the dishes, but decided not to bother them. Shelby was singing and Beth was looking at her, mesmerized. Rachel smiled wistfully at the scene, but soon left them to it. She didn't want to intrude on what seemed to be a nightly ritual. She instead made her way up to the music room which she had decided was her favorite room in the house. She almost sat down at the piano, but waved it off. She instead made herself comfortable on one of the couches and turned on the TV and went about the mundane task of flipping through the channels. When Shelby came to find her a little while later she had settled on The Golden Girls.

"Rachel, there you are. It's time to start getting ready for bed," Shelby told her.

Rachel glanced at the clock on the cable box. "It's 9:17," she said, casting a quick glance at her mother before turning back to the show.

"I know. Let's go." Shelby stepped farther into the room and waited for Rachel to turn the TV off and get up. "Rachel."

Rachel looked to Shelby and realized her mom was serious. Her fathers had tried to be sticklers about a bedtime, but she more often than not went to bed whenever she wanted. Even Mrs. Fabray hadn't insisted that she and Quinn start getting ready for bed until about ten. She stared at Shelby for a second before turning again and looking at the clock.

"Rachel," Shelby said again, her tone gaining an edge. She half wondered if she was being crazy and, judging from Rachel's reaction, thought this might be too early, but she stuck with it. Rachel had fallen asleep on her floor earlier. If this was too early than that was too bad for tonight because Rachel clearly needed some rest.

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. It was her first school night in the house and Rachel figured they could work it out later. She turned the TV off and got up.

"Did you do your homework?" Shelby asked to the pouting girl.

"Yes, it's all done," Rachel answered.

"Did you need me to look at it?"

"No," Rachel said, starting down the stairs to the second story.

Shelby was baffled as to when Rachel had even had time to do her homework. She hadn't seen anything being done and Rachel hadn't mentioned it. Shelby was determined to find out about why Rachel never talked homework. But if she wanted Rachel in bed, now was not the time.

"I'll be back in about ten minutes," Shelby told her when Rachel entered her room.

True to her word, Shelby returned and knocked on the door and entered when Rachel told her it was ok. The girl was just coming out of the bathroom, face freshly washed and teeth brushed. She set her alarm and was about to crawl into bed when Shelby gathered her up in a hug. Rachel let go of the small amount of resentment she was harboring at this early bedtime and nuzzled into Shelby's shoulder and relaxed. She was tired, even if she didn't want to admit it.

"I'm so glad you're home," Shelby said.

"Me too, Mom," Rachel said. "Thank you."

"No more thank yous, Rachel," Shelby said. "This is your home now and I don't want you to think you have to say thank you every day. Relax. You're home."

"Ok," Rachel agreed. "I'm home."

"Goodnight, honey," Shelby said, releasing Rachel and holding the covers back as her daughter climbed into bed. She tucked the blankets close around Rachel's chin. Rachel eventually snuck a hand out to hold onto the edge of her quilt and Shelby held out her stuffed Toto and Rachel held it close. She leaned down to place a kiss on Rachel's forehead and then turned to leave.

"Mom?" Rachel stopped her.

"Yes?"

"Nothing, never mind. Goodnight," Rachel chickened out of her question at the last second.

"What is it, Rachel?" Shelby asked gently. "Is there something else you need?"

"It's just that… I, umm thought that maybe-" Rachel stumbled over her words uncharacteristically.

"Honey," Shelby sat on the edge of the bed and brushed some hair back from Rachel's face. "What is it?"

"Will you sing to me?" Rachel asked, shyly. When Shelby didn't say anything she hastily added, "I saw you singing to Beth earlier and I just thought- I've always wanted… It's dumb. I'm sorry," Rachel said, getting increasingly upset.

"Hey, stop now," Shelby said soothingly, rubbing the girl's back. She wiped a tear when Rachel finally met her gaze. "I would love to sing to you. I've always wanted to as well, but I didn't want you to think I was treating you like a baby."

"You're not," Rachel said. "It'd be one of those things I can check off of my list."

Shelby thought for a moment before starting her song. Rachel settled into her pillows and pulled her blankets tight around her as she listened. She closed her eyes and let her mother's clear, strong voice wash over her. It wasn't long before her eyes opened again, fighting the sleep that was taking her, not wanting to miss a moment of her mother singing to her.

_Although you see the world different than me  
Sometimes I can touch upon the wonders that you see  
All the new colors and pictures you've designed  
Oh yes, sweet darling  
So glad you are a child of mine _

Shelby smiled at Rachel's fluttering eyelids as the girl fought sleep. She rubbed her back and Rachel's breathing evened out indicating she was asleep before the first chorus had ended.

_Child of mine, child of mine  
Oh yes, sweet darling  
So glad you are a child of mine_

Shelby leaned in and placed the whisper of a kiss on Rachel's temple and then left the room, turning out the light after taking one last glance at her child.

**A/N – Please leave me a review if you can. I really appreciate it. **

**And this song is Child of Mine by Carole King. Look it up if you've never heard it. It's beautiful. **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N – Thank you all so much for the reviews. I'm glad people are still reading and enjoying this because I'm having a good time writing it. **

**And I'm going to try my shout-out again since the name got cut off last time. I have no idea why, but it did. The story is called Priority Adjustment and the author is Steamed Artichoke 43. Go check it, and all of her stories out because they are great.**

**Disclaimer – I got nothing. **

Rachel wasn't sure if she had ever experienced two days that passed as slowly as Wednesday and Thursday did. She spent her days in school angry and frustrated at Quinn because the blonde refused to give her the time of day. Quinn hadn't reverted back to name calling; she was now just ignoring Rachel. The Glee club was much more interested in the new development in the precarious friendship of Quinn and Rachel than in the reasons why they became friends in the first place. Rachel heard just about everyone say 'I told you so' to Quinn. She was back to eating lunch by herself and actually found that she was kind of grateful for it. It was the only time of the day she was getting to herself.

Rachel was an extremely social person, but even she needed a moment to herself every once in a while. She was so happy to be at Shelby's, but the change was a lot harder than she assumed it would be. Shelby was painstakingly attentive and interested. And Rachel loved it. Except when she didn't. Fickle, she realized, but also true. It was one thing to be alone for hours and days at a time and long for someone there. It was quite another thing altogether for someone to actually be there all the time. And while Rachel loved all the hugs and kisses, she grew increasingly annoyed at the questions about things like schoolwork and what she was watching on TV. Shelby had her in bed every night by 9:30 and though Rachel had been tired that first night, she now found herself lying awake fuming at the early hour. The two hadn't yet found their balance.

Everything had gone off without a hitch Thursday in court and Shelby now had full custody of Rachel. A notice had been delivered to the school and Principal Figgins had met with all of Rachel's teachers to tell them of the new custody arrangements so that their files could be updated. No one but Will and Emma knew the truth of the situation. Rachel was glad that no one bothered to ask her any questions about it.

Friday morning Rachel got up earlier than she had been deciding that she wanted to walk to school. Shelby had been dropping her off and picking her up. She found her mother already in the kitchen when she went there to grab a piece of fruit for breakfast.

"You need to eat more than that, Rachel," Shelby told her. She was giving Beth a bottle while enjoying her coffee and trying to read the paper.

"I was actually going to go in a little early today," Rachel said. "This will be fine for my walk."

Shelby looked up at her and shook her head. "It's too far to walk. I'll drive you."

"It's not too far," Rachel argued. "I'm used to it and I haven't been running at all this week. It'll be good for me."

"No, honey. It's hot out already today and there's no need for you to walk this early when I can take you," Shelby said. "Sit down and eat a real breakfast."

Rachel dropped her bag and did little to hide her annoyance when she turned back around to come into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator to pour herself some of the apple juice Shelby had stocked up on and sat down at the table across from her mom.

"Rach, you need more than a banana," Shelby commented.

"The banana is fine," Rachel replied tersely.

Shelby looked up and met her daughter's gaze, each of them seeming to size the other up. Shelby was about to say something when a cough from Beth broke her concentration and she looked away. She sat the baby up and wiped some of the formula off her chin before Beth started to fuss and demand her own breakfast back.

Shelby decided to simply move on and said, "My mother is coming to stay with us for the weekend. She'll get here while you're still in school."

"Just your mom?"

"Yes. My dad can't come and she wants to take more time to get to know you better," Shelby answered.

Rachel nodded her acceptance of this. "I'm looking forward to getting to know her better as well."

"Good. Then this should be a nice weekend."

Rachel nodded absently while finishing her fruit. "Mom, can't I just walk to school?"

"I said I would take you," Shelby said. "We've got plenty of time so relax."

Rachel was in no mood to relax and didn't understand why Shelby just wouldn't let her go.

"How did you sleep last night?" Shelby asked, hoping to try and lighten the mood some.

"I tossed and turned for a while before I feel asleep," Rachel said pointedly.

Shelby shot a glare at Rachel while the girl simply drank her juice, seeming to ignore Shelby's silent reprimand.

By the time they actually got in the car to go, Rachel was acting petulant and Beth was crying to show her disdain at being strapped into the car seat. Shelby shook her head at her situation. Five months ago she lived alone and had a daughter she wasn't allowed to see and now she had two kids, both of whom were mad at her. She knew right then that having a teenager and an infant at the same time was probably one of the hardest things she was ever going to do. The most rewarding as well, she knew, but right now, the hard was winning.

They rode in silence once Beth's cries waned and they were close to the school when Shelby finally spoke.

"Talk to me about your homework."

"What about it?" Rachel asked. She rolled her eyes. Her mom had been asking about her homework for days and Rachel assured her it was getting done. She didn't understand why Shelby just wouldn't drop it.

Shelby pulled into the parking lot and found a spot. "I never see you do any? Where is it?"

"Why do you care?" Rachel asked.

"Excuse me," Shelby said, getting angry.

"It gets done. What does it matter where and how? Don't worry about it," Rachel said, equally angry.

"Rachel Barba-" she was cut off by Rachel getting out of the car and slamming the door. The young diva had performed the perfect storm out from the car and was now making her way across the parking lot. If Beth had not been in the car, Shelby would have gone after her. She gripped the steering wheel in frustration and even shook it a little. Rachel would be getting an earful and then some from Shelby when she got home that afternoon.

Rachel wanted to look back as she stalked away, but thought better of it. She knew she should not have blown up like that, but she was famous for figuring stuff like that out after the fact. Besides, she was annoyed too. Shelby had been nitpicking since Tuesday night about her homework. Rachel didn't have some deep, dark secret about it or anything. She tried to find time at school to get it done so that she didn't have to worry about it at home. That gave her time to focus on the things she wanted to spend her time on rather than worrying about school most of the night. Once she started being assigned papers and other projects, then of course she would have to work at home, but since it was still so early in the year she was able to knock it out at school. She usually never even brought it home which is why she was never able to show it to her mom. And why couldn't she just tell Shelby that? She wasn't sure. She probably would have explained it if Shelby hadn't been so insistent on finding out. The more she asked about it, the more Rachel clammed up.

Shelby watched Rachel until the girl entered the building and then sat for a few more minutes while she calmed down. When Shelby pulled into her driveway sometime later she was surprised to see her mother's car already there. Rebecca, who had let herself in, came back on the porch when she heard Shelby's car pull up. She skillfully unlatched the sleeping Beth from her car seat and then followed Shelby into the house.

"What's wrong with you?" mother asked daughter.

"Your eldest grandchild," Shelby told her. "She's in a mood today and is exasperating. I don't know what has gotten into her. But don't worry about getting to spend time with her this weekend; she's not leaving the house. Even if she doesn't know it yet."

"What happened?" Rebecca asked.

Shelby related the story about breakfast and the drive to school and Rachel's storm out.

"And stop smiling like you think it's cute, Mom," Shelby said. "She needs to learn that she cannot speak to me like that."

"Yes, you're right, honey," Rebecca said, placating her daughter. "Have you tried to see it from her side though?"

"What is her side? That she won't talk to me about something as simple as homework?"

"But why? Have you gotten any reports that she hasn't been turning in her homework?" Rebecca asked. She continued on when Shelby shook her head no. "Have you gotten any indication that she's struggling in school?" Shelby shook her head again. "Then maybe you need to leave her alone about it for a while and take some action if and when you think something needs to be said. She's been doing things one way for a while now and she needs time to adjust. You both do. I know you want to know everything about her, but don't intrude on every aspect on her life. She needs to feel like she still has some control and can retain some of her privacy. She probably does her homework at school like you used to do," Rebecca said.

"So why can't she just say that?" Shelby asked.

"When did you ever tell me anything when I bugged you about it?"

Shelby wore a sheepish expression and Rebecca said, "That's what I thought."

"That doesn't get her off the hook for yelling at me," Shelby said.

"Of course not, dear," Rebecca said, placating again.

Rachel didn't have a class with Quinn until Biology that afternoon, but it didn't stop her from trying to talk to her at every chance she got. Quinn was still refusing to even acknowledge Rachel and Rachel's frustration level stayed high all day. Biology class was the same and the longer it went on the more it made Rachel want to give up all together. The only problem was that she didn't think Quinn would be affected by being ignored by her. They'd been friends a little over a week and still Rachel missed her. She thought Quinn might feel the same, but now she wasn't sure.

Truth be told, Quinn did miss her friend. But she was doing what she did best when she felt she'd been hurt. She closed ranks and let her pride do the talking. Or ignoring in this case. Rachel's words had stung and Quinn was doing her best not to acknowledge the fact that Rachel may have been right. So she did what she did best. She used her defense mechanisms and built her walls so that Rachel couldn't get back in. Her mother had been trying to talk to her all week, but Quinn had taken to trying to ignore her as well.

The final bell sounded and Rachel gathered up her book and notebook and were packing them in her bag when Mrs. Lewis, her teacher, asked her to remain behind so she could speak with her. Rachel waited until all the students had left and then met Mrs. Lewis at her desk.

"Rachel, this is your quiz from Monday."

Rachel took the paper and sucked in a breath. A red F marked the top of the page and she saw she had only answered one question right. She had been expecting this because this was the quiz she had rushed through, but she still didn't like seeing it.

"I'm sorry. I'll study harder next time," Rachel told her.

"I know you will. But before then, I'm going to need you to have one of your parents sign this. It's your mother now, isn't it? And I need you to return it to me," Mrs. Lewis told her.

"But, Mrs. Lewis, I can assure you it won't happen again," Rachel pleaded. "I just had a lot going on this week."

"Be that as it may, I still need this signed. I said on the very first day of school that any test or quiz that receives a failing grade would have to be signed by a parent," the teacher told her. "Also, I'm willing to bump your grade to a C if you pick two of these questions and research them and write me two essays about on the subjects. I'll expect those on Monday."

Rachel nodded dejectedly and turned away. She deposited the quiz in her book bag and left the room and headed towards her locker. Just great. She blew up at her mom this morning about homework and now she's got to go home and show her a failing mark. Just great. Shelby would probably hover the entire time she worked on her essays. Rachel slammed the locker shut and made her way to the choir room for Glee.

Rachel took a seat by herself and waited for other people to start to arrive. Even with being kept after class, she was early and thus alone with Brad. He didn't say anything to her nor her to him. Quinn was the next to arrive and Rachel didn't even try to speak to her this time. Her day was already bad enough without having to receive just one more rejection.

"Getting in trouble already, Rachel?" Quinn asked, alluding to the Biology class.

Rachel looked at her in shock and then anger. "Oh, so now you're talking to me? I could have used you a couple of days ago."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have yelled at me like you did," Quinn said, standing over the smaller girl.

Brad looked up and looked on. He may find these kids endlessly annoying, but he had to admit that the drama that seemed to always surround them could be pretty entertaining.

"Get off your high horse, Quinn," Rachel said, standing up. She was not intimidated by Quinn any longer. "I was angry and venting. As even your mother will tell you that it doesn't begin to compare to the things you did to me."

Quinn seethed and gave Rachel one good shove, sending her back and into the chair she just came from. Her defenses had kicked in again. She didn't want to hear the truth, so she built her walls and lashed out.

Rachel got her bearings and quickly got to her feet and pushed Quinn back. Quinn stumbled backwards and into the piano. Rachel was not normally one to fight back, but she was not going to sit there and let Quinn push her. Especially not Quinn.

Quinn was headed back towards Rachel when she felt an arm circle her waist and stop her. It was then that Quinn realized that Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury had entered the room, along with the rest of the Gleeks who were looking on in amusement. Will was holding Quinn while Emma had a vice grip on Rachel's arm.

"My office. Now." Will waited while the girls gathered their belongings and then led them into his office with Emma following behind. The girls settled into chairs, both still dripping with anger and refusing to look at each other.

"I don't know what's going on here, but it's going to stop," Will said.

"Mr. Schue, if I may," Rachel started and waited for an indication that she could continue, "the problem is that Quinn is being childish in her refusal to even listen when I speak to her."

"The problem is that you try and speak to me at all," Quinn shot back. Rachel turned to look at Quinn since coming in the office and tried to decide if it was Quinn's anger speaking or if she really meant it. And honestly, Rachel couldn't tell.

"I don't want either of you to return to Glee today," Will said. "You both need to cool off. I'm going to call your moms and have them come and get you."

"That's not fair!" Rachel said. "You didn't do this to Puck and Finn when they got in a fight."

"I probably should have done it then too," Will conceded. "But you two have been mad at each other all week and I'm not going to let it progress any farther in Glee. So either I call your parents or I can take you down to Principal Figgins and he can call them. You won't get an additional punishment from me like you will from him."

Rachel sat back and crossed her arms over her chest in a huff, but she didn't argue. Quinn looked resigned to her fate as well.

"I'll take them to my office while you make those phone calls and then you can get back to the other kids," Emma said and Will agreed. "Come on girls."

Will called Judy Fabray first.

"I'll be right there," the blonde woman sighed. Judy wasn't used to being called to the school for Quinn's behavior, but after learning how Quinn had treated Rachel all that time, she was surprised at nothing now.

"She did what?" was Shelby's reaction. "Yes, of course, I'll be right there."

"What's wrong now?" Rebecca asked.

"Rachel got in a fight and I need to go and pick her up," Shelby told her mother. "I'll be right back."

Emma sat at her desk casting glances at the silent and angry teens that occupied her office. The tension in the air was thick while they waited for their respective mothers to arrive and Emma was grateful when she finally saw one of them coming up the hall. Emma got up and left the office to greet Judy Fabray in the hallway. Shelby was rounded the corner as the women were saying their hellos and joined them.

"Will said they were fighting," Shelby said.

"It wasn't a fight like you're probably thinking," Emma said. "It was just shouting and pushing. Will would have let them go on their own, but I think he was worried they would take up the argument somewhere else."

Quinn and Rachel were both staring out the large windows in Emma's office to the hall to watch what was going on. They both looked away when Judy and Shelby gave them angry looks.

"I'll let you two have a minute," Emma said, before walking off and leaving the two mothers standing there.

"I'm sorry it's gotten to this," Judy said. "I've been telling Quinn that she needs to talk to Rachel."

"And I've been telling Rachel she needs to give Quinn some time," Shelby said. "It's gone on far enough if they're shoving each other before Glee though."

"I agree," Judy said. "I'll talk to her again."

"As will I," Shelby agreed.

Judy opened the office door and motioned for Quinn to follow. The blonde left without a word to Rachel or Shelby and followed her mom down the hall.

"Rachel," Shelby said, sticking her head in the office. "Let's go."

Rachel grabbed her bag and followed Shelby down the hall. She had no idea what to say, but Rachel felt she needed to say something. "Mom," Rachel said, having to increase her pace to keep up. "Mom, please."

Shelby stopped so that Rachel could catch up and said, "We'll talk about it at home, Rachel."

"Are you mad at me?" Rachel realized it was a dumb question as soon as she said it.

Shelby couldn't stop the humorless laugh that escaped her lips. "Yes." She turned without another word and continued her walk out to her car.

The ride home was silent and Rachel was glad when they finally reached the house. She figured that they were both ready to get out of the car and away from the tension for a moment. Rachel was the first into the house and was greeted by Rebecca.

"Rachel, hello!" Rebecca said cheerfully.

Rachel gave her grandmother her first genuine smile of the day and returned her greeting. "Hi, Mrs." Rebecca gave her a look of mock reproach, "Nana," Rachel finished.

"That's more like it," Rebecca said, pulling her into a hug.

Shelby left them to their greeting and went into the kitchen and grabbed a drink from a bottle of water. She listened for a minute or so as Rachel and Rebecca chatted and then re-entered the living room.

"You two can catch up later," Shelby said, taking Rachel by the hand and leading her to the stairs. "Go to your room."

Rachel looked back at Rebecca who offered her a smile, but one that clearly said she sided with Shelby on this. Shelby reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Rachel's ear which caused Rachel to look back at her.

"Go on," Shelby said.

Rachel did as she was told and made her way to her new bedroom. She changed out of the clothes she had worn to school and into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. She sat at her desk and pulled out the Biology quiz so she could start on the essays she needed to write. Perhaps her mother would see this as a positive later on when she was certain she'd be receiving one hell of a lecture.

Downstairs, Shelby and her mother got an early start on dinner. "What are you going to say to her?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm well-practiced in giving lectures," Shelby said. "I'll think of something. She and I need to talk about more than just fighting at school and back talk though. This is a kettle that's been brewing for a few days now. I'm sorry it all had to happen while you're here."

"Don't worry about me, honey," Rebecca said. "It might be better that I'm here because now you can focus on Rachel and I can take care of Beth while you get this all sorted out."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Of course, sweetheart."

While Rachel worked in room, Quinn was being lectured in hers.

"Why would you do that, Quinn?" Judy asked. "When is the last time anything was solved by a shoving match?"

"I don't know," Quinn said. "She was just getting on my nerves. I'm angry at her and she won't let me be angry. She's tried to talk to me at every chance she's gotten."

"When did you become so selfish, Quinn? It's clear as day that Rachel misses your friendship. You befriended a girl who didn't have a friend in the world. One you treated like crap for far too long, by the way. And the moment she does something that hurts you even a little bit, you toss the friendship back in her face," Judy said. "Things are not supposed to work like that."

"But you didn't hear her that day, Mom," Quinn argued. "She was really angry and she said some really hurtful things. I have a right to be angry."

"I understand that you were hurt and that you are angry. That's fine, Quinn. You have every right to be angry," Judy told her. "But do you know what the difference between you and Rachel is? Rachel was angry too. And she was angrier for a lot longer than you have been. And she put up with so much more. And at a time when you couldn't decide if you could be her friend or not, she's the one who stepped up and helped you. She gave you the chance to apologize. She opened that door for you, Quinn, not the other way around. Rachel made your friendship possible in the first place and you refuse to do the same for her. All she wants is the chance to offer her forgiveness and you won't open the door for her. You're refusing to allow her to apologize and it's eating at her and you as well."

Quinn took in her mother's words from her spot sitting on her bed and looked down at her hands. "You're right," she said softly. "I do miss her. But I guess it's easier to play the victim than to acknowledge the truth of what she said. She was right, mostly. And I didn't want to hear it so I get mad and shut her out."

Judy was glad that Quinn finally understood what she'd been trying to tell her for a couple days now. She stood and placed a kiss on Quinn's head and made her way towards the door.

"I'll try and call her soon and talk to her," Quinn said. "I'll try and explain."

"It's going to have to wait until Monday," Judy said. "Because you are grounded this weekend."

"But-"

"I don't ever want to get another call about you fighting in school," Judy said before walking out and shutting the door behind her.

Quinn let out an exasperated sigh and flopped back on her bed.

Rachel had completed her first essay and still hadn't seen or heard from her mother. She was beginning to wonder if Shelby would be up to talk to her at all. She had assumed she would be, but Rachel really didn't know for sure. She didn't know what Shelby was going to do at all.

Rachel was reading through her text book looking for the answers to one of her wrong answers on her quiz when finally there was a knock at her door.

"Come in," she called.

Shelby entered and shut the door behind her. Rachel shut her book and placed it on the desk even though her eyes never left her mother.

Shelby's hand left the doorknob and she moved farther into the room to get closer to Rachel.

"We need to talk."

**A/N – Please leave me a review if you are so inclined. **

**And I know a lot of people asked about it, but there's not really anything sinister going on with the homework thing. It's just a quirk to create tension. I stole it from myself, actually. From grade school up through completing my Master's degree, I hated people bugging me about homework. I did it. Where or when or how should not have been important, I felt. It used to drive my mom nuts. **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N – Sorry for the slight delay with this chapter. Thanks so much for all of the reviews. I'm so grateful to you guys who have kept reading and kept reviewing. I really appreciate it. **

**Disclaimer – Ryan Murphy won't even share with me. He owns it all. **

Shelby grabbed the second chair in Rachel's room out of the corner and moved it over to the desk so she could sit by her daughter. Rachel watched her the whole time, trying to read her mother's demeanor. Shelby didn't appear to be angry, but she was certainly keeping her true feelings guarded. It made Rachel even more nervous because she had no background on how Shelby was going to react. At least she had always known what she was getting with her dads. Shelby took in Rachel's look of apprehension and softened her features. She wasn't here to berate or yell at her daughter, but to have a serious discussion about the day's events. She set the chair down next to Rachel and sat. She had known where she wanted to start this, but the sight of Rachel sitting at the desk with open textbooks and notebooks had surprised her.

"Are you doing homework?"

Rachel took a breath and let it out slowly. She may as well get this over with. "In a manner of speaking."

"In a manner of speaking? What does that mean?" Shelby asked, somewhat amused. She always thought that homework was pretty cut and dry.

"Do you remember the meeting with Miss Pillsbury? And you made me leave and go to class so I could take a quiz?"

Shelby nodded.

"And then I came back pretty quickly? I came back so quickly because I rushed through the quiz and I kind of failed it," Rachel said. She moved her Biology book and picked up the quiz and handed it to Shelby.

Shelby looked over the quiz and with the F on the top and multiple questions marked wrong. "Kind of?"

"She wants you to sign it and for me to turn in back into her on Monday. And my teacher did say that I can bump it to a C if I write two essays on any two of the questions that I got wrong and that's what I'm working on. I've already finished one."

"I see," Shelby said, picking up a pen and signing the quiz.

"Please don't be mad about this, Mom," Rachel said. "I've never failed a test or a quiz before. I was distracted and anxious. There was a lot going on that day."

"Were you even prepared for it?" Shelby asked.

Rachel was wringing her hands and looked away and shook her head. "Not this time. But I normally I am. I'm a good student and I take pride in that," Rachel told her. "I won't let this happen again. And I've got plenty of time to bring the grade back up."

"Alright," Shelby said. "We'll let this go for now. You'll finish those essays and then I don't want there to be anymore reports of failing grades." Shelby knew how stressed out Rachel had been. It hardly seemed fair to be upset over something like this right now.

Rachel looked back to her mother and met her gaze. "Thanks. And there won't be. I just need to get myself back to feeling normal and in my routines. This week caused such an upheaval and I feel so unsettled-" Rachel stopped herself when she realized what she was saying. She hastily added, "Not that I don't feel normal or settled here. I mean, I do. I'm sorry. Everything is going great and-" she was floundering and Shelby reached out and took her hand.

"Stop." The look of uncertainty and embarrassment that graced Rachel's features made Shelby want to pull her close and hold her. But she simply held Rachel's hand and tried to soothe the girl's worries.

"I understand, honey. We're both unsettled," Shelby told her. "This is a huge adjustment and we're both having trouble. I think we both thought that you would get here and everything would fall into place right away, but it doesn't work like that. We're both getting to know one another and how to live with each other."

"It's harder than I thought," Rachel acknowledged. "I am trying, but how I'm used to doing things doesn't seem to be the way you want things done."

"I know," Shelby said. "And we're going to work on that. We need to really talk about our expectations and we need to really listen to each other. So tell me; what's one thing that has been bothering you?"

Rachel thought for a moment. How could she tell the woman she had practically begged to come and live with that she needed her to back off some? She wanted to tell Shelby that she had a way of doing things that weren't meshing with hers. Shelby watched her daughter mull it over and wished she could get inside of Rachel's head and figure out what the girl was having so much trouble saying.

"The bedtime," Rachel finally said. "It's too early.

"What time is a good time?" Shelby asked.

"I've been thinking about that and I don't think it needs to be set. I like to just go to bed when I'm tired," Rachel said.

Shelby thought back to her conversation with Henry and Scott about Rachel and getting her to bed. Rachel was swinging for the fences with her suggestion and Shelby was going to pull it back in.

"I disagree. You're going to have a set bedtime," Shelby told her.

"But, Mom, I'm fifteen!"

"Yes, exactly."

Rachel pouted and Shelby smiled. Shelby wanted to explain that pouting when you don't get your way is not one of the best ways to prove how grown up you are.

"So I'll ask again," Shelby said. "What's a good time?"

"10:45."

Shelby scoffed. "Try again."

"10:30."

"10:00."

"10:15," Rachel countered.

"10:00. And there will be no TV or using the computer after 9:30."

Rachel's jaw dropped at Shelby's declaration. "Mom! I thought we were compromising. It feels like it just got worse."

"I did compromise." Shelby understood Rachel's anger over this, but she also understood the girl herself a little better than maybe Rachel thought she did. Everything about Rachel craved having the parent who provided structure as well as lots of affection. Rachel was resisting because along with structure came a loss of control, but Shelby knew it would be good for her. Rachel needed the chance to get back to feeling like a kid who was being taken care of and not the mini-adult she's been presenting herself as all these years.

And besides all of that, Shelby had worked with teenagers for years and she knew how they were when they were tired and cranky, and she wasn't going to live with one if she could help it.

"You can stay up until 10:00, but I want you doing something besides watching TV or checking your MySpace before you get into bed," Shelby told her. "You can read or go up and play the piano or sing or talk with me or Beth. Listen, I know you don't get it right now, but trust me on this one, ok?"

Rachel nodded more because she felt she was expected to and not because she agreed.

"Now that we got that out of the way, tell me what else is bothering you," Shelby said. "The thing you really need to say, but are holding back."

Rachel met Shelby's gaze and then looked away, shaking her head.

"Rachel."

"It's nothing, really. I just feel kind of like… it sounds so silly after everything, but I just need a little bit of space," Rachel said, almost wincing as she did so because she was worried about her mother's reaction.

Shelby nodded, "I get that. And I'm sorry if you've felt caged or that I don't think you're entitled to your privacy. I need to work on that. I think I've been trying too hard to be close to you and I may have gone overboard. I remember what it's like to be your age and be annoyed at being pestered by my mom. Trust me, she'll tell you all about it."

"It's not only that," Rachel said. "I think a lot of it has to do with not knowing this area all that well. And I'm farther from school and you won't let me walk there. I've been nervous about going running in the morning because you were mad last time. Believe me, I don't mind all the attention you give me, but… I don't know," she said honestly. "I really don't know because this is what I wanted, isn't it?"

"It's ok, I understand," Shelby said. "It's a learning curve for both of us and we'll work on finding our balance. We'll work those things out, ok? But the attention I give isn't going away. You're my girl. I'm brand new to the parenting thing and I think maybe I've been trying to over compensate for 15 years worth of time we didn't get to spend together. And I want to make sure you're happier here than at your dads' house."

"I already am happier here," Rachel assured her.

"Good. I'll back off a little and you'll cut me some slack with the attitude," Shelby said, segueing into where this conversation was originally planned to go. Rachel understood and sat back a little in her chair away from Shelby and dropped her gaze to her lap. "Don't you think it would have been easier to talk to me this morning instead of sulking and then yelling?" Shelby asked.

"I thought perhaps you would understand that walking to school was something that I'm capable of doing on my own and give me a chance," Rachel said.

"I know you're capable of walking to school, Rachel. And if it's that important to you, then go for it. I'll take you if it's raining or you just don't feel like walking," Shelby said.

"Thank you," Rachel said.

"But I was talking about our little conversation about your homework in the car this morning," Shelby said. Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but Shelby cut her off. "Hang on. Just listen for a second. I get that you more than likely do it at school; I did the same thing."

"Then why do you keep asking about it? I was getting so frustrated."

"And I was going to ask you why you couldn't just tell me that the first time I asked," Shelby said. "All I needed was a quick answer and then I wouldn't have bugged you about it anymore and you wouldn't be in any trouble."

"I'm in trouble for doing my homework?" Rachel asked innocently.

"You are in trouble for yelling at me in the car like that," Shelby said.

"But, Mom," Rachel whined. "This whole week has just been building up and-"

"That's not going to be an excuse anymore, honey. And I do believe we've already been over the yelling thing," Shelby said. "What did I say to you the last time you lashed out and yelled at me?"

Rachel crossed her arms and pouted. "That I wouldn't like it if I did it again."

"That's right. That was your free pass. This time you are grounded."

"I haven't even been here a week," Rachel said forlornly.

"That's true. But I won't back down from his, Rachel. In some ways you're testing me and this is just me letting you know what you can expect," Shelby told her. "There are a lot of things I'd probably let slide or let you get away with, but disrespect isn't one of them." This was a lesson that Shelby had always imparted to her new students right on the first day. She did not tolerate them being disrespectful to her or to each other.

"For how long?" Rachel asked.

"Just this weekend," Shelby answered. "I want you to stay off your phone and off your computer and you're to be in bed by 9:00."

"But your mom is here!" Rachel argued.

"Which is why I'm not restricting you from the TV as well," Shelby said. "My mom loves to watch movies and I know she's got some she wants to see with you."

"But 9:00?"

"She knows you're being punished," Shelby said, and to her disdain she watched as a look of utter embarrassment crossed Rachel's face. Shelby was not trying to embarrass her at all. "Relax, honey." She scooted forward in her chair and pulled Rachel forward in hers until the girl leaned over and rested her forehead to Shelby's shoulder. Shelby rubbed her back trying to get Rachel to relax from the stiff posture she held.

"Listen, Rachel, I know this is all new to you and not what you had in mind," Shelby told her. "You were only thinking about the good times you would have here with me. You were thinking fun and big hugs and lots of attention. And you have all that. But with the good comes the bad and part of that is learning that I'm your mom in every aspect. I'm not just going to be here for all the things you want and then let you do whatever because that's what you're used to. I'm going to parent you all the time, whether it is to praise you or to scold you. Do you understand?" Rachel nodded against her shoulder.

"And none of this changes how I feel about you," Shelby continued. "I love you, Rachel. More than you can probably realize. And your grandmother isn't going to care at all about this. She has been there and done that. She raised me, after all."

Rachel smiled and finally relaxed. "I love you, Mom."

Shelby placed a kiss on Rachel's hair and they sat in silence for a few seconds, just taking in the moment.

"Now," Shelby said, breaking the silence. "Let's talk about the fight."

Rachel sat up slowly, looking at Shelby's eyes as she did. She had hoped that Shelby was just letting it go and that the conversation had ended with the sweet scene that preceded this.

"Let me guess," Rachel said. "Fighting isn't something you tolerate either."

"Not normally, no," Shelby said.

"I'm just getting everything out of the way at one time, aren't I?"

"It seems as if you're trying to," Shelby said. "What happened?"

"Well, I would just like to say that it wasn't really a fight. Quinn and I were arguing and she pushed me and then I pushed her back. That's all that happened," Rachel said. "It's not even fair that Mr. Schue called you and Mrs. Fabray."

"Oh? Why is that?" Shelby wondered.

"Because when Finn and Puck got into a fight, an actual fight with fists being thrown I might add, in the middle of the hallway at school, Mr. Schue just let them go," Rachel said.

Shelby had to give that one to her. It wasn't fair. She often wondered how Will Schuester made it as a teacher with all his inconsistencies and drama.

"He actually probably made it worse," Rachel continued. "At least Quinn and I were talking. It may have been a shouting match, but we were talking. We might have actually been able to start to resolve the problem. But we both stopped talking as soon as he caught us."

"Or one of you might have ended up with a bloody nose or a black eye," Shelby countered.

"Or we could be friends again."

"Rachel, I want you to leave Quinn alone for a little while. If she wants to talk to you, let her seek you out and then have the conversation. Don't keep trying to talk to her at every chance you get," Shelby instructed. "I don't want you getting in any more trouble over this argument you two are having."

Rachel nodded, sadly. "So…"

"So…?" Shelby asked.

"How long am I grounded for fighting?"

"You're not," Shelby answered.

"I'm not?"

"No."

Rachel stared at her suspiciously for a few moments wondering just what the catch was. "…ok."

"Ok," Shelby said. "How about you put the next essay on hold and we go down and find your Nana and see what she and Beth are up to?"

"Ok," Rachel agreed happily.

Shelby returned the chair she had been sitting in to its proper spot while Rachel cleaned up the desk, putting stray papers back into her notebook. Shelby held out a hand and Rachel took it as she got up from her chair. Shelby released her hand, opting to put one arm around Rachel's waist instead, stopping them when they reached the door.

"And Rachel," Shelby said as she delivered one hard, stinging swat to her daughter's backside.

"Ow!" Rachel said, her hands immediately going back to try and rub the sting away.

"No more fighting." Shelby stepped into the hallway while Rachel muttered something under her breath. "What was that?"

"Yes, Mom," Rachel said, loud and clear.

"That's what I thought you said." Shelby started down the stairs and Rachel followed, still rubbing. Message received.

Rebecca and Beth were sitting on the couch in the living room. Beth was propped up in Rebecca's lap and the two were talking. "There you two are," Rebecca said. "Beth was just telling me about her day. Dinner should be ready soon."

"I'll go check on dinner," Shelby said, reaching out and taking Beth from her mom.

Rachel sat down on the couch next to Rebecca and the older woman moved to put an arm around her shoulders.

"Everything ok now?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm grounded," was Rachel's answer.

"I figured you would be. But look at this way; it just means you get to spend all your time with me this weekend," Rebecca said, a huge smile on her face.

Rachel couldn't help but return the smile as she snuggled in closer to her new-found grandparent. "I'm looking forward to it. And who knows, maybe you can get Mom to let me off the hook a little early."

"Don't count on it," Shelby said as she walked up behind them. Rachel whipped around and gave her mother an impish grin. "Come on, dinner's ready."

Three hours later Rachel was laying in her bed in the dark staring up at the ceiling. A glance at her clock told her it was 9:31 and she couldn't fall asleep. She had thought a 9:30 bedtime was bad, but 9:00 was even worse. True to her word, Shelby had made Rachel and Rebecca stop their movie so that Rachel could go to bed. Rachel felt it was blasphemous to stop any Barbra Streisand movie in the middle, but _The Way We Were_ was going to have to wait until the next day to be completed.

Rachel rolled to her side to look at the objects that rested on her bedside table. The green numbers from the clock illuminated the surface and Rachel could see that the indicator light on her phone was blinking, signaling that she had received a text message. Rachel knew that she wasn't supposed to be on her phone this weekend and she had actually been surprised when Shelby hadn't taken it. But the blinking light may be too much for her. Rachel reached a hand out to pick up the phone, but then brought it back and placed back under her blankets. Twice more she reached for the phone and twice more she brought her hand back empty. Shelby had trusted her enough to not take the phone away and Rachel didn't want to go behind her back at the first opportunity and use the phone. But still the light was blinking; taunting her and insisting that she check her message. Rachel stared at it, hoping she could break it's will before it broke hers and she ended up checking it.

"It's not going to bite you, you know."

"Oh my god!" Rachel half screamed, half gasped as she rolled over to find Shelby standing in her room watching her curiously. "Mom," Rachel placed a hand to her chest and she could feel her heart pounding from being startled. "You scared me. What are you doing?"

"I was just looking in on you," Shelby told her. "I thought you were sleeping at first because you were lying so still, but then you started to reach for the phone and I couldn't help but watch."

"I have a text message," Rachel explained. "I've been debating whether or not I should check it, but you said no phone. I didn't check it," Rachel said, quite proud of herself actually.

"I see that you didn't. Thank you for minding what I said," Shelby said sincerely. "That would have been an easy enough thing to sneak and check. I'm glad that you were able to restrain yourself."

Rachel smiled because she felt she could see the pride in Shelby's face even in the darkened room.

"But would you like me to hang onto it for you? So the temptation is gone?"

"Yes, please," Rachel said quickly, breathing a sigh of relief.

Shelby laughed at her daughter's dramatics and went to the other side of the bed to take the phone. She turned it off without checking the messages and said, "I'll give it back to you Monday morning."

"Thank you."

"No problem," Shelby said as she reached down to pull the covers up and tuck Rachel in properly. "Now why don't you try and get some sleep."

"But it's so early," Rachel whined.

"What's that? Tomorrow night you want to go to bed even earlier?" Shelby said acting surprised.

"No, no, no," Rachel backtracked as Shelby smirked and bent down to place a kiss on Rachel's forehead.

"Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, Mom."

On the other side of town, Quinn was also in her room, though not yet in bed. And though she too was grounded, she kept checking her phone to see if Rachel had sent a reply to her message. Quinn was not so worried about using her phone even though her mom had told her not to. Quinn didn't want to wait until Monday to talk to Rachel because she wanted to let her friend know that she was ready to talk and hopefully make up. She just hoped she hadn't pushed Rachel away one too many times to where the girl was not going to come back.

Quinn had sent the message over fifteen minutes ago and still there was no reply. She wondered what had happened to Rachel today once Shelby got her home. It had occurred to Quinn that Rachel may be grounded as well and not have access to her phone, but she had sent the message anyway, in case that wasn't the case. But now that she hadn't received a reply, she was just going to assume that she hadn't received a reply simply because Rachel couldn't send the message and not because the girl didn't want to reply. That was easier than thinking that Rachel may not want to talk to her anymore.

Quinn had her phone on silent mode and placed it on her own bedside table. She wanted to make sure it kept quiet in case it rang or alerted her to message because she didn't want to draw Judy's attention to it. The blonde waited another fifteen minutes before she checked her phone again in the hopes that Rachel had responded within that time. There was no response, of course, and so Quinn gave up for the night. She had just put it in a drawer when Judy popped her head in to tell her that it was time for bed. Quinn sighed, but got up to get ready anyway. She wasn't sure how much sleep she would get because of how worried she was that her friendship with Rachel might really be over. It made Quinn feel even sorrier when she realized that Rachel had probably been feeling this way for most of the week. Quinn still didn't know quite how Rachel had done it, but the little brunette had made herself a permanent fixture in Quinn's world in just one week. As soon as Quinn had let herself see and meet the girl behind the Glee club diva, she knew she had made a friend unlike any she had ever had. As she drifted off to sleep, Quinn promised herself that she would never let her friendship with Rachel be threatened in this way again.

**A/N – I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave me a review because I love hearing from you guys.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N – Thank you so much for all the reviews and thoughts on the story. I really love hearing from you guys. **

**Disclaimer – I still own nothing. **

Rachel rolled over again and looked at her clock to see that it read 3:22; only seven minutes from when she last looked. She'd been awake for almost an hour now and she just couldn't fall back asleep. The early morning darkness blanketed the room and she tried in vain to close her eyes and get back to sleep again. Only four minutes passed before she was checking her clock again and she decided enough was enough and that she was just going to get up.

Rachel was up and showered and down in the kitchen before 4am. Her sweats and an NYC sweatshirt of Shelby's provided a warm, but casual outfit and her still damp hair hung loosely around her shoulders. Rachel stood at the kitchen sink, drinking a glass of juice and absently staring out the window. For as much Rachel liked activity and music and the general hum of life around her, she found herself quite enjoying the peaceful moment of stillness that the newness of the day provided.

The moment was interrupted when a car drove by outside, drawing her eyes to the taillights and breaking up the silence with the sound of the motor. Rachel sighed and put her empty glass in the sink and wandered into the living room. Getting up had seemed to be the better option that laying bed wide awake with nothing to do. But now she was up and equally as bored and still had nothing to do. She sat on the couch and reached for the remote, but thought about her grounding. She wasn't technically breaking the rules because Shelby hadn't said no TV, but that was only because Nana was here and Rachel knew it would be off limits otherwise. But still… No, Rachel would be better than that. She wanted to be on her best behavior and prove that her actions recently were not normally how she would act.

She still needed something to do though. She flipped through a magazine for a few minutes, but wasn't at all interested and soon dropped in back on the coffee table. Rachel thought that surely she could come up with something to keep herself occupied. She was a person who was used to having to entertain herself, after all. Of course that was easier to do when she had her laptop and phone, iPod and a TV at her disposal. She didn't even have any of her books here that she could read and Shelby's library was in her office and that was a room Rachel hadn't ventured into yet. It wasn't a place Rachel just wanted to walk in and explore. She would seek permission first.

Rachel mulled over the idea of going back up to her room and finishing her second essay for her Biology class. She quickly dismissed that thought though because who could think about a Biology essay at 4:15 in the morning. Going up to the music room and playing the piano or singing was out of the question because it would surely wake everyone else up.

Rachel rose from her spot on the couch and decided to enter the formal dining room, a room that she hadn't yet seen used. She flipped on the light and marveled at the furniture and openness of the room. From a distance the room had seemed as if would be stiff and unfriendly, but it was the exact opposite. The furniture was a dark wood and it looked to be antique. There was a china cabinet along one wall in which a beautiful set of china was on display. Rachel immediately loved the room and made a mental note to ask her mom if they could use it more often instead of just eating at the table in the kitchen. The whole room just screamed family togetherness and Rachel felt it was too bad that they left it in the dark and all alone most of the time.

Rachel scanned the room and her eyes happened upon the door to the basement. It sat in the far corner near the entrance to the kitchen and Rachel only knew what it was because Shelby had off-handedly pointed out when she gave Rachel her first tour. Deciding that now would be a good time to explore that room; Rachel stepped towards the door and opened it. She flipped on the light and made her way down the stairs and found herself in a well-lit room that was not at all like the damp and dark image that most people imagined basements to be. The washer and dryer were off to one side in a corner and on the other side were shelves and bins that looked to be for storage.

Rachel headed for the boxes and bins that were stacked neatly on the floor or on the shelves and wandered around them. She wasn't really sure what she was looking for when a boxes labeled 'PHOTOS' caught her eye and she bent down and removed the lid. Inside the box were albums and some stray pictures and next to that box was another with the same label, and then another. Finally having found something to do, Rachel settled down on the floor and pulled out the first album. It was full of old pictures and Rachel immediately recognized one of a younger looking (although how that was possible, she wasn't sure) Nana and Shelby. Her mother appeared to be about four-years-old and was showing off her Halloween costume; a Wicked Witch. She stood proudly on her front step with a broom raised high above her head and her mom smiling behind her. Rachel thought about how she had once dressed as Dorothy when she was four and the irony of it made her smile.

Beth started crying a little after six and Shelby opened her eyes to look at the baby, thinking maybe if she didn't move Beth would be fooled and go back to sleep. That was, of course, a futile wish and Shelby got out of bed and picked up her infant and tried to soothe her.

Ten minutes later Shelby and Beth entered the kitchen to find Rebecca awake and sipping some freshly brewed coffee. Shelby had thrown on a pair of sweats and pulled her hair up and had changed Beth before coming down the stairs.

"I love it when you're here," Shelby said to her mother, alluding to the fact that the coffee was already made. She passed off the whimpering Beth and stole a sip out of Rebecca's mug.

"I heard her crying and made a bottle already too," Rebecca answered, trying to shoo Shelby away from her coffee. The grandmother expertly sat back down holding Beth and the bottle with one hand and reaching for her coffee with the other.

"Where's Rachel?" Shelby asked as she got her own mug and poured the coffee in it.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her yet," was Rebecca's response.

"Her door was ajar," Shelby said. "And she won't sleep with the door open."

Rebecca looked to Shelby and shrugged. Shelby set her coffee down without taking a sip and left the kitchen to search once again for her child. If Rachel did this every weekend, Shelby was going to buy bells to put on her bedroom door so she would be able to hear her coming and going. Shelby entered the living room and peeked over the back of the couch to see if Rachel was lying there, but it was empty. It was then that Shelby noticed the light was on in the dining room. Stepping into the room, she noticed that the door to the basement was open.

"I think I found her," Shelby said to her mom as she passed the kitchen. Once she got to the bottom of the stairs Shelby found Rachel sitting on the floor surrounded by photo albums and stray pictures. Some albums were open and turned to specific pages while some were closed. There were empty boxes scattered and Rachel sat in the middle of it all with another open album in her lap. She hadn't heard Shelby come in so the woman knocked softly on the banister so she could get her attention and not startle her again.

Rachel looked up at the knock and gave Shelby an excited smile. "Mom, look at all these pictures!" Rachel loved pictures. She obviously loved having pictures taken of her, it was something she even practiced for, but she also loved pictures of her family. She used to pour over pictures of her dads when they were children and she would sit with them and make them tell her the stories behind the pictures. It was a wonderful way to get insight into the lives they had before they became her parents. So this find was giving her the opportunity to do the same with her mom.

"I see," Shelby said as she stepped further into the room and smiled at Rachel's excitement.

"Why are all of these down here in the basement?" Rachel asked. "They should be upstairs where they can be seen."

"There's just too many of them," Shelby said. "And they're safe down here. I've got scans of a lot of them on my computer." Shelby started to pick up some of the albums and return them to boxes.

"Look at this one," Rachel said holding up the album she was currently looking at for Shelby to see. "It's you in Times Square."

"That was just after I moved to New York," Shelby told her. "I've got a few albums that are full of just New York. I'm sure you'll like them."

"This is the first one I've come across," Rachel said.

"How long have you been down here?"

Rachel looked around for a clock and finding none, she looked back to Shelby and asked her the time.

"It's about 6:45," Shelby answered.

"Wow, you're up early."

Shelby laughed because clearly Rachel had been up even earlier. "I guess we're all used to being awake early because Beth and Nana are both up as well. Although it seems as if you beat us all this morning."

"I couldn't sleep this morning so I've been up for a while," Rachel said. "I got out of bed around 3:30, but that doesn't count for the hour I was awake before that. I've been down here since about 4:30, I guess."

"You've been down here sitting on the cold floor for the past two hours?" Shelby asked. And then when it sank in what Rachel had actually said, "You've been up since 2:30 this morning?"

Rachel was no sure which thing her mom was more worried about at the moment so she simply said, "yes? And don't worry, the floor's not cold anymore."

Shelby rolled her eyes at daughter. "Up. Come on, get up." Shelby had finished re-packing the albums that had been around Rachel and she took the one she was holding and placed it on top on in a box and then put the lid back on it.

"But I'm not done looking at them," Rachel said as she got to her feet.

"There's plenty of time to look at them, Rachel. And it doesn't have to be done in a chilly basement. And besides, don't you want to save some of the suspense? If you look at them all at one time, there won't be any more to look forward to."

Rachel knew there was truth to that statement and so she nodded as Shelby pulled her close and placed a good morning kiss on her hair.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" Shelby asked.

A sarcastic comment about having been put to bed so early crossed Rachel's mind, but she knew that was the wrong answer.

"I don't know," she replied. "I just couldn't. One of those days, I guess."

The pair was at the top of the stairs now and Shelby shut the door behind them. "You're going to be tired later."

Rachel waved her off indicating to Shelby that it was silly to think she'd be tired later and entered the kitchen to say hello to Beth and Nana and get some breakfast.

By noon Rachel was asleep on the couch, her head resting on a pillow next to where Rebecca sat. The woman was gently rubbing her fingers through Rachel's hair and watching the OSU football game. It was more like it was on rather than that she was watching it and she had the volume turned down low, but she wanted to be able to check to score occasionally. She knew her husband and son were glued to the TV in their respective homes watching the same game.

Shelby returned from upstairs and started to say that she had been able to get Beth down for her nap. Rebecca held a finger to her lips indicating that she needed to speak softer and pointed at Rachel. Shelby smiled at the sleeping girl and reached down to fix the blanket that was falling off of Rachel. She pulled it up to Rachel's shoulders and made sure that her feet were covered as well. Rebecca watched in silence, not sure she would ever get over the joy she felt at watching her children attend to their own children.

"How long has she been out?"

"About fifteen minutes," Rebecca answered.

Shelby sat in a rocking chair and closed her eyes for a moment as she rocked. She wanted to capture this moment and bottle it. She was home with both her kids and the happiness that that single thought brought to her was overwhelming.

"What are the chances you'll be able to get them both down for a nap at the same time again?" Rebecca asked.

"Probably pretty slim. But to be fair, Rachel is napping all on her own. I didn't make her do it. In fact she assured me this morning that she wouldn't be tired later on," Shelby said. "I still can't imagine what she was doing up at 2:30 this morning."

"Yesterday seemed like it was a rough day for her," Rebecca said. "Maybe her mind just wouldn't settle enough for her to get any good amount of sleep. She'll probably sleep just fine tonight, even with going to bed early."

"She won't if she sleeps all afternoon," Shelby said. Even with the threat of Rachel whining about her bedtime tonight, Shelby knew she wouldn't have the heart to wake the girl anytime soon.

"I can't believe she's really here," Shelby admitted, not taking her eyes off of Rachel. "Who would have thought I would ever have thought a perfect Saturday afternoon would be getting to watch one teenager sleep."

Rebecca chuckled softly. "It's incredible, isn't it? Everyone loves to watch babies sleep, but then people think that it wears off. It doesn't. Not if it's your own kid."

"I told her when we first met earlier in the spring that I wanted a baby and that she was too grown up to need me," Shelby said. "I told her that she basically wasn't what I was looking for anymore." Her voice was catching as she talked about when she had pushed Rachel away. "But the newness of her is incredible. Having her stay in my house last weekend felt like what it was like when I brought Beth home from the hospital. Everything changed in an instant."

Rebecca reached her hand out and took Shelby's in her own. She didn't say anything, knowing that Shelby was still processing her feelings and needed to get them out.

"And I truly realize how crazy it was for me to think that she was grown up and didn't need me. Look at how small and young she is. She's been struggling for years and I turned her away," Shelby said. "And I know I didn't know the full story of what was going on, but is that any real excuse. She said she needed a mom. I should have known because I know how much I need you. But I think the most surprising thing of all is how much I need her. I wonder if I'll ever be able to explain to her just how much all of this means to me and how much she is giving me because I know she thinks that she's the only one benefiting here."

Shelby had tears on her cheeks now and Rebecca wasn't fairing any better.

"You simply tell her and remind her, everyday if need be, until you are sure she understands," Rebecca said. "I see so much of you in her, even if you weren't the one who raised her these past fifteen years. There is still so much time left before she'll really be grown and you get to be the one to guide her there. You may not have gotten her as an infant, but you still are getting her at the beginning of another journey and this time you get to be there for every part of it. And one day when she wins a Tony Award, I'm betting we'll hear the words 'thanks mom' come out of her mouth."

"It would have been the first thing I said," Shelby replied, squeezing Rebecca's hand. The two looked at each other as more tears spilled over.

Neither noticed as Rachel started to stir until she stretched out and the blanket again started to fall. Rebecca released her daughter's hand and turned back to watch Rachel. The girl sat up and looked at the TV and asked, "Is the football game still on?" The disdain was clear in her voice and one could surmise that she was hoping she would have slept through it.

"You only slept for about a half an hour," Rebecca told her. "Just a power nap."

Rachel yawned and turned to look at Shelby who was hastily wiping away tears and then to Rebecca who was doing the same.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Shelby answered. "Everything is perfect."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked, concern evident in her voice. Shelby looked in Rachel's dark eyes and could see the worry in them.

"It's fine," Rebecca said. "We were just talking about you and how you're getting settled in here."

"You're crying about me getting settled in?" Rachel glanced back and forth between the two women and tried to figure out what was really going on.

"Happy tears, honey," Shelby assured her.

"If you say so," Rachel said as she got to her feet and started to walk out. Shelby caught her arm and stopped her.

"Where're you going, sweetie?"

"I'm going back down to the basement to look at some more pictures," Rachel said. "You two look like you could use some time to yourselves to finish crying. And as grateful as I am that I can still watch TV during this weekend of confinement, watching a football game may just make it worse."

"You mean you don't like to watch The Ohio State University play football?" Shelby asked in a mock surprise. It went against everything the Corcorans believed in to not cheer for whatever sport OSU happened to be playing at the moment, but especially football. Shelby still loved them even if it wasn't the university she attended. She had grown up cheering for them and being a fan was simply ingrained into who she was.

Rachel was about to answer when Shelby playfully pulled her down until Rachel was sitting her lap and facing the TV. She put her arms around her daughter's waist and held her there when Rachel tried to get up.

"But you have to cheer for them, Rachel. We're Buckeyes!" Shelby told her.

"I don't care about them," Rachel said, once more trying to wriggle free. "Are you trying to punish me even more? I didn't think I had done anything to deserve being forced to sit here and watch this." But even as she said it, she leaned back into her mom and let Shelby rock her. "I didn't know you were such a big football fan."

Shelby held tighter and smiled as Rachel began to relax. "I like football. I like most sports, honestly," Shelby told her. "I think just really like competition. But we have to like OSU because that's where your grandparents and aunt and uncle went to school. And Sam teaches there."

"What was your degree in?" Rachel asked Rebecca?

"Economics," was her answer. Rachel crinkled her nose. "Don't make that face, young lady; it's a perfectly fine degree."

"You didn't mention yourself, Mom. Where did you go to school?"

"NYU," Shelby told her proudly and Rachel beamed.

"At least you were able to break free and go to a good school," Rachel said.

"And just what does that mean?" Rebecca said.

Shelby and Rachel both turned and looked at Rebecca. Rachel couldn't quite tell if the look on her face was a mock serious one or not, but she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

"Come here," Rebecca told her, crooking a finger at her granddaughter. Rachel saw the hint of a smile, but still shook her head.

Rebecca started to move closer to the pair and Shelby quickly helped Rachel to her feet. "Run," she told her eldest daughter.

Rachel scrambled away and headed in the direction of the basement. She could hear her mother and grandmother laughing even as Shelby called for her to bring a box of pictures up to them so they could look at them together.

Across town, Quinn was lying in bed and sneaking a look at her phone. There was still no response from Rachel and the blonde had just about given up hope. She resigned herself to having to wait until Monday to get a chance to talk with her friend. She slipped the phone back in her drawer and stared up at the ceiling. She was so bored. This whole being grounded over the weekend thing was for the birds, she had decided.

Suddenly she had an idea of how she could talk to Rachel without really having her there to talk to. Quinn got up and retrieved one of her notebooks and a pencil and sat down at her desk. She would simply write out everything she wanted to say and then that way if Rachel didn't talk to her on Monday (which she really hoped would not be the case) than she could hand her the letter and hopefully Rachel would read it. And this way she would be able to carefully plan out what she was trying to say and get it all down without the pressure of Rachel standing there listening. Quinn figured that having some helpful notes in a situation as big as this could not be a bad thing. And if nothing else, it would help pass the time. So with a renewed sense of urgency, Quinn began to write.

Shelby, Rachel and Rebecca had spent a good portion of the afternoon looking at pictures and telling stories. Rachel listened intently as she tried to memorize every family story and picture. It wasn't a realistic goal, she knew, but it didn't stop her from trying. Rachel was getting to learn more about her mother as a child and plus she was learning about a whole bunch of family members she never even knew existed.

Rachel enjoyed good laughs at her mother's changing hairstyles and fashion choices. The big bangs 80's look may have been her favorite, much to Shelby's dismay.

"I understand it's not your fault, Mom," Rachel said. "It was the 80's so there's not really anyone to blame. I just glad that there's so much photographic evidence to look at now." Rachel chuckled to herself, but was not quick enough to duck the pillow that sailed across the room and whacked her in the face. Rachel started to throw it back, but Rebecca held up a hand and with one "girls" stopped the pillow fight before it could go any farther.

After an early dinner and some more time spent looking at pictures, Rachel made her way to her room at her mother's 'request' to work some more on her essay for Biology. The day had been so nice that Rachel almost forgot that she was still being punished, but she made no argument. Shelby had noticed the frequent yawns that Rachel had given all day and smiled to herself every time Rachel insisted that she wasn't tired. A thirty minute power nap was barely enough to keep her batteries charged all day.

At 8:45 Shelby made her way to Rachel's room to tell her it was time to get ready for bed. She found the girl with her head down on the open book on the desk, pencil in hand, sleeping. Shelby went over to her and took the pencil and gently shook Rachel.

"Rachel, it's time to get into bed," Shelby said.

"I'm already in bed," was Rachel's sleep reply.

"Come on, honey," Shelby said. She snaked an arm around Rachel's back and under the girl's arms and lifted her so that she was standing and walked her to the bed. Once she had her seated, Shelby helped Rachel take her sweatshirt off so that she wouldn't be too hot overnight. She laid her back on her pillows and removed the girl's socks. Shelby covered her with a blanket and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight, Mom," Rachel mumbled.

"Goodnight, baby," Shelby said.

After Rachel was tucked in and sleeping Shelby picked up her alarm clock and turned the 6am alarm off. She knew Rachel set her alarm on the weekends, buts he couldn't for the life of her figure out why. Next she went over to the desk to take a look at how Rachel had done on her essay. Shelby had to stifle a laugh when she picked up the paper to see that the only thing Rachel had written was 'Biology sucks! And there's not even any good songs about it.' That was her girl. Shelby knew she would have to get Rachel started on it earlier the next day. Shelby kept the paper as she left the room so she could show her mom. She flipped the light off and shut the door leaving Rachel to her dreams in what she hoped would be a good night's rest for her daughter.

**A/N – Please leave me reviews and let me know what you think. I appreciate the feedback. **

**And there will be more Quinn next time, I promise.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N – Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter posted. And thank you so much for all of the reviews and adds to the story alerts and what not. You guys really are great.**

**Disclaimer – Only the idea belongs to me.**

It was raining Monday morning which threw off Rachel's plans of walking to school. Rachel had enjoyed the time she had been able to spend with her grandmother that weekend, but she was also ready for the new week to begin. The previous week had been one of the longest and most stressful of her life and now that a new one was stretched out before her she couldn't help but feel excited for it. Except for everything with Quinn, Rachel thought that she would be able to get her routine back in order and then things would start to settle down.

"Remember what I said about Quinn," Shelby said when she pulled into the parking lot to drop Rachel off. "Give her some space for a while and she may come to you."

"I'll try, Mom," Rachel said.

"Here, before I forget," Shelby said as she handed Rachel her phone back.

"Thanks!"

"Have a good day today. And please be-"

"Be good, I know," Rachel said. "I'll do my best."

Rachel's pink umbrella stood out among the more drab colored ones as she made her way to the building. She held down the button to turn on her phone as she walked, only to stop when she saw that she had a message from Quinn. A quick check of the date let her know that this was the message that had taunted her Friday night.

"Rachel, I need to talk to you. I'm sorry," it read.

Rachel's pace quickened and she felt like she was practically running by the time she reached the main doors and pulled them open. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go to Quinn's locker first and check for her there or if she wanted to go to her own and deposit some of her stuff. Rachel reasoned it would be easier to search the school if she was able to get rid of her umbrella and some books first.

Quinn was leaning against Rachel's locker when she saw the smaller girl come around the corner. The blonde stood up straighter and suddenly looked nervous when she saw Rachel coming her way. Rachel, on the other hand, was relieved to see that her friend was there because it completely saved her the time it would take to track her down.

"Hi Qui-"

"Hi Rach-"

They had spoken simultaneously and then had stopped, each waiting for the other to go first. Rachel was not one to let an awkward silence go on for too long so after a couple of beats, she continued.

"I just saw your message this morning. I was grounded all weekend and couldn't look at the phone."

Quinn felt a wave of relief when she finally knew that Rachel simply hadn't been ignoring her all weekend. She had suspected that perhaps the girl couldn't use her phone, since she herself wasn't technically supposed to either, and that's why she didn't answer.

"I was grounded too. But I guess I'm sneakier than you because I used my phone all weekend," Quinn said.

"Or I'm just better behaved than you are," Rachel retorted.

"That's probably true," Quinn conceded.

The jokes broke most of the tension and Rachel laughed as she nodded in agreement. There was still the tension of what needed to be said lingering in the air, but now that they were talking again, both understood that it was just a matter of time before everything could be cleared up.

"Let's go somewhere and talk," Quinn said.

Rachel took a moment to get rid of everything but what she would need for her first class and then the pair made their way to the choir room which Rachel assured was usually empty this time of morning. They each took a seat in a chair on the risers and Quinn stopped Rachel before she could speak. Quinn wanted to go first this time.

"Rachel, I was really awful to you last week," Quinn said. "Once you lashed out I stopped thinking about how any of this was affecting you and started to only think about myself."

"I should never have said any of those things, Quinn," Rachel said.

"It's ok," Quinn interrupted. "You were having a hell of a week and I was only making it worse, but I really was trying to protect you. Shelby and I didn't want you down there listening because we thought your dads were really going to be angry and if you were there then their anger might have been directed at you. I didn't know that they would change their minds like that. And I certainly didn't know Santana would have someone slushie you to keep you away."

"I know, Quinn. I understand that now. This whole thing was my fault because rationally I understood all of that, but that didn't stop me from taking my anger out on you and Shelby," Rachel said. "I guess I'm not better than what you thought my dads would be like because that anger had been building for a long time and you just happened to be the one nearby when it all came boiling over. I am sorry, Quinn. The things I said about you and Beth were uncalled for and I apologize."

Quinn's bottom lip trembled at the mention of her daughter and at Rachel's apology. "Thank you. And I'm sorry too for not giving you the chance to explain yourself. I was too busy being wrapped up in my own hurt to see that I was hurting you just as much by not letting you talk. I put your through so much worse and you still gave me the opportunity to apologize and I was wrong to not give you the chance to do the same."

"Thank you," Rachel said.

The warning bell broke into their conversation and Rachel looked to the speaker in the room as if to accuse the bell for interrupting them on purpose.

"We'd better get to class," Quinn said as she stood and smoothed out her red and white uniform.

"Yeah. I'll see you later, Quinn?"

"Of course. I want to hear all about how it's going with Shelby," Quinn told her as they went their separate ways in the hall. Rachel wore a grin a mile wide and Quinn couldn't keep the smile away even as she slipped into her head cheerleader persona for her strut through the hallway.

The day dragged for both girls until they reached the choir room for Glee practice that afternoon. Rachel took a seat next to Quinn and they chatted as people started to trickle into the room from various spots around the school.

"Do you want to come and have dinner with my mom and me tonight?" Quinn asked. "I think she misses you."

"That sounds like fun. And I have to admit, I miss your mom as well," Rachel said with a cheeky grin.

"Oh my god, are you two friends again?" Santana asked as she came into the room to find the two of them talking. The rest of the kids turned and looked at them and waited for a reply.

"Yes, we are," Quinn answered. "We had a misunderstanding last week, but we have worked it out."

"Who cares about all that," Puck said. "I want to know why you're friends in the first place."

"Yes, are you finally ready to let us in on that little secret?" Kurt said.

"I suppose the time has come to give all of you an explanation for our sudden friendship," Rachel said. She got up and moved to the center of the room in order to begin the story.

Rachel started with telling them about her fathers and their jobs and how often they had to travel. She slowly built up to being left alone for sometimes a week at a time like it had been when Quinn found out. She wove her tale in a dramatic fashion, showing off her gift for storytelling. She wasn't embellishing or exaggerating, just giving it some flair.

"Geez, dude, you dated her all summer and you couldn't tell she was alone?" Puck said, looking to Finn.

Finn tried to gather his words to form a defense, but Rachel beat him to it.

"To be fair, Noah, I did tell him they were always busy with work. It's not Finn's fault I never explained the real situation."

"Yeah," Finn added for good measure.

"So anyway, that's where Quinn comes in," Rachel said, continuing on with the story. She told them about Judy and staying at Quinn's house. When Shelby entered the mix there were groans and complaints.

"So she decides she wants you now?" Tina said.

"She's not trying to get you to leave and go to Vocal Adrenaline, is she?" Mercedes asked.

"She's not the coach there anymore," Rachel answered. "She's been wonderful."

"So wait, you're already living with her?" Artie asked.

"Yes. That was my final part of the story. My fathers agreed to give her custody and so I live with my mom full-time now," Rachel concluded.

"How is it over there?" Finn asked. "I thought Vocal Adrenaline was afraid of her. It must be hard living with her."

"Finn, I already said that she's been wonderful. It is a work in progress and we are both adjusting, but it's working out just fine," Rachel said.

"What if she's slowly trying to get you to change your mind and go to Vocal Adrenaline?" Mike asked.

"Like some form of Jedi mind tricks," Sam added. He didn't know anything about Shelby Corcoran or Vocal Adrenaline, but he wasn't going to pass up a good nerd reference. The kids all just stared at him in silence until Rachel spoke up again.

"I assure you that she's not brainwashing me or forcing me to leave the club," Rachel told them. "Who knows, maybe I can bring her in one time and she could offer us some pointers."

"Bring who in?" Will asked when he finally came through the door.

"My mom," Rachel told him. "I think they're all convinced Shelby's going to make me leave for Vocal Adrenaline and I was trying to convince them otherwise. I thought if they got to meet her and see that she was willing to help out New Directions then they wouldn't worry as much."

"We'll see," Will said as he motioned for Rachel to take her seat. "Alright guys, the assignment for this week is Broadway." Rachel and Kurt's faces lit up. "But not just any Broadway, it has to be classic Broadway. The song has to have been in a show that premiered before 1975."

"That's like ancient, Mr. Schue," Santana scoffed.

"I want to broaden our horizons a little bit," Will told them. "There's a whole world of songs that most of you in here know nothing about."

Rachel took her notebook out and started to write down song ideas. This week was already shaping up to be better than the previous one. The Glee club seemed to be having more fun that day than normal. Mr. Schue sang for them and had everyone dancing before the song was over. The friendly demeanor that seemed to sometimes disappear once practice was over lingered and many of the kids offered words of encouragement to Rachel, which was something that surprised her, but also brought a smile to her face.

"Oh, and Berry," Santana said before leaving. "I'm sorry about calling in that last slushie attack."

"Thank you, Santana."

"I wouldn't have had to if you would just listen every once in a while," she added.

"But I wanted to be in that meeting," Rachel told her.

"Of course you wanted to. That doesn't mean you should have been there," Santana said before finally leaving with Brittney.

Rachel watched them go before turning to Quinn and was about to offer an incredulous retort to the other cheerleader, but Quinn spoke up first.

"She has a point, you know."

"Yeah," Rachel finally conceded. "I know."

Quinn needed to stop by her locker before she left so Rachel said she would meet her by her car and that she was going to take a moment and call Shelby. Rachel stepped outside onto pavement that was still damp from the earlier rainstorm and dialed her mother.

"Hi, Mom," Rachel said when Shelby picked up.

"Hi, honey. I was just about to leave to come and pick you up," Shelby said.

"There's no need, Mom, I'm going to Quinn's house this afternoon."

"Rachel, I thought I told you to give her some space. Following her home and demanding to talk to her is not giving her space," Shelby explained.

"I know that. Remember that text I had the other night that I didn't look at? It was from Quinn saying that she wanted to talk," Rachel told her. "We talked and I apologized and everything is fine now. She wants me to come and have dinner with her and her mom so that's where I'll be."

Shelby certainly didn't have a problem with Rachel spending the evening at Quinn's house, but she had hoped her daughter might have asked if she could go instead of telling, but Shelby wasn't about to rain on her parade right now. That was something they could work out later.

"That's great, honey. Is your homework done?" Shelby knew it was a touchy subject, but she was going to ask anyway.

"Yes, Mom."

"Don't roll your eyes, Rachel, I'm just asking. I want you home by nine and if Quinn can't bring you home, I'll come and get you," Shelby said.

"Thanks, Mom. I'll see you later!"

"Did she say it was ok?" Quinn asked when she met Rachel at her car.

"I didn't ask," Rachel said, confused. "I just told her where I'd be. She said I needed to be home by nine. And if you can't take me, she'll come and pick me up."

Quinn was amused. "You just told her, huh? Rachel, that's the type of thing most people ask permission for."

"Oh. I told her I was going to work on that." Crap! "I didn't even think about it. Did you ask your mom if I can come over? What if she's got other plans?" Rachel said.

"No, I didn't ask either. But I know she'll love to have you," Quinn said. "And my mom never has other plans."

"See, so we're the same," Rachel said.

"If you say so," Quinn replied.

Rachel took a moment to send a text to her mother. 'Quinn informs me that I should have asked you if I could go to her house and not have simply told you I would be there. So, may I?'

Shelby laughed when she read the message from her daughter. She typed up a reply and sent it back. 'Quinn is a smart girl. Yes, of course. I'll see you later.'

"I think she may like you better than me," Rachel told Quinn when she read her message.

"That's ok," Quinn said. "I think my mom may like you better too."

Judy Fabray was writing out checks for bills at the dining room table when the two girls came into the house.

"Quinnie," Judy called, not looking up from her work. "I hope fixed everything with Rachel today because I don't want you sulking around here anymore like you did all weekend."

"See," Quinn said to Rachel. "She likes you better."

"Awww," Rachel added quietly. "You didn't have to sulk."

"I didn't sulk all weekend over Rachel," she looked pointedly at her friend. "I sulked because you grounded me for no reason," Quinn said as they stepped up behind the woman.

"Fighting is not 'no reason,' Quinn. I should never have to come and get you from school because you've been accused of fighting." As Judy signed her name to a check Quinn looked over at Rachel and they both rolled their eyes at the mention of their fight. "And I wouldn't complain too much considering you used your phone all weekend."

Judy smiled down at her checkbook when the only defense Quinn could come up with was, "uhhh."

"You know, you can pay all of those online," Rachel finally spoke up, changing the subject

Judy spun around in her chair and looked at the young brunette a moment before getting up and pulling her into a big hug. "Why didn't you tell me she was here?"

"I wanted to surprise you," Quinn said.

"Is everything ok now?" Judy asked.

"Yes," Rachel said. "I apologized to her and I want to apologize to you too, Mrs. Fabray. I shouldn't have talked to Quinn like that."

"That's ok, honey," Judy pulled her even closer.

"She already said she'd stay for dinner, Mom," Quinn said. "You don't have to squeeze the resistance out of her."

"If that's ok with you," Rachel said, giving Judy her best big eyes.

"Of course, Rachel. We'll make whatever you want." Judy let her go and went to the kitchen to see what they had available and to determine if she might need to go out and get something.

"How is it that you can pull that face and try and sweet talk my mom but you don't even think to ask your own when you want to go somewhere?" Quinn asked, laughing.

"I've always been charming around other peoples parents," Rachel said. "And I'm still learning with Shelby. I haven't had to pull out many of my tricks with her, but I've got to keep practicing in case I need to," Rachel answered.

"That makes sense," Quinn agreed.

The trio sat down to dinner sometime later and Judy was able to get around to asking about Shelby. She had waited because she wanted to give Rachel her full attention and she couldn't do that while she was cooking.

"It's been… harder than I thought," Rachel said. "One the one hand everything is perfect and she's there and she's wonderful and on the other hand it can be frustrating and daunting. But we're working on it and we're making progress."

"It would be very hard to suddenly find yourself living with a teenager you barely know," Judy said. "She's probably caught between wanting to give you everything you want and establish herself as your parent."

"Have you been talking to her?" Rachel asked and Judy laughed.

"No, but it's a hard line to walk, Rachel. She wants nothing more than to see you happy, but she also has to make sure you understand that and that you take her seriously as a parent."

Rachel listened intently as Judy was helping to give her a look at things from Shelby's perspective. Rachel found that she had been really worried about how all of this had been affecting her and she hadn't given much thought to how it was affecting Shelby as well. Shelby had even explained some of this to her the other night, but she didn't really understand it until just now when Judy said it.

"I do take her seriously," Rachel said. "I think. But we have had some clashes and arguments as well."

"That's to be expected," Judy said. "But try not to hold it against her when you're not getting your way."

"I'll try," Rachel said. Judy smiled at her, but she knew that that sentiment was something that was certainly easier said than done when it came to being a kid.

Rachel was wrapped in another one of Judy's hugs as they stood by Quinn's car, the girls trying to get in it so the blonde could drive Rachel home.

"I'm glad you two worked everything out," Judy said. She didn't quite understand the impact Rachel had made on her, but she knew the little girl had been good for Quinn and she still felt compelled to make sure she was protected and happy.

"Mom, she's not leaving town," Quinn said. "I'll bring her over again later so you two can play some more."

Judy shot her daughter a warning glance as if to tell her not to be rude but she heard Rachel laughing and Quinn only smiled at her. She released Rachel and turned her look on the girl which only caused her to laugh harder.

"Fine," Judy said, feigning hurt. "Fine. Rachel, I hope you had a nice evening. Please come again when you can." The woman held her right hand out for Rachel to shake. Rachel stopped laughing and pouted for a second before stepping up and wrapping her arms around Judy's waist for another hug.

"I'll come back and see you soon," she promised.

Judy smiled and hugged her back while looking over at Quinn and giving her daughter a smirk to prove that she won.

"Oh my gosh," Quinn said, rolling her eyes and getting in the car.

"Bye, Rachel," Judy said, letting her go and pointing her towards the car. "Come straight home, Quinn."

"Bye," Rachel called through her open window as Quinn backed the car out of the driveway.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Quinn asked once they were on the road.

"Nothing that I know of," Rachel answered. "Why?"

"I thought maybe you could spend Friday and Saturday with me," Quinn said. "My mom won't be there because she's going out of town to visit my sister. I thought maybe we could drive to Columbus and go shopping or something."

"Really?" Rachel asked. "That sounds great. It's been a while since I've done something like that. I'll talk to my mom about it."

"Ok. But Rachel, maybe you could perhaps leave the part about my mom not being there out. Parents don't like to hear those kinds of things," Quinn told her.

"I don't know. I don't want to lie to Shelby," Rachel said.

"You're not. It'll be fine. It's like we're doing anything wrong. Just shopping and hanging out," Quinn said. "And besides, knowing my mom, she'll call every hour to check and see how you're doing. Me, on the other hand, she's not too concerned with."

"Stop," Rachel said, laughing. "You know she doesn't love anyone like she loves her Quinnie."

"Funny girl," Quinn said, shooting a look at Rachel.

"Thank you," the brunette said, although she was sure Quinn didn't understand how much Rachel appreciated the compliment she had just inadvertently been given.

**A/N – Please leave me a review if you can. I enjoy getting to read them and to see what people are thinking about the story.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews you guys continue to leave me. It's been just amazing.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

"Hey, Rachel," Quinn said as she made her way towards her friend's locker that Tuesday morning.

"Good morning, Quinn," Rachel greeted.

"Did you talk to Shelby about this weekend?"

"Not yet. I didn't get a chance to last night, but I will today," Rachel answered.

"Let me know what she says," Quinn said. "I've got a meeting with Coach Sylvester so I'll see you later."

Rachel watched her go for a moment before turning back to her locker. She hadn't talked to her mother yet because she was too uncomfortable with the idea of not telling Shelby that Judy Fabray wouldn't be there. Rachel had seen this scenario in movies before and she knew that it never worked out and that the kids always ended up in trouble. And Shelby was doing everything for her and she wanted to be able to give her mom the benefit of the doubt. And if Shelby said no than maybe she could invite Quinn over to spend the weekend with them. But no, she couldn't do that. Quinn was still uneasy about the idea of actually seeing Beth and Rachel wasn't going to push her. She actually thought her mom would be ok with Quinn getting to see the little baby, but it was up to Quinn as to when they would happen.

The irony of the situation was not lost on Rachel either. She wasn't exactly sure how comfortable Shelby would be with her spending the weekend without a parent there when Rachel herself knew what that was like. But she knew the situations were completely different and that Judy Fabray and her dads could not be compared.

Rachel knew that Quinn's worry was that Shelby would say no. That was Rachel's worry as well, but she just wasn't sure if this was a situation in which was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Nothing was being solved by staring into her locker though and Rachel finally shut the door.

"Hey, Berry," Puck said from his spot leaning up against the lockers next to hers. She hadn't noticed him come up.

"You scared me, Noah."

"I wanted to talk to you, if you've got a minute," he said. "I didn't want to bring it up in front of everyone yesterday, but I wanted to ask you about Beth. You know, now that you're living with Shelby and all. How is she?"

Rachel smiled at him, knowing that most of his rough exterior was just for show. He seemed to be the person that everyone forgot about in the baby drama and she could tell that he was hurting just as much as Quinn.

"She's great, Noah," Rachel assured him. "She's a really happy baby and Shelby really dotes on her."

Puck let out a breath and smiled. "Who does she look like?"

"She looks like Quinn. But I can see where she makes faces like you sometimes," Rachel added. "And I think she may end up with dark hair like you. Her hair is a dark blonde color right now, like it's still trying to decide on whether or not it will go full blonde or be dark. And she likes music too," Rachel said.

"I guess she'd better living in a house with you," Puck joked. "She's not really going to have much of a choice."

"Would you like me to ask my mom if I can give you a picture of her?" Rachel asked. Rachel was about to tell him how Shelby and Quinn had been talking all summer about how Beth was doing, but she didn't think that was fair. She felt that Quinn should have told him. Puck seemed to give off the impression that he didn't care sometimes and Rachel figured that maybe Quinn felt he wasn't interested.

"I'd like that," Puck said, smiling. "I know my mom would really like to see a picture."

"I'll have it tomorrow," Rachel told him.

"Thanks, Rachel."

"You're welcome, Noah."

The warning bell sounded and they each went their separate ways. Rachel entered her English class and sat up front in her normal spot. She noticed that Kurt and Mercedes, who sat towards the back, stopped talking and looked at her when she came in. She smiled at them before taking her seat, but she wasn't sure if they returned the sentiment. The real shock of the class for her came when half way through the teacher asked them to split up into groups to work on an assignment, Kurt approached her and asked her to work with him and Mercedes.

"Really?" Rachel asked, not getting up from her seat.

"Yes, come on," Kurt said, indicating he wanted her to follow him to the three desks Mercedes had reserved in a back corner.

"But, I don't understand. You've never-"

"Rachel," Kurt cut in, exasperated.

"I'm coming," she said quickly as she gathered her books and followed him to the back. She wasn't sure whether to be really concerned and really excited.

"So what did you two get out of the first four chapters of The Scarlett Letter?" Rachel asked, reading from their assignment sheet.

"We're not here to discuss the book," Kurt said.

"But that's the point of the group work," Rachel said, confused.

"We wanted to ask you about Beth," Mercedes said. "I didn't want to say anything during your little speech yesterday because I didn't want to upset Quinn or Puck, but I want to know how she's doing. I was in the room when she was born."

"She's doing great," Rachel said. "She looks a lot like Quinn, but her hair is darker. It's a dark blonde color."

Both Kurt and Mercedes offered genuine smiles at the information she gave them and Rachel was touched by how much they had been worried about Beth. The next half an hour was split between them wanting to hear about life with Shelby and Beth and Rachel trying to force them into discussing the actual work for the class.

At lunchtime Rachel found herself intercepted in the hall by Santana and Brittney who each took an arm and led her away from her intended destination. She was actually worried this time, especially when they didn't answer her repeated questions of where they were taking her until she found that they were alone the Cheerio locker room. Santana scared off a couple of freshman while Rachel tried to look around and figure out what the prank was. She tried to prepare herself for whatever joke they were about to play.

"Relax, Berry, no one is going to do anything to you," Santana said when she took in her apprehensive behavior.

"Ok…" Rachel said, still looking around.

"Look, we just wanted to ask you about Q's baby since you're now living with her."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh at this point.

"It's is Q's baby you live with, right?" Brittney asked, thinking that maybe they had heard wrong and it was someone else's baby that Rachel now called her little sister.

"Why are you laughing?" Santana demanded. "I've known Quinn and Puck for a long time and while I agree that neither of them needed to be parents it doesn't mean I don't care how the baby is."

"She's wonderful," Rachel said. She told them who Beth looked like and how much Shelby adored her and how happy the baby was.

"That's good," Santana said. "You can go now. Oh, and don't mention this to Q or Puck. I'd hate to plan another slushie attack for you."

"I won't tell them," Rachel said. Like Santana had to plan for someone to slushie her.

The rest of the day was much of the same. Artie approached her to ask about Beth, as did Tina and Mike. All of them told her that they were simply concerned for Puck and Quinn. It made Rachel wonder just how many things the people in Glee didn't actually talk about. There was also a hint of jealousy on her part because, while she was glad that people were so concerned with Puck and Quinn, she was almost certain that the club had never really worried about her the same way. But she pushed those feelings to the side because she knew that Puck and Quinn deserved the worry and concern of their friends and she was not going to begrudge them that.

"Rachel," Finn stopped her after Glee practice. "Can I ask you something? I didn't want to say something in front of everyone."

"Of course, Finn," she said. The rest of the room had cleared out and Rachel had waved Quinn away when Finn asked to talk to her. She had a feeling she knew what this would be about.

"I don't really know if it's my place to ask or anything since she's not mine. But she was mine for a little while. Or at least she felt like it until…"

"She's fine, Finn," Rachel assured him. "Beth is fine. She's a beautiful little girl. And you have every right to ask about her, so don't worry about that."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't know much about babies, but when we saw her at the hospital she was so little and Quinn cried when she was looking at her in the nursery thing."

Rachel felt a wave of emotion at his concern. He was out of his comfort zone, but he was still doing everything he knew to do to make sure he knew that Beth was ok.

"She's getting bigger now. And she's trying to roll over," she told him. "She's perfectly healthy and happy. She looks a lot like Quinn."

"I always imagined she would look like Quinn," he said softly. "When she was still mine, I mean. She'd look like Quinn but be more laid back like me. But she'd be as smart as Quinn and make straight A's, but maybe be into sports like me. I still think Drizzle would have been an awesome name."

Rachel took his hand as he rattled off the traits he had dreamed up for the daughter that was almost his. "I'm so sorry, Finn."

"Nah, it's ok," he said. "I just wanted to make sure she was ok. Maybe you could tell her I said hi."

"I'll tell her Finn."

"Thanks, Rachel."

Quinn was at her locker when Rachel finally left the choir room and made her way down the hall.

"What was that all about?" Quinn asked.

"He was asking me about a song he wants to try and sing at some point," Rachel said. Everyone she had talked to had asked for, or at least implied, the need for discretion and Rachel was going to honor that.

"Oh, ok."

"So tell me again why you don't want me to tell Shelby that your mom won't be there this weekend," Rachel said. "Does your mom even know I'm coming over?"

"Not yet. But I wasn't planning on telling me we were driving into Columbus either," Quinn said. "It would make her nervous and I think it would be the same with Shelby."

"So what happens when we get to Columbus and we get a flat tire and we have to call my mom and ask her to come and get us?" Rachel asked.

"I would simply tell her that we decided to go to Columbus on a whim," Quinn answered. "I honestly didn't think you would mind this. You've been doing stuff on your own for so long now."

"I know, but just yesterday you reminded me that I needed to ask to have dinner at your house, but you don't think I should ask whether or not I can go a couple hours out of town or stay at your house while your mom is out of town?" Rachel said, not understanding.

"I just don't want Shelby to say no," Quinn said. "I just thought it would be nice to have company this weekend and to get out of Lima for a few hours."

"It would be nice," Rachel agreed.

"I also thought about inviting some of the people from Glee over for a movie or something Saturday night," Quinn said. "I thought it might give everyone a chance to maybe get to know you better."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I think if they wanted to get to know me better they would have done so by now," Rachel said.

"But maybe now that your guard is down a little bit maybe you'll feel like you can relax and they'll do the same."

"Maybe," Rachel agreed.

"Good. You talk to Shelby about staying the weekend and I'll let everyone else know," Quinn said.

Rachel thought about it her entire walk home. Part of her was starting to come around to where Quinn was standing. Would it be so wrong to not mention that Judy wouldn't be there? Rachel didn't know; this was a new scenario to her.

"Hi, honey," Shelby called to her when she came through the door.

"Hi, Mom," Rachel yelled back. "Where are you?"

"In my room," Shelby said.

"What are you doing in here?" Rachel asked her when she made her way into the bedroom.

"Reading a book," Shelby said, holding it up for Rachel to see. "One of my students canceled at the last minute and so when I put Beth down for a nap and decided to catch up on my book."

"Oh. I'll let you get to it then," Rachel said, turning to leave.

"Wait, silly. Come back here. How was your day?"

"Can I talk to you about something?" Rachel said from the doorway.

"Of course," Shelby said. She had hoped that Rachel's day would simply have warranted a 'fine' for an answer, but she knew that Rachel stored up drama and she hoped she was always ready to talk about anything. "Climb on in," Shelby said patting the spot next to her on the bed.

Rachel went around the other side of the bed and slipped her shoes off before climbing up on the bed. Shelby pulled some pillows up for Rachel to lean against and waited as the girl got comfortable.

"What's up?"

"Quinn wants me to stay with her this weekend," Rachel said.

"Oh," Shelby said. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but that wasn't it.

"But…" Rachel had made her decision and she just needed to act on it. She wasn't going to lie to Shelby about this, even if it was just by omission. "Mrs. Fabray isn't going to be there. She'll be out of town visiting Quinn's sister."

"Oh," Shelby's tone had changed from just a moment ago.

"And Quinn wants to go to Columbus to go shopping on Saturday."

"So you want to spend Friday and Saturday night over there?" Shelby asked. "And Judy won't be there?"

"Please, Mom. It's not like I've never stayed by myself before," Rachel winced as she said it because she knew it probably wasn't her best argument so she moved on quickly. "Plus you're right here in town and Columbus isn't all that far away."

Shelby looked Rachel over and saw the complete and utter want in Rachel's eyes. The girl desperately wanted Shelby to say yes. But the mother also noticed the conflict as well.

"Can I ask you a question?" Shelby said. "Were you not originally going to tell me all that?"

Rachel looked down at her hands and nodded. She didn't realize she'd been so transparent. "I've been thinking about it since yesterday." Rachel wasn't about to tell Shelby what Quinn's advice had been. "I thought about just asking you if I could stay over and not mentioning that Mrs. Fabray wouldn't be there. And I thought about telling you that but then not mentioning that we'd be going to Columbus. But I didn't want to lie to you. And if you say I can't go… I'll admit, I'd be upset, but I think I would understand why." Rachel gave Shelby her best solemn face combined with her innocent big eyes before bringing her head down and resting on her mother's shoulder.

"Thank you for being honest with me, Rachel," Shelby said before turning and kissing the top of her head. "I have to admit that I'm not crazy about the idea of the two of you driving into Columbus alone, but I'd much rather you go when I know you're going instead of any other time." Shelby paused, more for dramatic effect than anything. She felt that one good performance deserved another. "So yes, you can stay over there and you can go to Columbus."

"Really?" Rachel squealed, sitting up and trying to hug Shelby. "Thanks, Mom!"

"Don't mention it," Shelby said. "But I don't want to hear one word of annoyance when I call to make sure you guys are doing ok." Rachel emphatically shook her head no. "And no parties."

"Oh," Rachel began. "Quinn mentioned something about having some of the Glee kids over to watch a couple of movies. I don't think that's a party like you mean, right?"

"No, that's fine," Shelby assured her.

Rachel placed a kiss on Shelby's cheek and then settled back into her original spot on the bed. Shelby smiled at Rachel's enthusiasm and took a moment to enjoy Rachel's excitement. It was then that Beth cried out from her crib, no doubt wanting to be included. Shelby started to get up, but Rachel stopped her.

"I'll get her." The girl got up and made her way to the crib to pick up the crying baby. Rachel had really fallen in love with her over the last week. If someone would have told her last year that she would consider Quinn's baby her sister, Rachel would have laughed at them. But here she was cradling the baby as she climbed back up into bed with her. Beth had stopped crying and was looking at Rachel with her watery blue eyes. "What do you think she's thinking about?" Rachel asked Shelby.

"I wish I knew," Shelby answered. "She gives me the most inquisitive looks sometimes."

"Everyone asked about her today," Rachel said. "No one wanted to bring it up yesterday in front of everyone, but everybody but Quinn stopped me to talk about Beth today. Noah wants to know if he can have a picture."

"Of course," Shelby said. "I'll give you one to give to him. What did they want to know about her?"

"They just wanted to know how she's doing and to make sure she's ok," Rachel said, smiling back at Beth when the baby smiled at her. "It was kind of sweet."

"You're Glee club is worried about her?" Shelby asked. "That is kind of sweet."

"They don't know you like I do. And like Quinn does," Rachel said. "They thought you were going to try to make me leave and go to Vocal Adrenaline. I honestly think that everyone is just scared of you. They've only heard stories about you as Coach Corcoran."

Shelby cocked her head a little and smiled. She wasn't the director anymore and yet kids from a whole other club were still scared of her. Awesome.

"Honestly, Mom, you should come in a whip them into shape a little bit," Rachel said. "No one is talking about Sectionals yet and the competition will be here before we know it. Mr. Schue likes to throw things together at the last minute."

Shelby shook her head at this. Before the first month of school had ended her club had already known the entire set list for sectionals and the choreography was very close to being complete. They then worked on it every day leading up to Sectionals.

"Honey, I'm not going in there unless Mr. Schuester asks me too," Shelby told her. "His teaching methods and mine don't sound like they would mix well at all. But I can help you anytime."

"I know," Rachel said. "Maybe I can organize times for people to come over here once we know the set list and you can work with everyone that way," Rachel said, getting excited.

"Slow down, Rachel. I'm happy to do that but only if everyone agrees. I don't want you tricking people over here in order to get me to scare them just before Sectionals."

"Why not?" Rachel pouted.

Shelby laughed and got up from the bed. "Come on, let's go make dinner."

"That's ok," Rachel said, getting up with Beth. She sighed dramatically and continued on. "When we lose Sectionals and the Glee club is disbanded and all I've got left to do is sit around here with you and wallow, you can look back on this moment and remember how you denied your lovely daughter the chance to make her dreams come true."

Shelby rolled her eyes at Rachel's theatrics. She stood in the doorway waiting for Rachel to leave the room in front of her so she could shut the door behind them.

"It's a shame too," Rachel continued. "Your daughter could have been one of the greats. But after suffering that crushing loss, her star never shone as bright again. If only her mother-"

Shelby swatted Rachel as she walked past her through the door, effectively cutting off Rachel's ramblings.

"Hey, I'm holding a baby here!" Rachel said.

"Beth didn't want to hear it either," Shelby assured her. Rachel looked down at Beth who was seemingly smiling at Rachel's predicament.

"Traitor," Rachel said. "I'm just glad to know that you two can ignore my pain so easily."

"Oh, honey, we're not ignoring your pain," Shelby said. "We're ignoring your dramatics. There's a difference."

Rachel huffed to herself and looked back down at Beth who had the funniest look on her face. Rachel smirked before turning back to her mom.

"Do you think you can take her for a second, Mom?" Rachel asked, holding the baby out to Shelby.

"Sure." Shelby took Beth and settled her in her arms and smiled.

"She needs to be changed," Rachel said quickly before taking off down the stairs, laughing.

Shelby was left holding Beth in the hallway and staring after Rachel. "Don't worry, Beth. We'll get her back next time." Beth kicked her legs in agreement as Shelby entered the nursery to change her daughter.

Rachel had to wait until after dinner was over and she had put the dishes away to call Quinn and tell her that Shelby had said yes.

"I told her that your mom wouldn't be there," Rachel said. "And that we were going to Columbus."

"Well good," Quinn said. "I'm glad it all worked out."

"Me too. I think we're going to be inundated with phone calls the entire time though," Rachel said. "My mom already told me that I'm not allowed to get annoyed when she calls so often."

"She sounds like my mom," Quinn said. "Even if she doesn't know we're going to Columbus."

"Do you think that you should tell her since my mom knows?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, maybe. I'll talk to her about it," Quinn said.

"Oh and my mom said, 'no parties,'" Rachel said.

"My mom will kill me if I throw a party," Quinn said. "She's told me so about two or three dozen times now so Shelby doesn't have to worry about that."

"She'll be pleased with that information," Rachel said.

"I'm sure she will be. I have to run, Rachel. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Quinn," Rachel said.

Shelby entered her room carrying a pile folded laundry and set it on Rachel's bed. "Here's some of your laundry. The rest is still in the laundry basket waiting to be folded," Shelby told her pointedly.

"Thanks, Mom. I'll run down and get it."

"Rachel," Shelby said, stopping her. "You know I was kidding, right? Earlier about Sectionals? I'll do whatever I can to help you and your Glee club in any way I can. But I can't do that by stepping on Mr. Schuester's toes."

"I know, Mom," Rachel said. "I appreciate your willingness to help us even if we might eventually be competing against your former team at some point. I know how much you still love them."

"Yeah, but I love you more," Shelby said.

A cry could be heard from Shelby's room where Beth had been swinging while Shelby folded clothes. Rachel headed for the stairs to go and get the rest of her laundry, but Shelby stopped her again.

"I'll get your laundry, Rachel."

"But, I-"

"You go get Beth. I think she needs to be changed," Shelby said.

"Mom," Rachel whined.

Shelby took Rachel's face in her hands and placed an exaggerated kiss on her cheek. "Love ya, babe," she said before taking off down the stairs.

**A/N – Please leave me a review if you can. I love reading your insights on the story. **


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages, guys. It's amazing and I really appreciate it. I'm going to try and have another chapter up before Thanksgiving, but no promises. But in case I don't, I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

The large duffel bag on Rachel's bed was crammed full of clothes and other accessories that Rachel was certain she would need for her weekend at Quinn's house. The owner of the bag was pacing her room, Beth in arms, mentally going over her packing list and wanting to make sure she had everything she thought she would need.

"Do you think I remembered everything, Beth?" Rachel asked her sister. "I know it's only a couple of days, but I like to be prepared for most contingencies." Rachel wasn't sure whether or not Beth agreed, but she felt that it was important information to pass on all the same.

"Rachel, you're going to be late if we don't get going," Shelby said, entering the room and stopping short when she saw how much stuff Rachel had packed. "Geez, do you think you remembered everything?"

"I hope so," Rachel said, missing the sarcasm. "If I forgot something, I can just come back here and pick it up. Plus I do still have some things at Quinn's house that Mrs. Fabray made me leave from the last time I stayed there."

Shelby smiled at how seriously Rachel was taking this whole thing. She suddenly got a flash of Rachel trying to pack for her promised trip to New York City. Shelby resigned herself right then to having to pay to check the extra bags Rachel would surely have.

"I'm sure you have everything you need," Shelby said, backing off from the sarcasm. "Which is a good thing because we need to get going now if you want me to drop you off at Quinn's before school."

The girls had decided that it would be easier to have Rachel come over Friday morning before school so that she could drop off her bag and then she would ride with Quinn. Actually, Judy had mentioned to Shelby that it would be easier than Rachel trying to carry a bag around all day in school, but the girls had taken credit for the idea.

Twenty minutes later, Shelby and Rachel were pulling into the driveway at the Fabray house.

"Now, Rachel, I want you to call me when you get into Columbus and then again when you get back to Quinn's tomorrow," Shelby said.

"Ok, Mom," Rachel said as she got out of the car. She'd heard all of this before, several times in fact.

Shelby took Rachel's bag out of the trunk while the girl got into the back seat and leaned down to kiss Beth on the head. "See you later, Beth. Keep Mom busy this weekend so she doesn't call us every ten minutes, ok?"

"I heard that," Shelby said. Rachel grinned at Beth and the baby smiled around her pacifier.

"Call me if you need anything," Shelby said when Rachel got out of the car.

"I doubt I'll need too," Rachel said, but quickly added, "I'll call you," when she saw the look Shelby was giving her.

Judy Fabray came out onto the porch and watched as Shelby and Rachel said their goodbyes. She waved at them when they caught sight of her. Shelby pulled Rachel in for a hug and finally let her go when Rachel started to squirm away.

"Bye, Mom. I love you," Rachel said as she started to move to the house.

"I love you too." Shelby waved and then got back into the car.

"Thanks for letting me stay this weekend," Rachel said as Judy led her into the house.

"Of course, Rachel. I'm glad for Quinn to have the company," Judy said. "She didn't want to go with me, which is fine, but it'll be nice to know she's got a friend here with her."

"Hey, Rachel," Quinn said when she came down the stairs.

"Morning, Quinn," Rachel greeted.

"Now, girls," Judy said. "I'm leaving probably right after you leave for school and I'll be back Sunday morning around nine or so."

"Why so early?" Quinn asked.

"Your sister said she had somewhere to be Sunday afternoon," Judy answered. "Have a good time this weekend."

After the goodbyes and final instructions were given, Judy ushered them off to school and she left soon after for her trip.

"Hey, Santana," Quinn said, later afternoon after Cheerios practice. The girls were in their locker room and Quinn was ready to get home, but she wanted to finalize their plans with Santana first. She had spoken to the rest of the Glee club at different times that day and Santana and Brittany were the last she needed to see.

"Don't forget about the movie night at my place tomorrow night," Quinn said.

"I don't see why we all have to show up just to try and bond with Berry," Santana said.

"Santana," Quinn said. "Please for me. Give it a chance."

"We'll be there," Brittany said.

"Fine. Can we at least bring some alcohol?" Santana asked.

"Sure, whatever," Quinn said. She knew it would be a futile attempt to keep both Santana and Puck from bringing alcohol. "But not too much." Quinn felt it didn't actually count as a party if it was just a few friends. She could control it.

"Are you sure you know how to get there?" Rachel asked again the following morning when she and Quinn were about to get in the car for their drive to the city.

"Yes, Rachel. This is not the first time I've made this trip," Quinn answered.

"I just want to make sure," Rachel said. "I brought along some printouts of directions I looked up. I have directions for five difference scenarios in case we were to get lost. One of them should be able to lead us back to our desired route should we find ourselves off the beaten path, as it were. I guess I could have asked Shelby if I could borrow her GPS system."

Quinn rolled her eyes at her friend. She and Rachel had been over this about six times already and Quinn just couldn't seem to convince Rachel that she knew where she was going. Rachel was still rambling about swinging by Shelby's house and taking the woman's navigational system when Quinn cut her off.

"Rachel. Get in the car."

Quinn had been right. The drive was easy and straightforward and the girls found themselves at a large shopping area within a few hours. Rachel made no comment about Quinn really knowing where it was so Quinn refrained from making an 'I told you so' remark to her. Shelby had only called once during the drive and Rachel told her that all was well before promising to call her later. Yes, she would really call, Rachel assured her.

They spent hours shopping and trying on new clothes and shoes. Quinn dragged Rachel through the sciences and photography sections of Barnes and Noble while Rachel led Quinn through row after row of sheet music from different Broadway shows, explaining plots and pointing out her favorite songs. Quinn couldn't help but smile at Rachel's enthusiasm and passion for the things she loved. She found herself being drawn into the stories Rachel was explaining simply because Rachel herself seemed to love them so much.

"I love this music store," Rachel said. "I wish the one in Lima was this big."

"You should get some of the music you like," Quinn encouraged. Rachel had only purchased one thing all day while Quinn had four different bags full. Rachel's one new skirt paled in comparison with all the clothes and books Quinn had bought.

"I don't really need any of the music," Rachel said. "My mom has a small library of music so she probably has all of this." It was a plausible explanation and so Quinn dropped it.

Rachel had found plenty of things she had wanted, but she didn't want to dip into her savings that much. Rachel had been saving money for a while now from all the money her fathers had left her when they went out of town. She didn't want to blow all of that. Shelby had given her money to spend today, but Rachel didn't feel right about spending Shelby's money. She couldn't quite explain her hesitation because she knew that Shelby had encouraged her to go out and get some new stuff, but Rachel didn't want to waste the money. Old habits die hard, she reckoned. It would probably be different if Shelby was there with her, but on her own, Rachel was pretty frugal.

"Why don't you wear jeans more often?" Quinn asked, noting Rachel's current attire of jeans and a t-shirt with the logo for Next to Normal on it.

"Because I like skirts better," Rachel said. "But I figured today was a casual outing and so I went with a more casual outfit. But I want to look my best at school."

Quinn stopped herself before making a comment about Rachel's weird animal sweaters and need for argyle. If that was what Rachel like than who was she to question her? Rachel understood the comment that died on Quinn's lips. She had learned early on that in order to get ahead you needed to have something that made you different and set you apart. She had her singing voice, of course, but the first thing people always knew about her was her clothes. Everyone knows who Rachel Berry is, even if it is only because they want to throw a slushie at her. If she changed her look and dressed like everyone else, what would people notice her for? As much as she would like to, she couldn't sing to everyone she met? And she really did like skirts better.

"Ok," Quinn answered.

"Don't you get tired of wearing the same thing every day at school?" Rachel asked. "The Cheerios uniform, while a classic representation of the position you hold, must get tiresome after a while. I'm surprised you need this many new clothes when it seems like you barely get to wear them."

"I get to wear them," Quinn said. "And it's not so bad having to wear the uniform every day. I stand out right away. Last year I looked like everyone else."

Except that she was pregnant, they both thought but neither said.

As they took a seat at a table in the food court, Rachel found it amusing to think that they both had pretty much the same reasons for wanting to wear the clothes they wore to school.

"Rachel?"

"Nana?" Rachel said when she looked for the source of the person calling her name. She saw her grandparents standing behind her. Quinn sat up a little straighter as she looked the woman over. This was definitely Shelby's mother.

"What are you doing here?" Rebecca asked.

"My friend Quinn and I drove in to go shopping," Rachel answered. She turned to Quinn and made the introductions.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Corcoran," Quinn said politely. Rachel had moved and hugged them both before offering them a place at the table.

"It's nice to meet you too, Quinn," Paul said. "You two drove here from Lima to willingly come to this place and my wife made me come."

Rebecca hit his arm as he smiled at the girls.

"Yes, I'm surprised you're not at home watching the Hawkeyes play." Rachel said.

"Buckeyes!" Paul and Rebecca said together.

"I told you, Paul," Rebecca said.

"For your information, young lady," Paul said, "they're playing later this afternoon. You two are more than welcome to come over and watch the game with us."

"As thrilling as that would be," Rachel said, "We can't. We're driving home after we're done here."

"You don't look like you bought much," Rebecca said, noting Rachel's one bag. "It's a long way to drive to have only one bag."

"That's what I said," Quinn said, gesturing to her own pile.

"I don't really need anything," Rachel said. And she didn't.

"Maybe not, but wasn't there more that you wanted?" Rebecca asked. Paul shook his head at his wife, but she ignored him. He could see what was happening here and he knew it would mean that he'd be trapped here for a lot longer than he expected.

"Well of course there's stuff I want," Rachel said. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to buy everything."

"That's very smart, Rachel," Paul said.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Rachel said, smiling.

"Nonsense," Rebecca countered. "You certainly deserve to buy yourself something you want every now and then. Didn't Shelby give you any money?" Rebecca was reaching for her phone, seemingly ready to call Shelby and tell her what for if she found out she sent her granddaughter all the way to Columbus with no money.

"Yes, she did. But I've got my own money so I don't need to spend Mom's," Rachel said.

"Well, then we can spend mine," Rebecca said. Paul groaned while Quinn's face lit up. Rachel shook her head no.

"Come on, Rach," Quinn said. "Let's go back to that store where you tried on a bunch of stuff and then put it all back."

"I didn't put it all back," Rachel argued. "I got the skirt I wanted. Nana, no. I don't want you to buy me a bunch of stuff for no reason."

Paul took one look at his wife's face and sat back, resigned to being here for a few more hours. Rebecca wore a look of determination that scarily surpassed the matching one Rachel often gave the other kids in Glee. Quinn recognized it and started gathering up her bags before Rachel even realized she had lost.

"Rachel, I am your grandmother. And until this moment I have never had the opportunity to take you shopping or to even buy anything for you. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

Rachel had not been expecting the guilt trip and was flustered. "I, but… There's no need… really."

"So you're telling me that you don't want me to have the pleasure of taking my granddaughter shopping?"

"No! I mean, ummm- But, I don't need… It's not that I don't appreciate your offer, but I don't think Mom will like me letting you buy me stuff," Rachel finally spit out. She was grasping at straws. "I've never-"

"There's the problem. You've never," Rebecca said. "When's the last time someone took you shopping just for fun?" She got Rachel's answer when the girl looked away. "That's what I thought. Let's go. Quinn, you lead the way."

Two hours later Paul and all of the girls' packages took up an entire bench as he sat waiting for them to come out of another store. His game was starting in forty-five minutes and he was anxiously checking his watch every so often. They needed to leave soon to make it home by kick-off.

Rachel, Quinn and Rebecca came out of the nearby shoe store each wearing a grin on their face. Each of them had a new pair of shoes which meant three more bags Paul was sure he was going to have to babysit. He tapped his watch so his wife could see and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Thank you so much for the shoes, Mrs. Corcoran," Quinn said. "You didn't have to do that."

Rebecca waved her off and said her 'you're welcomes' to the girls' many shows of gratitude.

"How about we help you get all of this to your car?" Paul said. "We have to be on our way soon."

It took a few minutes to find Quinn's car in the parking lot, but soon everything was loaded and Rachel and Quinn were saying their goodbyes.

"Rachel, I know I'm not very good at shopping," Paul said, "but I got you something too."

"Oh, Grandpa, you didn't have to-" She stopped when he pulled a red Ohio State shirt from his bag and held it up for her. It was way too big for her and she looked at it and then him not sure of what to say.

"You need an Ohio State shirt, but I figured you'd never actually wear one anywhere so I got a t-shirt thinking you could sleep in it or something," Paul said.

His smile grew when Rachel's turned genuine and she took the shirt and then stood up on her tip toes to give him a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her off the ground. Quinn looked on and smiled for her friend and her new-found family. Rebecca took the opportunity of Rachel still being held to slip something into the back pocket of the girl's jeans. When Paul put her down Rachel immediately tried to reach back to see what it was, but Rebecca caught her hands in her own and pulled her in for a hug.

"Thank you so much for all of this, Nana," Rachel said. "You really didn't have to, but I'm very glad to accept it as well." Rachel had come to really enjoy herself once she got over her self-consciousness at having someone else buying her things. She realized that it was making Rebecca happy and so she stopped trying to resist. She felt Rebecca had spent way too much money by the time the woman cut them off, but Rachel now knew better than to say so.

"It was my pleasure, Rachel," Rebecca said, pulling back from the hug but not before placing a kiss on Rachel's forehead.

Rachel again tried to reach back to the pocket on her jeans and was again stopped by Rebecca taking her hands and this time leading her to the car door and putting her in the car. The adults called out instructions to drive safely and not to speed when Quinn started to back away. Once the car was out of sight and Rebecca and Paul started to head back to their own car, the woman took out her phone and placed a call.

"Mom," Shelby said when she answered the phone. "Did you see them?"

"Yes, we found them," Rebecca answered.

"Did Rachel have a good time?" Shelby asked. "I hope so."

"She had a great time," Rebecca said. "She and her friend looked like they were enjoying themselves before we found them. You didn't need to worry."

"I wasn't really worried," Shelby said. "I just know that Rachel hasn't had many friends and I wanted this day to go perfectly for her."

Rebecca smiled and said, "I think it did. And I want you to remember how much fun she had when you see the amount of bags she comes home with."

"How much did she buy?" Shelby asked, confused. "I didn't give her that much money."

"That must be why she had only purchased one skirt by the time I got to her," Rebecca said.

"What does that mean? Oh, Mother," Shelby said, answering her own question. "How much stuff did you buy her?"

"Enough," Rebecca answered.

"I only wanted you to check on them and make sure they got there safely and to see if Rachel was having fun," Shelby said. "I didn't want you to buy out the mall."

"I did not buy out the mall," Rebecca said.

"Damn near," Paul added and Shelby groaned.

"Shelby, I will tell you the same as I told her. This was my first opportunity to take my eldest granddaughter shopping and I wasn't going to pass it up. If it makes you feel any better, she resisted and tried to refuse," Rebecca said. "My motives are completely pure. I was not the one who called my parents and asked them to spy on my daughter."

"I did not ask you to spy on her!" Shelby argued. "I asked you to simply check on her and Quinn in passing."

"Don't you trust her, dear?" Rebecca said.

"Of course I trust her," Shelby said. "I just worry. I've never had to deal with this before. She doesn't know I sent you, does she?"

"No, as far as she knows we simply ran into them in the mall," Rebecca said. "And they were both angels. So let them enjoy their night."

"Yes, Mom," Shelby said dutifully. "And thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Oh, Mom," Shelby said before hanging up. "Will you take me shopping the next time I come to Columbus?"

Rebecca smiled and shook her head. "I'm afraid you're not as much fun to shop for anymore, darling. Bye!"

Quinn carefully made her way through the parking lot in order to get back on the road and get to the interstate. "What did she put in your pocket?"

Rachel lifted up out of the seat and pulled the item out of her pocket. It was a folded up piece of paper. When Rachel opened it, two fifty dollar bills fell out into her lap.

"It's a note. It says, 'Rachel, don't wait until the next time you come to Columbus to go shopping on me. Nana.'" Rachel read it over again and picked up the two bills. She opened her purse and put them in her wallet behind Shelby's unspent money.

"Your grandparents are amazing," Quinn said.

"I know," Rachel said, though she was still astonished.

By the time they arrived back in Lima the sun was setting and the girls had to get ready for the movie night. Rachel sent Shelby a quick text letting her know they were back safe and sound and Shelby replied by telling them to enjoy their evening. An hour and a half later the rest of the Glee club was there and were talking over each other as a movie played in the background.

"Who picked this movie?" Santana asked when it became clear that no one was paying attention to it but Rachel.

"It's a classic look at the struggles presented by trying to make it on Broadway," Rachel said of A Chorus Line.

"It's a dumb movie," Puck said.

"I brought some horror movies," Mike offered. "Or some good thrillers."

"That sounds better than this," Finn agreed.

"Are you sure? Because horror movies don't necessarily form the type of camaraderie that was perhaps the intent of this evening," Rachel said.

"Sure they do," Kurt said. "What better way to form a bond than by being scared half to death together?"

"You like horror movies?" Tina asked, incredulous.

"Yes," Kurt answered. "They are a weakness of mine. A guilty pleasure."

"See," Puck said. "We're learning about each other. I never knew that about Kurt."

"It'll be fine," Quinn said to Rachel. "It's part of the fun, Rachel."

"Ok," Rachel said. She had known no one would like her movie choice so she wasn't even sure why she put it on. She didn't expect them to all be best friends in the morning, but hopefully there'd be a little respect and she knew she wasn't going to earn any of that by trying to control the evening.

Twenty minutes later all of the lights were out and there were bowls of popcorn being shared when the opening moments of the first Friday the 13th movie played. Rachel was on the couch stuffed between Quinn and Santana because she refused to sit by any of the boys who were gearing up to give her a good scare. Rachel hid her eyes and passed the popcorn away at what she felt was a particularly gruesome part. She peeked through her fingers and finally removed her hands at Quinn's insistence. It was then that she noticed that most everyone around her had a beer. Everyone but Quinn who had passed when offered.

"Quinn. They're all drinking," she whispered.

"I know. It's fine, Rachel. It's just us," Quinn answered.

"Relax, Berry," Santana said from her other side. "It's just beer."

"I know, Santana. I've had beer before," Rachel said. She left off that she was twelve at the time and poured most of it out.

"Oh really," Puck said. The movie was forgotten for a moment as all eyes turned to her.

"Well then, here, try this," Santana said as she poured a shot.

"Santana," Quinn said. "Don't."

"Don't what? She doesn't have to try it, I'm just offering."

"What is it?" Rachel asked as she took the tiny glass from Santana.

"It's vodka. Go ahead. But you have to drink the whole thing at one time. Don't sip it or you'll never get through it," Santana said.

"Rachel, just put it down and let's get back to the movie," Quinn said.

"Oh leave her alone, Quinn," Puck said.

"You don't have to try it if you don't want to," Sam said, backing up Quinn.

"It's just one shot," Santana said.

Rachel looked around the room and for once was uneasy having all eyes on her. She looked to the shot and then back to the club and caved to the peer pressure. She downed the shot, almost choking as she did as her throat burned. Her eyes started to water and her face contorted as she swallowed.

"Here, drink this," Santana said, handing Rachel a nearby can of beer to use as a chaser. Rachel took two big gulps because even the foul tasting beer was better than the burn of the vodka.

"Nice, Berry," Puck said. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"I am full of surprises," Rachel retorted, still grimacing a bit at the horrible taste in her mouth, though it was lessening. Without even really thinking about it, she took another sip of the beer. Quinn looked at her, amazed. She wanted to take the beer away from Rachel, but she didn't want it to seem like she was babying the young brunette in front of everyone else. She wanted to protect Rachel, but not be a killjoy.

The ringing of the doorbell caught everyone by surprise and Rachel quickly put the can of beer down on the coffee table like she had been caught with it. Quinn glanced at the clock which told her it was after midnight and then shrugged when everyone looked to her. She certainly wasn't expecting anyone this time of night.

Puck and Finn got up to answer the door and were surprised to see a large number of students waiting on the other side. The students piled in the house turning on lights and bringing more alcohol into the kitchen.

"What the hell is going on?" Quinn said getting up from her spot.

"There's a part at Quinn Fabray's house," a boy answered, clearly not knowing who she was.

Quinn turned and shot a look at Santana.

"I did not do this," the Latina said. Quinn turned her glare to Puck.

"It wasn't me," he said.

Someone turned on the stereo and loud music started to drift through the house as more kids came in. Quinn had lost control quickly and the others got up and started the join the party rather than trying to kick people out. Within an hour the house was full and the noise level was rising. As Quinn passed a bathroom she overheard two girls talking.

"I told you this would be a great party," one said to the other.

Quinn opened the door to find them putting on makeup. "How did you hear about a party here?"

"I overheard you talking about it in the locker room," the girl answered. "I just spread the word."

"What are you talking about?" Quinn said. "And who are you?"

"I'm Kate. I'm a Cheerio," the girl said. She seemed to be shocked that Quinn didn't know who she was.

It was then that Quinn recognized the girl. She was a freshman and Quinn realized she was the one always trying to show off at practices. The blonde stood up to her full height and put on her head bitch in charge persona.

"This was a private party," Quinn said, getting in the girl's face. "You were not welcome. Now you better get to work trying to get these people out of here." She turned and walked away leaving the two girls standing there. They needed to disappear. Instead of following Quinn's orders they disappeared into the crowd.

Quinn made her way to the kitchen where she found Santana along with Rachel and Brittany.

"A freshman did this. Which means there are other freshman here and a ton of alcohol," Quinn said. "We need to get these people out of here."

"Oh shit," Santana said.

Quinn walked off and try and find other members of the Glee club to help her get the people out of her house. Otherwise she was going to be dead come morning when her mother got home.

"What should I do?" Rachel asked Santana.

"Here, drink this. You're going to need it." Rachel took the offered shot of Jack and the beer for a chaser and took a shot along with Santana and Brittany. She followed it by drinking sips of the beer to try and get the burn away. The girls then went in three different directions in order to help Quinn.

It was a little past three in the morning when Shelby's phone rang. She groggily groped for the phone and squinted at the light it gave off as she read Rachel's name. She sat up, awake and answered the phone.

"Rachel?" She could hear the music in the background.

"Mom, we need your help."

**A/N – Oh, Rachel… **

**Please let me hear from you with a review or message if you can. Thanks so much.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N – Thanks to all of you who are continuing to review and read. I'm glad that you seem to be enjoying the story. **

**Disclaimer – Ryan Murphy owns it.**

Shelby quickly moved to get out of bed with the phone pressed to her ear. She had to fight with a blanket when she found that it was wrapped around her foot before she could get the covers off of her and get her feet on the ground.

"Rachel, what's going on?" Shelby was trying to stay calm for Rachel, but from the sounds of things in the background, she knew what was going on.

"There's a party, Mom," Rachel said. "And we can't get anyone to leave. It's been a couple hours and no one will leave. It feels like more keep coming in."

"Rachel," Shelby sighed as she moved around the room. She was fishing for a pair of jeans she could throw on. "What did I say about having a party?"

"We didn't plan this, Mom, honestly. It was just Quinn and I and the Glee kids and we were watching some horrible horror movie and then the doorbell rang and all of these people piled in and turned on loud music and are making a mess," Rachel said. "Quinn said that one of the Cheerios overheard her talking to Santana about our movie night and assumed there was a party and spread the word around the school. And Quinn is head cheerleader and so she's really popular so there's a ton of people here and they won't leave. Quinn is afraid someone is going to call the police. We've tried everything we can to get them to leave. Please come and help us."

Shelby had listened to Rachel's re-creation of the story and didn't know what to believe. She inherently trusted that Rachel was telling her the truth, but she questioned it at the same time. She and Quinn had the perfect opportunity to throw a party and from the sounds of it, they may have taken it too far. But the details didn't matter so much right now; she could sort that out later. What mattered was that Rachel was asking her for help.

"Rachel, if the police are there when I get there…" Shelby didn't finish her threat because she moved the phone away so she could throw on a t-shirt.

"I know, Mom," Rachel said. She was in trouble; she knew it. She didn't need it spelled out for her right now.

"How much alcohol is there?" Shelby asked.

"A lot."

"I'll be right there."

Rachel pocketed the phone after Shelby hung up and worked her way through the crowds trying to find Quinn. She took another long sip from her water bottle and she scanned the rows of people. Quinn had long since taken the beer that Rachel had used to help her chase the shot of Jack she took with Quinn and Brittany and replaced it with a bottle of water. Rachel hadn't been outright drunk, but she was plenty buzzed and Quinn knew it. Rachel was little and had barely ever touched alcohol. A few more sips and she was going to end up as one more thing Quinn was going to have to worry about and answer for at the end of the night. The blonde had given Rachel specific instructions to not touch anymore alcohol and to drink as much water as possible. Seeing the seriousness in Quinn's face had made Rachel much more aware of the seriousness of the situation and she did as she was told.

All of New Directions had spread out throughout the house and were kicking people out. Some people did leave, but new ones seemed to take their place. The influx was more than the twelve kids could handle and as the noise level rose so did Quinn's anxiety. She finally agreed when Rachel said she was going to call Shelby to get her to come and help them.

"She's on her way," Rachel said when she finally found Quinn. The blonde was escorting two kids Rachel didn't know to the door.

"Was she mad?" Quinn asked as she handed the two kids off to Puck who led them the rest of the way.

"I think she was trying to hide it, but she will be by the time she gets here," Rachel answered honestly.

It only took Shelby fourteen minutes to make the drive in the middle of the night. She parked in an open spot on the street and killed the engine and got Beth, still in her carrier, out of the car. Kurt saw her first. He was standing on the porch trying to shoo three people away when he noticed her coming across the lawn. She didn't look like he had ever seen her, but that didn't change the way he perceived her. Even in her jeans and t-shirt with her hair thrown up in a loose pony tail and a baby carrier on her arm, Shelby Corcoran looked like a force to be reckoned with. She was intimidating even from here.

"Coach Corcoran," Kurt squeaked out when she reached the porch. She gave him a once over while he was holding the door and he looked away from her. He could only assume that Rachel had called her and it he felt it would have been nice if she had given the rest of them warning that her mother was coming.

Shelby strode into the house and the kids that were milling about moved out of the way as she came past. She grabbed a beer can from a boy in a letter jacket and his protest died on his lips when he saw the look she was giving him. On her order of 'go home' he and three of his friends quickly left the house.

Shelby turned back around to find that Kurt was still lingering behind her, mainly because he was too scared to ask if he could get by. She crooked a finger at him and he came closer.

"Go find Noah Puckerman and tell him to come to the kitchen," she said.

Kurt nodded and said, "ok," before taking off into the crowd.

Shelby moved into the kitchen and went to the sink and started to dump the beer she had confiscated down the sink. She looked down at Beth in the carrier who was starting to stir from all the noise. She placed the carrier on the table facing away from the door and moved to start dumping out and cleaning up stray beer cans that had been left on the counters. She didn't spend much time at her task because when she turned back to the doorway to the kitchen she found Puck standing there staring at her.

"Are you drunk?" Shelby asked him.

"No," he answered. "Is that Beth?"

"Yes. I need someone to sit in here and watch her while I deal with this. Do you want to see her? I'll get someone else if you're not ready," Shelby told him kindly.

"No. I mean, yes, I want to see her," Puck said, moving closer. Kurt looked on.

Shelby pulled out a chair for him at the table and motioned for him to sit down while she undid the straps to the carrier so she could get Beth out.

"Puck, I need your help- Oh my god!" Finn exclaimed when he saw Shelby standing there.

Shelby ignored him and took a moment to smile at Puck as she placed Beth in his arms. The baby looked at Puck through her sleepy eyes and he smiled at her.

"Stay in here with her," Shelby said. "You keep her in the kitchen." Shelby looked up at the two other boys who were looking at Beth as well and got their attention. "She's to stay in here. Everyone understand?"

A trio of 'yes' was her answer and she was satisfied enough to leave the kitchen and go and find her other daughter.

Shelby ordered every kid she passed on her way to the living room to go home. Some obeyed and some seemed to ignore her. Shelby took notice of them and mentally tucked them in her memory so she could deal with them accordingly the next time she came across them. Two jocks laughed at her until her stare had them silenced and backed into a wall. She simply pointed to the front door and they quickly made their escape.

Shelby had learned very early in her career of working with kids that you never gave the impression that you weren't the one who was completely in charge. Most kids, for all of their tough talk and bravado, still acquiesced to authority. It was mostly the teachers who were wishy-washy and friends first that couldn't control their students. She knew from experience that it was easier to be a friend to a student once she had established herself as the authority figure first. Even Jesse, who was her closest student and the one she shared her secrets with and had no problems calling her up at all hours saying, 'Shelby, I've got an idea,' had been scared shitless when she found out about the egging incident. He had known when she drew the line that his status as favorite was not going to help him at all. And that was with students she cared about. There was only one kid in this house that she loved, one that she was extremely fond of, another that she was extremely grateful to, and nine more that she was going to tolerate because of Rachel. Everyone else she didn't care about and so she was not at all concerned with their feelings.

As Shelby scanned the room looking for Rachel she was brought back to an incident that had happened four years ago on Vocal Adrenaline's first trip to Nationals. Her kids had thrown a party like this in the very nice hotel they were staying at in New York City and she was called back from a night out with some old friends to deal with it. Needless to say, Vocal Adrenaline had never thrown another party again. It was a story that was passed to all incoming freshman every year, like a folklore that warned of terrible times ahead should they anger the queen.

Quinn had not noticed Shelby when she was walking down the stairs, but the woman had seen her. Quinn took one step off the stairs and found her arm to be in the clutches of Shelby Corcoran and was now being led into another room. Shelby held firm to one half of the delinquent duo she had been looking for and was not going to let go until she found the other half. Quinn thought about saying something to the woman, but decided to hold her tongue for the time being. She understood that they were looking for Rachel and so she would just wait.

They finally spotted the young diva in a corner pleading with two kids to stop making out and go home. Rachel stopped talking to the kids and backed herself up against the wall when she noticed that Shelby was coming with Quinn in tow. Mercedes and Tina were also in the room and stopped what they were doing when they saw Shelby walking through. Leave it to Rachel not to warn them that her scary mother was on the way.

Shelby never let go of Quinn when she reached out and pulled the boy away from the girl he was kissing.

"Go home," Shelby told them.

"Who the hell are you?" the boy said.

Shelby took a handful of his t-shirt and pulled him in close to her face. "I said, go. Home."

Quinn's eyes went wide and she looked at Rachel who had the same look on her face. Tina and Mercedes scrambled to get out of the room and warn the rest of the New Directions that Shelby Corcoran was on the loose. The boy only nodded at Shelby as she let him go and him and his girlfriend, along with a few of their friends who had been watching, left the room and the house.

When Shelby finally let Quinn go, the blonde moved to stand against the wall by Rachel. Shelby stood before them with her hands on her hips not saying a word. The girls didn't dare say anything because while Shelby may not have been speaking, her eyes were saying volumes. She looked over the girls' casual attire of jeans and t-shirts, not exactly party outfits, before finally settling on their faces. She took in the fear and worry displayed on their features while conveying to them a look of anger mixed with disappointment.

Mike, Brittany and Sam were passing the room and stopped when they saw Shelby and the two girls. They knew they shouldn't stay, but they couldn't help but watching the scene unfold.

Tears began to form in Rachel's eyes as they stood under Shelby's unrelenting gaze. She wanted to say something, but was having trouble forming the words. Shelby looked from the unshed tears in Rachel's eyes to Quinn's who were the same way before moving to turn away. The music was still pounding behind them and she had a house to clear out, so this would have to wait.

"Mom," Rachel finally choked out when Shelby started to move.

"Not now, Rachel," Shelby answered. She started to move away again, but Quinn stopped her this time.

"Ms. Corcoran-"

Shelby simply held a hand up to silence them and turned the leave the room. Mike, Sam and Brittany scattered when they realized that Shelby was now heading their way. As she walked out of the room, Shelby noticed with dry amusement that Quinn had referred to her as Ms. Corcoran. She was normally Shelby to Quinn, but that had changed now that Quinn thought she was in trouble.

"That's just gross," Shelby heard someone saying as she was passing by. She turned and saw Santana trying to corral two girls and stop them from leaving the bathroom they had just exited. Shelby made her way over to them and peered in the bathroom and realized that someone had thrown up.

"Who did it?"

"This one," Santana said pointing to Kate, the freshman who had started all of this in the first place.

Shelby took the girl's arm while her friend looked on helplessly. "You're going to clean it up. Go get some cleaning supplies," Shelby said to Santana who left to do as she was told.

Shelby helped the girl step back towards the bathroom, but she resisted. "I'm not cleaning anything up. This was a terrible party. Quinn wouldn't leave anyone alone. I thought she'd be more fun than that," Kate said.

"Well it's not like we were invited in the first place," Kate's friend Sarah said.

"What did you say?" Shelby asked looking at the girl who wasn't drunk.

"Will you shut up!" Kate said to her friend.

Santana reappeared at this moment with paper towels and cleaner.

Shelby looked at Sarah expectantly and the girl finally said, "Kate just assumed there was a party when she overheard Quinn telling Santana that they were having some movie night. Quinn even told us when we got here that we weren't welcome, but Kate had told so many people that everyone just kept showing up." Sarah shrank back as Shelby's stare grew darker.

Santana and Shelby turned to glare at the drunken girl who had the decency to look somewhat ashamed. Shelby thought back to her debate over whether Rachel had been telling her the whole truth when she called and told her about the party and she now realized that her daughter had not been lying to her. This girl, Kate, wouldn't know what was coming to her if Shelby had decided to let Quinn and Rachel have it like she had almost just done when she first found them.

"You did this?" Santana questioned. "I am going to make your life hell at school," the Latina promised. She shoved the paper towels and cleaner in the girl's hands and pointed to the bathroom.

Kate still resisted and tried to pull away, demanding that Shelby let her go. Shelby had had just about enough of this little girl and pulled her close.

"Oh, honey. I'm twice the bitch you think you are," Shelby told her menacingly. "Now clean it up."

Santana's eyes widened as she nodded her approval. She was going to have to remember that line.

Kate gave up the fight and nodded as she finally realized that she would not win an argument with Shelby. As she entered the bathroom Shelby turned back to Sarah and instructed her to help and then to make sure Kate got home safely.

Shelby finally made her way into the living room and over to the stereo system that was blaring so loudly. She had no idea what the song was, but she thought it was crap. No wonder most kids had no idea what good music was since this was the kind of thing they were listening to today. She stepped passed a boy in a wheelchair who was trying in vain to reach the main console which seemed to have placed on a higher ledge so he couldn't reach it.

"I've turned it off a few times, but people kept turning it back on and then someone finally moved it," Artie told Shelby.

"I see. I'm Shelby-"

"Corcoran. Rachel's mom. I know. Brittany warned- told me you were here," he said. "We've been trying to get people to leave for a couple hours."

Shelby turned the music off and waited for the groans to stop from the kids still in the room. She stood up on a nearby coffee table and put the tips of her thumb and middle finger in her mouth and gave off a long, high pitched whistle to grab everyone's attention.

"If you are not out of this house in two minutes I am going to call the police and have all of you either escorted home to you parents or to jail," Shelby called out. "Unless you are a member of the New Directions Glee club, leave now."

Artie looked over to Brittany who looked to Santana who turned to look at Quinn and Rachel who still looked scared to death.

"She is so pissed," Mercedes said as she walked up to the two girls. People were scrambling to get out around them but Quinn and especially Rachel seemed to be rooted to their spots.

"Why is she making us stay?" Kurt asked. He would have been more than happy to leave with the crowd that was now rushing to get out of the house.

"Probably so she has some witnesses around and doesn't kill you right away," Mike offered to Rachel who could only nod.

"It's my fault," Quinn offered up.

"I'm sure she wouldn't have a problem killing you too," Mercedes offered.

Ten minutes later all of New Directions, except for Puck who was still in the kitchen with Beth, was gathered in the living room and waiting for Shelby to return. She was going through the house inspecting each room to make sure there were no stray kids left anywhere. The room grew silent when she entered and she scanned the eleven children in front of her.

"I know it's after four in the morning, but none of you are leaving here until this house in cleaned up," Shelby said. "The faster we do this, the faster you all can get out of here."

There were a few light groans, but no one complained or questioned her. They all started to get up and move out of the room. Most of them moved towards the closet off the kitchen to get cleaning supplies, but Quinn headed for the stairs so she could start on the second floor. She had heard through the grapevine that Beth was there and she was actively avoiding the kitchen.

Shelby wasn't sure where Rachel disappeared to, but she wasn't in the kitchen with the rest of the kids fawning over Beth when she entered. They were hovering around Puck who was holding Beth who was in turn holding his little finger. All of them were taking out their phones and taking pictures of the baby and Puck holding her when Shelby interrupted them.

"You guys can take all the pictures you want," Shelby told them. "But I want you to remember that Quinn hasn't seen her and isn't ready to and I want you all to respect that. Do not go and show her any of these pictures. She can see her whenever she wants when she's ready, but I don't want you guys holding pictures of Beth over her head. Everyone got that?"

They all nodded and agreed before turning their attention back to Beth. None of them tried to understand Quinn's feelings on the situation because they knew they couldn't, but they knew enough to give Quinn the time she needed.

It took about three hours, but the house was finally cleaned to Shelby's specifications and she let them all go home. They had vacuumed every room and cleaned every bathroom. The floors were mopped and every flat surface had been wiped down. All of trash had been picked up and removed and furniture was returned to its previous locations. The house was probably cleaner than when Shelby dropped Rachel off on Friday morning, but that's what Shelby had expected. She was a taskmaster when checking behind the kids and had no problem calling them all back to a certain room to make sure it was done right. All of the kids were exhausted when Shelby finally told them to get home. The rest of the kids had offered Rachel and Quinn sympathetic glances as they left the house since Shelby still seemed angry and those were the two that were now stuck with her.

Shelby was securing the sleep Beth into her carrier in the kitchen while Rachel and Quinn waited for her in the living room. The girls sat side-by-side on the couch not speaking to each other, but keeping their eyes trained on their hands in their laps. Shelby stood behind them for a few moments when she entered the room and looked them over. She cleared her throat as she came around to stand in the front of them and waited for them both to look at her. She crossed her arms and held each of their gazes for a few seconds before they dropped their heads back down.

"How did I know something like this was going to happen?" she asked rhetorically.

"We didn't know this was going to happen," Quinn said. "They just showed up. We didn't plan it."

"The young man in the wheelchair-"

"Artie," Rachel supplied.

"Artie," Shelby continued, "said that you waited a couple of hours to call me. You should have called me right away."

"But we were trying to get people to leave during that time," Rachel said. "We were trying to handle it."

"You two are very lucky that none of the neighbors decided they had had enough and called the police," Shelby said. "Do you know how dangerous it was to have all of that alcohol here and not one person was of age?"

Rachel looked back down at her hands at the mention of alcohol while Quinn nodded at Shelby. The woman tried to read to two exhausted teens before her before speaking up again.

"What time will your mother be home?"

"She said she would be home around nine," Quinn answered as tears welled in her eyes once more. Her mother was not going to be happy about this.

Shelby looked at her watch and saw that it was 7:27 and then turned back to Quinn.

"Have you been drinking?"

Quinn shook her head no and avoided looking at Rachel in an attempt to not give Shelby any clues that Rachel had been.

"Do you want to see her?" Shelby asked. "She's asleep in the kitchen."

Quinn shook her head again and this time a tear did fall.

"Ok. Then go up to your room and lay down for an hour or so before your mom comes home," Shelby said.

Quinn stood up and looked pleadingly at Shelby. "Ms. Corcoran, I-" She was cut off when Shelby held up a hand to stop her.

"Go on, Quinn." The blonde did as she was told, leaving mother and daughter alone in the room.

Shelby waited until Quinn was all the way up the stairs before turning back to Rachel. She could see the girl's shoulders shaking and knew that she was crying. Shelby stepped forward to the couch and pulled Rachel up so that she was standing and then pulled the girl into a hug and let Rachel cry on her shoulder while she soothingly rubbed her back. Shelby waited to say anything until Rachel's cried finally calmed down and the girl was just standing with her head resting on Shelby's shoulder.

"And have you been drinking?" Shelby asked. She knew the answer when she felt Rachel stiffen in her arms. She had Rachel step back so that she could look at her before asking, "how much?"

"I had a couple of shots and some beer," Rachel answered.

"So while you were working really hard to get people to leave this party you took the time to have a little bit to drink," Shelby said.

"It was when they first got here," Rachel said, fudging the timeline a little. Rachel felt that her honesty was one of her best qualities, but even she knew not to tell Shelby that there had been alcohol at their movie night. It was a lie of self-preservation, she reasoned. Like when she used to tell people that no, of course, she wasn't staying home alone.

"It's certainly good to know you tried your hardest to get them out," Shelby said.

"We did try really hard," Rachel argued, her voice taking a high whine that helped to illustrate how tired she was. "It was really early on and it was a mistake. I'm sorry. I won't ever do it again."

"You bet you won't," was Shelby's reply.

Rachel's eyes went wide. "What are you going to do?"

"Right now, you are going to lay down here on the couch for about an hour until Mrs. Fabray gets home. We'll talk about the drinking later," Shelby answered.

"Mom-"

"Lay down, Rachel."

Rachel did as she was told, but her tears had started again. Shelby left the room but returned a minute later with a blanket from the sitting room and draped it over Rachel. The tired girl wiped at her face with the back of her hand and looked away from Shelby.

"Why are you crying now?" Shelby asked.

"Mrs. Fabray is gonna kill Quinn," Rachel sobbed out.

"Mrs. Fabray is not going to kill Quinn," Shelby tried to assure her as she left the room. She flipped the switch to turn the light off and then made her way to the kitchen.

Upstairs in her room Quinn lay wide awake in the dark still crying and also using the back of her hand to wipe away some tears from her cheeks. Her mother would be home soon and she knew that she was going to be in serious trouble once Shelby told her what had happened that night.

Shelby shifted through Beth's diaper bag and pulled out a bottle and the formula so she could feed the baby that was now stirring in her carrier. She knew what she was going to do with the girls, but she also wanted them to take a good, long while and really think about the trouble that had found them last night. She knew neither girl was asleep because, despite how exhausted they were, both were too worried about their possible punishments to close their eyes. And Shelby was perfectly ok to let them stew on it for a while. She settled into a chair to give Beth her bottle and patiently waited for Judy Fabray to get home.

**A/N – Please leave me a review and let me know what you think.**

**Also, it occurred to me that it may seem really callous of Shelby to send all these kids who were probably drunk out of the house without knowing how they were getting home. But it was the middle of the night, guys. And she was tired an angry. But I can assure you that everyone made it home safely only to be confronted by their own angry parents about why they were coming home in the middle of the night drunk. So all is well. Except for Rachel and Quinn. **

**And I love Rachel's "Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie" moment. And if you don't know what that reference is, please stop what you are doing and look it up and then watch the movie. After you leave me a review, of course. **


	21. Chapter 21

A/N – Y'all, this chapter kicked my ass and then laughed at me while I was down. But here it is. As always, thank you so much for all of the reviews. I appreciate it.

And a big thank you to romcat and especially to steamed artichoke 43 for helping me through this. Thanks, guys!

Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.

Shelby smiled down at the dozing child in her arms and sighed. Beth had been awake most of the night and Shelby knew that it would throw her sleeping off. Shelby herself was exhausted because she too had been up half the night and Rachel had been awake since getting up Saturday morning. Shelby anticipated that it would be a long day for all of them. Her first order of business after talking with Judy would be to get home and get Rachel to sleep. And if Beth stayed asleep then she'd get a nap in herself. And of course she had to figure out what to do about Rachel and the drinking. This was certainly not what she had anticipated from the girl and was ready to confess that she was at a loss for what do to about it. It was true, she had told Rachel that she wasn't afraid to parent, but it didn't mean she had all the answers either. They had just gone through a talk and a punishment last weekend and, quite frankly, Shelby found herself a little exasperated. She thought about calling her mother and getting her advice, but she pushed that thought from her mind.

Shelby glanced at a clock and found that only forty-five minutes had passed since she had separated the girls and had them lie down. She had hoped it would serve to calm them down a little bit and also give them a chance to sit with their guilt for a little while, which could be an effective punishment all on its own.

Shelby secured Beth in her carrier, careful not to wake her, and decided to go and check on the girls. With any luck Judy would come home soon and she wanted both girls up by then. Maybe not just yet, but soon.

Rachel sat halfway up and looked at her mom when Shelby passed, but the woman shook her head and indicated that Rachel should lie back down. Shelby noticed that Rachel's chin started to quiver again as she laid back against the pillows. She was about to stop and say something, but decided against it and instead made her way up the stairs.

Shelby looked into what she assumed was the guest room because she caught sight of Rachel's duffel bag. She also got her first glance at the shopping bags from the mall. Shelby muttered under her breath about her mother and shopping and Rachel should feel lucky that they went shopping before the party broke out.

Shelby stepped out of the room and went to check on Quinn. She found that the bedroom door was ajar and so she took a look inside and saw that Quinn was sitting up in bed staring off into space. Shelby knocked and pushed the door open farther.

"Ms. Corcoran," Quinn said, sitting up straighter and wiping at her eyes again.

"Quinn," Shelby said coolly as she entered the room.

"I'm really sorry," Quinn said. "You're right, we should have called you right away, but we all thought we'd be able to handle it and get everyone out. It got out of hand really quickly. We were trying to make it right, not do anything wrong."

Shelby nodded as she sat down in the chair at Quinn's desk. "How much did Rachel have to drink?"

Quinn took in a breath as she tried to formulate what to say. She had no idea what Rachel had told Shelby about it and she didn't want to out her friend. Shelby understood this situation so she added, "She already told me she was drinking. Just honestly, Quinn, how much did she have?"

"It was only a couple of shots and a little bit of beer," Quinn said. "Probably not even a full can."

Shelby was grateful that Quinn's answer matched what Rachel had told her. "Why?" Shelby knew the answer, but she wanted to know what Quinn had to say. Shelby understood the pull of peer pressure and most kids gave into it at some point or another.

"Peer pressure," Quinn said shrugging. "Rachel's not a follower, but she's never really dealt with anything like this before. I've been to lots…a few parties like this," Quinn changed her total amount when she saw the look Shelby was giving her. "This was her first high school party."

"And her last," Shelby added.

"Didn't you ever go to any parties in high school?" Quinn asked.

Shelby gave her a neutral look before nodding. Of course she had been to high school parties. It was the reason she had dropped the idea of calling her mother to ask for advice on Rachel. She did not need to be reminded of that transgression again. Shelby could already hear her mother saying that at least Rachel didn't get as drunk as Shelby did.

"Yes, I want to my share of high school parties," Shelby answered. "I also got in a lot of trouble for a few of them," Shelby added before Quinn had a chance to feel that they were gaining a common ground.

The girl looked down at her hands and gave a quiet, "yeah" of acceptance.

"Why didn't you drink?"

Quinn didn't look back up when she said, "I was drinking the night Beth was conceived."

Shelby nodded and got up from her chair and placed it back in its spot under the desk. She had no words of wisdom to offer the girl, but her heart went out to her. Quinn looked quite young as she sat on the bed with a tear-stained face and red eyes. She knew that Quinn was still sensitive to the subject of Beth and decided to change the subject.

"I'm going to take Rachel's stuff downstairs and put it in the car. Your mother should be home soon so go ahead and get up and wash your face and come downstairs."

"Ok, Ms. Corcoran," was Quinn's response.

Quinn made her way down the stairs a few minutes later and sat with Rachel on the couch. Shelby came in a few minutes after that from loading the car and joined the girls in the living room. She looked from Quinn's freshly washed face to Rachel's which was still covered in tear tracks and sent the younger girl upstairs to clean up.

Judy Fabray pulled into the driveway just as Rachel was coming back downstairs, a little more fresh-faced.

"Hello?" Judy called when she entered the house. She was surprised to see Shelby's car there so early.

"Hello," Shelby called out brightly. Quinn started to get up but Shelby motioned for her to stay where she was. Shelby moved to Rachel and steered her towards the front door and the kitchen. Rachel could only wave to Quinn over her shoulder.

"Good morning," Judy greeted when Shelby and Rachel got to her. "I didn't expect to see you here so early. I thought the girls would still be asleep."

Shelby pointed the sleeping Beth out to Judy who immediately changed course to go into the kitchen and see her.

"They actually haven't been to sleep yet," Shelby answered.

"Oh?" Judy said, but she was too interested in Beth to really want an answer.

"Rachel, why don't you take Beth and get her situated in the car," Shelby said. "I'll be out in a minute."

Judy placed a kiss on Beth's head before Rachel picked up the baby carrier. Judy stood up and placed a hand on Rachel's cheek and kissed the other. Judy noticed the girl's red eyes and quiet demeanor and shot a questioning glance at Shelby as Rachel and Beth left the kitchen and the house.

"Is she ok?" Judy asked.

"She's fine," Shelby assured her.

Judy looked like she wanted to inquire further, but she let it go. She'd spent more than a week with Rachel in her house; she knew the girl was emotional.

"You really didn't have to come for Rachel this early," Judy said. "She was welcome to stay all day."

"Oh, I know," Shelby replied. "I had some errands to do this morning and I thought that Rachel may want to go with me since she's usually up pretty early. And I guess I was just missing her. But when I called I found out that they have been up all night watching movies and so they haven't gotten any sleep. I want Rachel to get some sleep so I scrapped the errands all together and came to get her so I can take her home and get her to bed."

"It sounds like they had a good time," Judy said. "But I better make sure Quinn gets some sleep too, otherwise she'll just be cranky later."

"Rachel too," Shelby agreed with a laugh.

Judy led the way to the living room to find Quinn still sitting on the couch where Shelby left her. The girl had her eyes closed and her head leaned against the back of the couch.

"Quinn," Judy said.

Quinn's eyes popped open and she quickly got to her feet. "Mom, I-" Quinn wanted to take responsibility for what had happened, but Shelby cut her off.

"Quinn, I was just telling your mom about the nice time you and Rachel had watching movies all night last night," Shelby said as she moved to stand next to the girl. Quinn was giving her a look of confusion and awe. Shelby placed a hand on Quinn's back and said, "Sad movies, right? From the looks of yours and Rachel's red eyes this morning."

Quinn continued to stare at Shelby until the woman gave her a poke in the back and ever so slightly pointed her head towards Judy.

"Yes, right," Quinn finally stammered out. "Old, sappy movies. Rachel loves them."

"I know she does," Judy said. "She had me watching Funny Girl within a couple days of her being here. She and I both cried over it."

"We didn't watch that one," Quinn said.

"What did you watch?" Judy asked.

"Oh, you know. Some good ones," Quinn said. "Rachel picked most of them. I had never even heard of some of them," Quinn babbled since her mind picked this moment to go completely blank on movie titles.

Judy turned away suddenly in order to grab a tissue because she was about to sneeze. Quinn was still talking about non-existent movie titles when she turned to look at Shelby while her mother's back was turned. Shelby shook her head and Quinn stopped talking. The girl had a look of utter amazement on her face at what Shelby was doing and in turn Shelby winked.

"God bless you," Shelby said after Judy's sneeze and Quinn turned back to her mother.

"Thank you," Judy said as she stepped into the nearby bathroom to throw the tissue away.

"Say goodnight, Quinn," Shelby whispered to the girl.

Quinn understood and quickly stepped towards her mother who was returning and said, "I'm going to go and get some sleep now."

"Goodnight, Honey," Judy said. Quinn made her way to the stairs as Judy asked, "Wouldn't you love to have that kind of energy and be able to stay up all night?"

"Oh, I don't know," Shelby said. "I'd much rather be able to sleep all night." She said the last part loud enough for Quinn to hear her.

"I'm going to make some coffee," Judy said. "I'd offer you to stay and have some, but considering Rachel and Beth are outside waiting, you probably want to get going."

"Yes, I do," Shelby agreed. "But I forgot one of Rachel's bags upstairs so I'm going to run and grab it."

"Quinn can bring it down," Judy offered.

"No, no, I've got it," Shelby said.

Shelby headed to the stair while Judy went to the kitchen to start the coffee. Shelby knocked on Quinn's open door and was greeted by a hug from the girl. When Quinn stepped back, Shelby couldn't help but smile at the girl's relief.

"Thank you so much, Shelby."

"Oh, so now I'm back to being Shelby, am I?" Quinn ducked her head in embarrassment. "Listen to me, Quinn," Shelby said, turning serious. "I didn't tell your mom because I know that you did not plan for that party to happen and that you did everything you could to fix it. You two should have called me earlier, but I can understand why you didn't."

"I thought we could handle it, but it just seemed to get out of control so fast," Quinn said. "I thought you were really angry."

"I was angry," Shelby said. "And I'm still really upset with Rachel. But in terms of the party, I think you punished yourself enough last night."

Quinn nodded her head in agreement. The guilt and worry she put herself through last night was worse than the last few times she had been grounded.

"Thank you, Shelby," Quinn said sincerely.

"You're welcome, Quinn. You can call me any time you need me if you find yourself in a situation like this again. But I would highly advise that you stay away from any parties in the near future. And keep Rachel from them as well. I won't be so lenient next time."

"Yes, Ma'am," Quinn said in full earnestness.

"Good girl. Now you get some sleep and I need to get out to Rachel."

"Will you tell her that I'll call her later tonight?" Quinn asked.

"I will tell her that you will talk to her tomorrow in school," Shelby said. "She won't be using her phone much tonight."

Quinn winced at Shelby's words, but nodded. "Ok. Bye, Shelby."

"Bye, Quinn." Shelby picked up the last of Rachel's bags from the mall and made her way back downstairs. She stopped in the kitchen to say goodbye to Judy and then headed out to her car. She looked down the drive and saw Rachel sitting in the front seat with her arms folding on the open window ledge and her chin resting on her hands. It was a cute scene and Rachel almost looked peaceful, it not exhausted. The girl's entire demeanor changed when she noticed Shelby was almost to the car. Rachel sat up straight and put her seat belt on. She wrung her hands together nervously and kept her eyes down. Shelby opened the back door in order to put the bag inside and check on Beth who was sound asleep.

"Is Quinn ok?" Rachel asked when Shelby got in the car.

"She's fine," Shelby answered. The woman took a moment to yawn before backing out of the driveway and heading home. She cast a few sideways glances at Rachel while she drove and she could tell the girl was dying to ask what had happened.

"Quinn is not in any trouble for the fact that there was a party," Shelby finally told her after a few minutes. "And neither are you."

"Really?" Rachel's face lit up.

"Yes. I know that neither of you planned the party, so I'm not going to punish you for it. There are things you could have done differently last night, but both of you have been up all night worrying about it and I think you punished yourself enough," Shelby explained. "I didn't tell Mrs. Fabray about any of it. She thinks you two were up all night watching sad movies."

"Mom, I don't know what to say. Thank you."

"That does not mean you are off the hook, young lady," Shelby said seriously. "The party is one thing, but drinking is another."

Just as quickly as Rachel's face lit up, it fell again. The girl turned away and pouted in silence for the rest of the trip and Shelby was glad for it. She didn't want to have that conversation right now.

Shelby breathed a small sigh of relief when she pulled her car into the driveway at her house. It had been a long night and she was glad to be home. Rachel got out of the car and moved to the trunk so she could get her bags out.

"Don't worry about that right now, Rachel," Shelby said, stopping her. "We'll get it all later."

Rachel nodded and turned back towards the house while Shelby got Beth. The baby was starting to stir in her seat and let out a cry. Shelby tried to soothe her as they entered the house, but Beth was not in the mood.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" Shelby asked when she saw the girl sitting on the couch. Shelby set the carrier down and unstrapped Beth and held the baby close. The little girl was crying in full force now and Shelby rocked her in place.

"Waiting to talk to you," Rachel answered. "You said we still had to talk."

"We will talk about that later, Honey," Shelby said. "I want you to go and get at least a few hours of sleep. It's not even ten yet so you could sleep for a little while." Shelby turned her attention back to Beth, but she did not miss Rachel drop her shoulders and sigh. Shelby ignored it for the moment because she was now looking for one of the many pacifiers that were always around except in moments like these when she needed one.

"Don't cry, Beth," Shelby cooed as she searched through the car seat, shaking out a blanket but still not finding a pacifier. She looked back to the couch and saw that Rachel was still sitting there.

"Rachel?"

"Why can't we talk about it now?" Rachel whined. She certainly wasn't in the mood to be lectured or punished right now, but she would rather get it out of the way instead of having it hanging over her head all day.

Shelby shut her eyes and took a deep breath in an effort to quell her rising frustration. Beth was still crying and Rachel was whining and she was exhausted.

"I'm not going to argue about this, Rachel," Shelby said. "Get upstairs."

Rachel let out a frustrated sigh of her own and angrily got to her feet. She had had a long night too and didn't feel like putting it off any longer.

"But why?" the girl argued. "Why can't we just do this now? It seems ridiculous to delay a conversation we both don't want to have. Why don't you just-"

"Rachel!" Shelby yelled, startling both Beth and Rachel, the former of which started to cry harder. She shifted the baby in her arms and stepped closer to Rachel.

"You want to do this now?" Shelby said. "You want to talk about disappointment and shock and the fact that this is the second weekend in a row that you've been in some kind of trouble?"

Rachel couldn't hold her mother's angry gaze and hung her head, suddenly rethinking her little outburst a moment ago.

"You want to do this right now while Beth is screaming and you and I are exhausted," Shelby continued. "Because I would rather wait a few hours until we've both had a chance to calm down and then we can talk rationally. But if you would rather get it out of the way now, then fine. We can do this now. You acted childishly and irresponsibly by giving in to peer pressure and deciding it was ok for you to drink. You are only fifteen years old! Look at me, Rachel."

Rachel looked up and Shelby could see that tears had begun to well in her eyes and she silently admonished herself for not being able to stay calm and for lashing out at Rachel. Shelby was normally not a yeller, and even if she was, now had not been the time to yell at Rachel. She took a calming breath before she started to speak again.

"Now, do you want to continue this right now?" Rachel shook her head no and looked away again. "Then do as you're told this time and go to your room and get into bed so I can take care of Beth." The baby in question was still crying despite Shelby's best efforts to calm her. Beth could feel the tension in the room and she was unsettled by it.

"Here," Rachel said as she handed Shelby the pacifier she had noticed on the table. The girl then turned and headed for the stairs while Shelby gave Beth her much wanted pacifier. Rachel wasn't expecting to sleep when she tearfully crawled into bed a few minutes later, but she was asleep almost immediately.

Shelby was finally able to get Beth quieted down after much pacing and soft singing. Beth eventually took a bottle and Shelby was then able to put her in her swing in the living room and watched as the baby's eyes fluttered closed. Shelby watched Beth contentedly before deciding to take the opportunity to lie down on the couch and shut her eyes.

Two hours later Beth had been moved to her crib in Shelby's room and the mother was standing at the threshold of Rachel's room, hot tea in hand, watching the little diva sleep. Despite Shelby's relatively short nap, she felt refreshed and awake and gave her a better perspective on the situation with Rachel. Shelby moved into the room and silently took a seat at Rachel's desk and let the relative silence, combined with the tea, further relax her. She had taken to watching Rachel sleep for a few minutes every night because she found it so endearing. She hoped it wasn't creepy, but it gave her a chance to really think about how they had gotten to this point and how much she loved that Rachel was living with her now.

Shelby took another sip of tea and thought over the punishment she had in mind for her child. The grounding last weekend didn't seem to have made much of an impact, but to be fair it had been a fun weekend with her mother there. Shelby also wanted to keep it clear in her mind that Rachel had not gone looking for this trouble; it had found her. But that didn't change the way Rachel responded to it.

Shelby had to find a way for Rachel to understand about consequences. The girl had been self-parenting to a large degree for three years now and so she had rarely ever had to answer to anyone for her behavior. Shelby was working to change that, but she understood that it was a process.

One thing that had dictated the punishment to some degree was the amount of alcohol Rachel had consumed. It had really not been that much. Well, for Shelby it was a small amount, but for someone as little as Rachel, it was different. Plus Shelby could handle her alcohol a lot better than she was certain Rachel could. Or at least that better be the case! The amount, though, suggested to Shelby that Rachel was just experimenting, not drinking to get drunk. All kids did that at one point or another. But Shelby felt that fifteen was just too young. Or maybe she just wanted to hope that it was too young. She thought back to some of her students and although she had been strict with them during classes and rehearsals and on trips, she had been able to laugh and shake her head at some of the antics she heard about them. Of course it was completely different when it was your own child.

There was also the fact that she didn't want to seem like a hypocrite because she had gotten in trouble for the same thing in high school, which was why she didn't call her mom for advice on this one. It had, in fact, been worse than Rachel's transgression because Shelby had been completely drunk when her father had plucked her from a party in the middle of the night. She had been grounded for over a month and threatened with worse if she did it again. Her parents had offered no hangover tricks and simply let her be miserable the next morning. No, she was definitely not going to call them and let them remind her of it. So maybe she didn't feel like that much of a hypocrite because having to deal with your kids when they got into the same trouble you did was a rite of passage, wasn't it? It made grandparents around the world cackle with glee.

But none of that changed what Shelby was going to do today. She wanted to leave an impression so that Rachel wouldn't try something like this again. She wanted to give her something to think back on the next time Rachel found herself confronted with someone peer pressuring her. And the next time she felt like picking up a drink before she was twenty-one.

Rachel rolled over and opened her eyes before quickly blinking because of the bright sunlight in the room. She turned her head to glance at her clock and found that it was just a few minutes after noon. It wasn't until she turned her head back the other way that she saw Shelby sitting at her desk smiling at her.

"Mom!" Rachel sat up startled, bumping her head on the headboard in the process. "Ow." She rubbed the spot on her head and sat up straighter and leaned against the headboard. "How long have you been watching me sleep?"

"Just a few minutes," Shelby answered as she set her tea cup down on the desk and got up and moved to the bed. She climbed in on the side opposite from where Rachel was and sat next to her daughter. "Let me see."

Rachel ducked her head so that Shelby could inspect the spot that had been hit. Shelby found nothing, of course and released the girl and was then pleasantly surprised when Rachel settled her head on her mother's shoulder and yawned. Shelby pulled her arm around Rachel and gave her a light squeeze.

"It's a little creepy that you were watching me sleep," Rachel said.

"I thought it was kind of sweet," Shelby replied.

"In a stalkerish kind of way," Rachel answered.

The two fell into an easy silence. Shelby rested her head on top of Rachel's and Rachel played with a ring on Shelby's hand, much the way a small child would, Shelby noted to her amusement. The silence was finally broken by Rachel a few minutes later.

"Mom?"

"Hmmmm."

"I'm sorry about earlier, when we first got home," Rachel said. "I don't know why I pressured you to talk about it right then. I was just so tried."

"Oh, were you tired?" Shelby asked playfully. "I wasn't sure." Rachel huffed a bit and Shelby gave a light laugh. "And I should not have started yelling at you. I was pretty tired too and that's why I did not want to talk right then."

"I know," Rachel mumbled contritely.

"But how about we have that talk now?" Shelby said.

Rachel stiffened, almost unconsciously, as she nodded. She didn't feel as prepared now she did this morning. Shelby moved her arm from around Rachel and stood up from her spot on the bed. Rachel, in turn, moved to sit on the edge of the bed, her feet dangling on the side because they didn't reach the floor. She kept her eyes down and waited for Shelby to start.

"What I said earlier was true, Rachel," Shelby began, although this time she was a lot calmer than she was earlier. "You did act childishly when you gave into the peer pressure and took this drinks. I am disappointed in your behavior. Don't you know some of the dangers of drinking?" Rachel nodded her head, but listened when Shelby listed them off again to her. The tears welled in her eyes when her mother mentioned things like alcohol poisoning and hangovers.

"I'm really sorry, Mom," Rachel said. "I don't know what I was thinking. I just wanted to show how much I belonged."

"I understand that, Rachel. Peer pressure is all about gaining approval," Shelby said. "And I also understand that you have very little experience with a social scene like that and so you are more susceptible to giving in. I know your nature. You never want to disappoint your audience and so you gave in."

"But I didn't want to disappoint you either," Rachel said. "You're the person whose approval I want the most."

Shelby was glad when Rachel looked away at that statement because she felt tears form in her eyes and she looked to the ceiling and tried to blink them away. "What makes you think you don't have my approval?" Shelby asked.

"I'm trying to earn it," Rachel said. "But I'm not doing a good job. I keep getting into trouble. You've seen me be awful to Quinn and to you and you know about my behavior in school and you've had to sign off on bad grades. You've all of a sudden found yourself stuck with this troublemaker teenage daughter. I bet you spend half your time wondering just what you got yourself into by taking me and the other half thinking of ways you can give me back."

Shelby quickly stepped up to the bed and pulled up Rachel by the arms and gathered her into a hug. She placed two hard swats on Rachel's bottom, but held the girl tighter when she whimpered. "I don't want to hear you say that again, do you understand?" She landed another swat for good measure. "Do you understand?" she asked again when Rachel didn't respond.

"Yes," Rachel said.

"I know you're fifteen, but you won't sit down for a week if I hear you saying something like that again," Shelby promised her.

"I understand," Rachel said, sniffling.

"Good." Shelby stepped back and held Rachel's shoulders at arms' length. "I have never once even entertained the notion of giving you up. Where is that coming from?"

"It's just something I worry about," Rachel answered honestly. "I wanted you to want me so badly and then I feel like I'm screwing it up. I never had any problems holding myself accountable, but it's different with you. I have no good explanations for why I gave in and decided to drink the drinks. It was easier to do when I thought it was something you wouldn't find out about," Rachel told her. "But why would I ever think that? Why would I do something that I know is wrong and would make you mad on purpose? That seems crazy."

"It's because you're a teenager," Shelby said. "This is not a unique situation to you," Shelby told her little center of attention. "And peer pressure is powerful. Part of growing up is learning how to deal with things like that. And part of my job as a parent is to help you learn how to deal with them. And you never had any problems holding yourself accountable because that's not what you were doing. Would you have thought twice about any type of consequence for drinking if you were still at your house and your fathers were out of town?" Rachel shook her head no. "Of course not. You think I would want to give you back because you think it was easier for you before to not have to deal with consequences so therefore it must have been easier for me before to not have to issue any."

"But I don't want to go back," Rachel said. "I want to stay with you."

"Oh, trust me, Honey, you are not going back," Shelby assured her. "I love you. No matter what you do and how much trouble you get into, I love you. This is a learning curve for all of us and we're just going to keep working through it. So you stop worrying about me sending you away. Because if I hear it again…"

"I know, I know," Rachel said, rubbing her backside, a sting still present.

"Now, back to the drinking."

"This is where we talk about consequences, right?" Rachel said and Shelby nodded at her.

"I've been thinking about this for hours now," Shelby began. "I want you to remember this and for it to give you something to think back on the next time you are being pressured."

Rachel gulped and ran her hand absently over her bottom again. She was not liking the sound of this.

"You are banned from Glee for two weeks," Shelby said.

"What?" Rachel cried out. "But, Mom, that's not fair!"

"I disagree. The only reason you're not grounded on top of it is because you drank such a small amount. And I think this might serve as a good lesson for you. You are free to do everything you want except the thing you want to do the most."

"But most of them don't like me as it is. I can't be gone for two weeks. What if they replace me?"

"You can explain to them that you'll be back and this is only temporary. I'm sure they won't replace you," Shelby said.

"Can't you just ground me instead?" Rachel asked and Shelby knew she had made the right decision since Rachel would rather be grounded than miss Glee.

"We're not negotiating here," Shelby said. "You can be grounded on top of missing Glee if that's what you would like, but Glee is out for two weeks. End of story. I will pick you up directly after school."

Rachel crossed her arms and pouted, although still able to shoot the occasional dagger at Shelby. Shelby wanted to smile at Rachel's petulant posture, but refrained. She reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Rachel's ear and then moved her hand down and cupped Rachel's chin, forcing the girl to look at her.

"I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too," Rachel muttered crossly.

Shelby gave her a small smile as she leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead. She then stepped over to the desk to collect her tea cup and then left the room leaving the sulking Rachel still standing by her bed.

A/N – Please leave me a review if you can. I really appreciate all the feedback.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N – Sorry for the delay in getting this up. But here it is! Thank you so much for all of the reviews you've given me. You guys don't know how much I enjoy reading through them.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Rachel moved around her bedroom Monday morning finishing up getting ready for school. She dreaded the next two weeks without Glee. She knew they were mean to her and didn't really like her, but Glee was her thing. And now that she'd be gone for two weeks, she was giving them ample opportunity to prove that they didn't need her. Mercedes and Kurt would take all her solos. Santana would probably brag about how it was her drinks that finally freed them from Rachel. Mr. Schue would be glad for the quiet and that the rest of them barely ever challenged his authority. He could pine after Miss Pillsbury in peace.

All of this worry had translated into anger at Shelby. Rachel had avoided her the rest of Sunday for as long as she could. Shelby made her come down and eat dinner and Rachel had stayed uncharacteristically quiet the whole time, picking at her food until Shelby finally agreed that she could be excused. Deep down, Rachel had really wanted to be able to talk with Shelby about what had happened that day. Not so much the drinking and her punishment, but Shelby's forceful assurance that she wouldn't send Rachel back to her dads. That had been a notion that Rachel had worried about a lot, but she felt that lessening. She was really happy with Shelby and growing more comfortable there, even if she didn't really know how to show it.

"Good morning," Shelby said happily when Rachel finally made her way into the kitchen. She was holding Beth so that the baby was somewhat sitting on the table in front of her and they were smiling at each other.

"Morning," Rachel mumbled as she reached into the refrigerator for some juice. She stood with her back to Shelby and stared out the window while she nursed the apple juice she didn't really want, but Shelby never let her go in the morning without at least having something.

Shelby sighed at Rachel's attitude, but she couldn't expect her to be happy about any of this. She had taken away one of her girl's favorite activities and, although deserved, she knew that Rachel would be angry. She could only hope that it wouldn't last for the entire two weeks. She was hoping it would only be a few days before Rachel really accepted the fact that she deserved the punishment and did not think that Shelby was being unfair.

"Do you want me to drive you to school?" Shelby asked, making another attempt at conversation.

Rachel shook her head no while she was taking a drink of the juice. "I'll walk." Rachel put her empty glass in the sink and turned the leave the room, only stopping to kiss Beth on the top of the head.

"Remember, I'll pick you up right after school," Shelby said to her retreating daughter.

"How could I forget?" Rachel called back sarcastically and then punctuated it by closing the front door harder than necessary.

"She's mad at me," Shelby said lightly to Beth who cooed a response. "You're not going to get in trouble and then act like this when you get caught, are you?" Shelby held the baby close and Beth settled her head against Shelby's shoulder. "Of course you will," Shelby said with a laugh. "But not yet, ok? Give me a few years."

The first place Rachel went when she reached the school was Mr. Schuester's office. She needed to tell him in person that she wouldn't be there. She knocked lightly at the open door and waited for him to call her in.

"What can I do for you this morning, Rachel?"

"I have some bad news," she said as she came to a stop in front of his desk. "I regret to inform you that I will not be able to attend any Glee rehearsals for the next two weeks, starting today."

"Why?" Will asked, standing up. "Is everything ok?"

"The reasons are very personal and I would rather not disclose them," Rachel said. "But rest assured that I will keep up with all of the assignments and arrangements via Quinn and I will be better than ever when I return."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Rachel," Mr. Schue said. "I know it's only temporary, but we'll miss you."

"That remains to be seen, of course," Rachel said. "But I do ask that you keep me in mind when deciding on a set list for Sectionals and that you don't let the others forget that I am part of the team."

"Don't worry about that, Rachel. I haven't even thought about the set list for Sectionals yet," he assured her.

Of course he hadn't, Rachel thought.

"And don't worry because your spot will always be there."

"Thank you. I appreciate your understanding." Rachel turned and left the office leaving the bewildered Will behind. She was actually surprised that he didn't guess that it was some sort of punishment, but she realized she was not always all that in tune with his students.

Rachel next set out of find Quinn. She knew she had found the blonde when she turned a corner and saw that people were moving out of the way because Quinn was doing her head cheerleader strut down the hallway. Rachel shook her head at the silliness of a high school hierarchy. The confident girl in the cheerleader uniform could make people part like the Red Sea. Rachel walked the halls with just as much confidence and people bumped into her like they didn't even see her. One was envied and one was slushied. The idea wasn't new, but it did nothing to improve Rachel's mood.

"Hey," Quinn said when she reached her locker where Rachel was waiting.

"Good morning, Quinn," Rachel greeted.

"I was going to call you last night, but Shelby said I probably shouldn't," Quinn told her.

"You could have. I was going to call you, but I was sulking," Rachel confessed. "I didn't really feel like talking to anyone. But I'm glad she didn't tell your mom."

"Me too. I was paranoid all day yesterday that she would find some sort of evidence that we missed and would know there was a party there," Quinn said.

"Shelby made us clean pretty thoroughly," Rachel said. "I didn't think we would ever be done."

"Are you ok?" Quinn asked. "What did she do?"

"I am banned from Glee for the next two weeks," Rachel said forlornly.

"Oh my god, are you serious?" Quinn asked. Rachel nodded and Quinn rubbed her arm comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Rachel."

"It's not your fault," Rachel sighed. "She didn't say anything about practicing on my own so you'll have to tell me what you guys are working on."

"I promise I'll keep you updated."

"Thanks. And I already told Mr. Schue. Not the reasons, of course, but I wanted to make sure I told him I wouldn't be there," Rachel said.

"Does that mean you're grounded too?" Quinn asked, thinking it over.

"No. It means I can't go to Glee. Shelby said she thought it would provide more of a lesson if I could do whatever I wanted except what I really want," Rachel said.

"Wow… That's pretty good," Quinn said. "I mean, not for you, of course," the blonde tried to amend when she saw the glare Rachel was giving her. "At least you can still go out and have your phone and computer and all, right?"

Rachel sighed and conceded. "It does make it stand out more. And it could have been worse, I suppose."

"True," Quinn agreed. "At least it's only two weeks and not a month."

"Yeah." Rachel got quiet for a moment and looked down at her loafers, debating on whether or not to bring this up. "Can I tell you something, Quinn?" Rachel asked. "And you won't laugh?"

"Of course I won't laugh," Quinn answered. "What is it?"

"I thought Shelby was going to spank me," Rachel told her.

"Oh," was Quinn's reply. "Well, you had been drinking," she said, logically enough.

"But I'm 15!" Rachel said.

"Yeah, you are kind of old," Quinn agreed. "But for maybe really big things…" she trailed off.

"She did threaten one actually," Rachel said. "Because I said she probably wants to give me back."

"You said what? Why would you say that?" Quinn asked. "She was up all night saving our butts and you tell her she doesn't want you anymore. Rachel."

"I know. But I get worried. She didn't want me before so it's possible she could change her mind again," Rachel argued.

"You're being paranoid. She was ready to go to court and fight for you. Trust me on this, Rachel; don't mess up your second chance at having a mom," Quinn said.

"I'm not trying to," Rachel said. "I just think sometimes that she probably thinks it was a mistake to take me in."

Quinn shook her head at her friend as she pulled her phone out. "And I think you're being crazy. And I'm going to call Shelby and get her to tell you so, so that you will stop being paranoid."

"Oh my god, no!" Rachel said, quickly reaching out and ending the call Quinn was trying to place. "You can't talk to her about this. She's my mom. You can't go and tell my mom about issues I'm having. Isn't there some sort of friend code about that or something? Besides, that's where her threat came from. She said if she heard me saying that again that I wouldn't sit down for a week. And from judging from the few swats she gave me already, I believe her."

"Good," Quinn said.

"Good?" Rachel questioned her. "How is that good?"

"Because you would deserve it."

"But, Quinn," Rachel tried to cut in but Quinn kept talking.

"Rachel, listen to this closely, ok? You need to try and understand Shelby's position. She's changed her whole world around for you," Quinn said. "I know what it's like to give a little girl up and if Beth one day came back into my life, I would change my world around for her. I would do everything I knew how to do to make sure that she knew how much I loved her and wanted her. And I would be heartbroken if she said that she thought that I was working out ways to give her back."

"But you're forgetting, Quinn, that Shelby turned me away after I came back," Rachel said. "She did that first. Not me."

"I know, Rachel," Quinn said softly because she could tell that Rachel was starting to get worked up. "But she did come back. She's fixing it. And as far as I can tell, she's doing everything she can to make it right and give you everything you need, right?"

"Yes," Rachel said, looking down at her feet again, wondering when Quinn became such a skilled lecturer.

"And I'm not saying it'll be easy but you need to stop building your walls that you use to keep everyone out."

"I don't build walls," Rachel said, looking back up at her friend.

"Yeah, right. The lie about your fathers was the biggest wall of all. No one has known the real you in a long time. And as soon as someone gets close, you put another wall up," Quinn said. "I tried to help when your fathers were here at school and, although the methods may have been a little wrong, as soon as you got angry you lashed out and pushed me away and put a wall up. You're starting to feel more at ease at Shelby's place, right?" Rachel nodded. "You're letting go of control whether you want to or not and as soon as something goes a little wrong, you put up a wall and assume it's her having the problem dealing and not you. It's easier for you to believe that she would have problems and not you."

Rachel did not have one point she could argue with and only nodded.

"Stop fighting her being your mom. It's exactly what you want," Quinn said.

"I'm not fighting it," Rachel said. "I'm just trying to process it all. It was much easier to dream about than to put it into practice. And she didn't deserve to get someone like me who keeps getting into trouble."

"Someone like you? What does that mean?" Quinn asked.

Rachel noticed that Quinn was glaring at her and she didn't understand why the girl was getting so angry.

"You know…" Rachel really didn't have a specific 'someone like you' definition. Annoying? Loud? Trouble? Abrasive? Self-centered? One of the other million things she'd heard people say about her in school most of her life?

"I don't know," Quinn said. "But I know someone who would like to, I bet." She snatched her phone back from Rachel and started to scroll for Shelby's number again. "Why don't you tell your mom why she doesn't deserve someone like you," Quinn said as she hit the call button.

Rachel quickly grabbed the phone back and ended the call before it could even ring. "Why are you doing that? Are you trying to get me in trouble?"

"No. I'm trying to make you understand how ridiculous you sound," Quinn said.

"It's not ridiculous," Rachel argued. "You should know. You let me know just how you felt about me for years."

Quinn's face softened with the recognition of what Rachel said, and Quinn felt shamed by it. Rachel had been bullied and called names for years. That, coupled with the face that her dads had been gone so often, did a number on Rachel's self-esteem. Her confidence in performing did not translate over into her everyday life and relationships and it's no wonder that a lot of that carried over into her perception of how Shelby felt about her and their situation.

"Rachel, take that wall down," Quinn said, trying to lighten the sudden darker mood this conversation had taken. "I understand where you are coming from. And I'm sorry for all those insults and other things I did to you. I wish I knew a way to take it back. But look at us. We're friends now and I know how wrong I was about you. All of those names don't mean anything to me and they certainly don't represent you in any way. And you know I was wrong so just think of all of the other bullies as wrong too. You're so much better than all of the bullies, past and present. None of the things said about you are a true reflection of who you are."

"Thank you, Quinn," Rachel said. "Has anyone ever told you that you are so much better than Dr. Phil?" Rachel asked, trying to convey to Quinn that all was well.

"No one but you. But please think about all of that, Rachel," Quinn said.

"I promise to think about it if you promise to stop trying to call Shelby and tell her what I said," Rachel countered. "You're going to get me spanked."

"Well, you are just a kid, Rachel. And if you keep making comments like that, you deserve it," Quinn said.

"I'm not that much younger than you. So if I'm a kid, what are you?"

"You're almost a year younger than me, which makes me more grown up than you." Rachel rolled her eyes. "How did we end up in the same grade anyway?"

"My fathers got a waiver to start me in kindergarten when I was four even though I missed the cut off date by a couple months," Rachel explained.

The bell rang signaling that they needed to make their way to their classes.

"Can I have my phone back?" Quinn asked.

Rachel held the phone out of reach and gave Quinn a look.

"I promise not to call her," Quinn finally said. Satisfied, Rachel handed the phone over and headed towards her first class.

As Rachel walked away, Quinn sent a quick text message to Shelby telling her not to worry about the two missed calls she would have. She explained that in her attempt to call someone else, she hit the wrong button. And then, not paying attention did it again. Shelby had been just about to call Quinn when she received the text. She read over the explanation and sent back a reply telling Quinn not to worry about it. She thought about asking Quinn about it further because she had a nagging feeling that there was more to it, but a cry from Beth made her put the phone down and attend to her daughter.

When the final bell sounded that afternoon Rachel slowly gathered up her stuff and headed towards the main doors. She went past the choir room and looked in at everyone settling into their chairs and talking about their days. Maybe she could just go in and say hi… No, she'd better not. The last thing she needed was to be sucked in and let time get away from her. She could just imagine Shelby standing at the door, Beth on her hip, glaring at her. She took a last look and turned away and continued her walk to the parking lot.

"Guys, settle down now," Mr. Schue said to get everyone's attention and start the rehearsal. "I need to tell you all that Rachel will not be joining us for the next two weeks. She said she had personal issues, but she'll be back. Now let's talk about our songs for this week."

As Will started talking about the assignment, side conversations started popping up all over the room. Mercedes and Kurt declared themselves the stars and started listing off the things they would be able to sing in Rachel's absence, especially if they didn't have to argue about them with her.

"Where is she, Quinn?" Finn asked. The rest of the students looked her way too.

Quinn was not sure of what she should say. Rachel made it clear that she had not told Mr. Schue for a reason and the girl had not given Quinn permission to tell anyone else.

"I don't know," Quinn finally answered.

"Coach Corcoran probably has her locked up in her room or something for that party," Kurt said. "That woman was intimidating."

"Speaking of that," Santana said. "How are you not grounded? I bet your mother flipped when she found out about the party?"

"She didn't find out," Quinn said. "Shelby didn't tell her."

"Really? Because Coach Corcoran scared me at the party," Tina said. "I don't know how Rachel is surviving over there."

That comment spawned more conversations about Shelby and how she was with Vocal Adrenaline. Quinn turned her attention back to Mr. Schue and let them gossip.

Rachel's semi-silent treatment for Shelby last until the early evening on Wednesday. Rachel was still working out her running routine and since it was still nice out, found herself running in the late afternoon. During her run, Rachel had let her mind wander to the trip Shelby had promised to NYC, and she had come up with the perfect time to go. Forgetting that she was supposed to be angry with Shelby, Rachel ran into the house calling for her mom.

"There you are," Rachel panted when she finally found Shelby in the bathroom kneeling next to the tub and washing Beth who sat in her bath seat splashing.

"What is it?" Shelby asked, looking over her shoulder at Rachel.

"Mom, I know the perfect time we can go to New York City," Rachel said, excitedly. She sat down Indian style on the floor next to Shelby and took a deep breath to calm her heavy breathing from her run. She had not stopped when she got in the house, instead choosing to continue her run right up the stairs.

"When?" Shelby asked, matching her excitement.

"Around Christmastime," Rachel said. "It'll be like quintessential New York City with all the lights and the tree and the ice skating and the chestnuts roasting on open fires. We'll get to bundle up and go see shows and we can see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. And I know we're Jewish, but the joy of Christmas transcends, right?"

Shelby kept her grip tight on Beth, but smiled at Rachel. "I've actually been thinking about that myself and that's the time I had planned on too."

Rachel beamed at her and Shelby's heart melted. It was her first genuine smile from Rachel in three days.

"And," Shelby continued. "I was thinking we could take Quinn with us."

Rachel's mouth opened in shock. It was soon replaced by another smile and a, "Mom! Wow, that'd be great. Are you sure though? What about Beth? And I don't want to take away from time where it would just be you and me."

Shelby had to admit that she hadn't even thought about Rachel wanting it to just be the two of them. She mentally kicked herself for jumping the gun. "Well, I was going to ask your grandmother to watch Beth, and that won't be a problem. Did you want it to be just you and me, Rachel? I would love that; I was just thought you might like to have a friend there. I haven't talk to Judy or Quinn yet so there's no problem. It's whatever you want."

Rachel shook her head, "No, I think it would be fun with Quinn there. Unless you want it to just be us," she quickly added.

"Quinn was my idea, so don't turn it around on me," Shelby countered.

"We should ask her," Rachel said. "We'll get our moments, but Quinn would have a lot of fun too."

"I agree," Shelby said. The woman turned her attention back to Beth and finished rinsing her off. Rachel grabbed a towel that was hanging from the rack and accepted the wet infant when Shelby passed her to her. Rachel wrapped the towel around Beth and held the girl in her lap.

"So does this mean you are talking to me again?" Shelby asked after a few moments of them watching Beth.

Rachel looked down and away from her mother and placed a kiss on the top of Beth's head. "I'm sorry, Mom," she said to the top of the baby's head. Shelby didn't say anything and instead waited for Rachel to sort out what she wanted to say.

"I shouldn't have been treating you like this. I know I was wrong with the drinking and giving in to the peer pressure. There has been no reason for me to be rude to you or ignore you. All of this is my fault and I take responsibility for it and I apologize," Rachel said. She finally snuck a look up at Shelby and saw that her mom was giving her a slight smile.

"That's good to hear, Rachel. I'm glad that you understand and acknowledge what you did was wrong and know why I had to punish you," Shelby said. "I'm not going to let you get away with stuff like that."

"I know. And in turn I'm going to try harder to not put either of us in this position," Rachel told her.

"Good to know," Shelby said. "And I accept your apology. But still no Glee. That still stands."

"I know," Rachel said.

Shelby watched her daughters and smiled. Rachel leaned back down and placed another kiss on Beth's head and the baby kicked in delight. It was then that Shelby realized that Rachel had just come in from running and was all sweaty. She reached in the tub and picked up the wash cloth she had been using on Beth and wrung it out. When Rachel looked back up Shelby placed one hand on her chin to hold her head in place and then gently wiped off Rachel's face and forehead.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked from behind the cloth.

"Washing your face," Shelby answered. "Beth is not the only one who needed to get cleaned up."

Shelby brought the cloth down just in time to see Rachel roll her eyes. Shelby just grinned at her as she released her hold on the girl's chin and placed the cloth on the side of the tub. She reached in and unplugged it so the water would drain and then stood up.

"Ok, give me Beth before you get her all dirty again." Rachel handed off Beth, who was still wrapped in the towel, and stood up. "Go get a shower and then we'll have dinner. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to tonight," Shelby said as she walked out of the room.

By Thursday afternoon the Glee club was at their wits end with each other. Mercedes and Kurt were arguing over a song they both wanted to sing. Mike and Brittany were trying to teach a new dance and were frustrated at the lack of effort from some of the other students. Mr. Schue had noticed that the singing sounded a little off, but he couldn't put his finger on why. Brad the piano player knew why. Rachel carried the group and pushed everyone to be better, even if they were only practicing harder in order to get her to shut up. Even a person like Santana who loved Glee club, though she claimed she would deny it, was suffering from the lack of a sufficient amount of Rachel Berry to keep pushing them. But Brad was never going to say so.

"Dude, you're a captain or something," Puck said to Finn. "Get up and lead."

"I'm captain in name only," Finn said. "Rachel is the real captain."

"Well she's not here, genius," Santana said. "So think back on one of your special lessons and do something."

"I don't know what to do," Finn said.

"Seriously, Quinn," Kurt chimed in. "Why isn't she here?"

The others all looked to Quinn expectantly and she finally decided to tell them why. Something had to give.

"She's being punished for drinking at my house," Quinn explained. "She's banned from Glee for two weeks."

"This is your fault, Santana," Puck accused. "You gave her the drinks!"

"And you were egging her on as well," Santana argued. "Besides, how I was supposed to know she would just up and tell her scary mother that she'd been drinking? Why would she do that?"

"You should have known not to give Berry drinks," Puck said.

"I agree," Finn chimed in. He soon had the backing of the rest of the kids who were all ready to pounce on Santana.

"Well I don't know what you all want me to do about it now," Santana said. "We'll just have to go another week."

"We'll kill each other before then," Artie said.

"Her mom picks her up every afternoon," Sam said. "I saw her out there yesterday."

"You're going to talk to her mother," Puck said.

"That's right. Explain to her that it was your fault so we can get Rachel back in here," Finn said.

"I kind of miss her," Brittany said.

"I thought you all can't stand her," Quinn said.

"We all have the right to change our minds," Santana said. "And we don't like her so much. But we don't find her as hopelessly annoying as we once did."

Quinn would take that. Progress was progress.

"But I am not going to talk to her mother," Santana said. "Did you see her stalking around that party barking out orders and generally scaring the hell out of people?"

"You have to," Tina said.

"She will," Brittany added. They all turned to look at her and knew that Santana was beaten.

"Fine, but if I get beat up by Rachel Berry's mother, I'll never forgive you guys."

The final bell chimed Friday afternoon and Rachel made her way to her locker where she found Tina and Mike waiting for her.

"Hi, Rachel," Tina said.

"Hi," Rachel replied, unsure of what was going on.

"How have you been?" Mike asked.

"Fine. I am doing my best to cope without Glee, and hoping that next week will go by quickly."

"We miss you too," Tina said.

"Do you really?"

"Yeah," Mike answered. "In fact, we wanted to ask you a question about it."

"Oh, I can't," Rachel said. "My mom is waiting."

"It won't take long," Mike said, pulling out a notebook. He showed Rachel page after page of choreography and set designs. "I have music for you to look at next." It didn't long for Rachel to become engrossed and start offering her suggestions. Mike and Tina smiled at each other as Rachel looked over the notebook.

"There's her car," Quinn said, pointing it out.

"The SUV?" Santana asked and received a nod from Quinn.

"Go on," Kurt said.

Santana shot them all another glare, but started her walk across the parking lot. Shelby glanced at her watch for the fourth time and was about to pull out her phone to call Rachel when she heard a tap on her window. Shelby eyed the cheerleader as she rolled the window down. "Can I help you?"

"Coach Corcoran?" Santana asked, although she didn't need to. She recognized the woman and, even if she hadn't, Shelby and Rachel looked so much alike that it would be hard to mistake them.

"Yes," Shelby answered.

"I'm Santana Lopez. I'm in Glee club with Rachel," Santana knew better than to use one of her nicknames for the girl right now. "I was at the party the other night."

"I thought maybe I recognized you," Shelby said. "What's up?"

"Well, the thing is… We kind of miss Rachel in Glee club. In the sense that she does most of the work and we miss that," she added quickly. "And we need her back. We also know that you're not letting her come because you found out about the drinking."

Shelby's expression took on a more neutral visage and she simply stared at the girl and waited for her to go on.

"Right. Well… At the party, I was the one who gave her the drinks," Santana finally got out.

Shelby remained quiet as she unbuckled her seatbelt and slowly opened the door and stepped out. She kept the car running since Beth was in the back.

Santana backed up when the door opened and she cast a nervous glance over at the rest of the club who was standing there watching. Shelby noticed them out of the corner of her eye, but kept her focus on one Miss Santana Lopez.

"She's going to kill her," Mercedes said from where they watched.

"I don't think I've ever seen Santana squirm like that," Kurt said. "Even Coach Sylvester didn't make her nervous like that."

The only thing missing from the way the group was watching the scene unfold was popcorn.

"You gave her the drinks?" Shelby asked.

"I offered is more like it," Santana said. "I never actually thought she would drink one. We were egging her on. "

"I see. And you thought that was a good idea why?"

"I don't know," Santana said. She wasn't about to say that Rachel was a favorite of hers to pick on either. "I am sorry, Coach Corcoran."

Rachel took a look at her watch and jumped, "Oh no. I've got to go." She handed the notebooks back to Mike and Tina and quickly sidestepped them and headed for the parking lot, ignoring their calls for her to come back. They followed closely behind but couldn't stop her before she got outside to the rest of the club.

"What's going on? Oh no," she said, answering her own question when she saw her mother and Santana. Rachel started to walk over there, but multiple pairs of hands reached out and pulled her back.

"You may be sorry, but she is not coming back to Glee early," Shelby said. "If you need her that badly than you can just wait out her time like she has to do."

"But isn't there some way you could bend that a little?" Santana asked. "You can help us by giving us her and can give her a little reprieve because you love her so much or something."

Shelby suddenly had an idea from what Santana said. It was a way she could help all of them and give Rachel a couple hours break and still uphold her original punishment. "Do you guys have something specific you're working on?"

"Yes. We have a few songs that Mr. Schue assigned that he wants us to try out to see if they would be good for Sectionals," Santana answered.

"I'll make you a deal, Miss Lopez," Shelby said. "I'll give you guys three hours tomorrow with Rachel and my help if you want. If you promise to not offer my daughter drinks ever again. And no more peer pressuring her. Let her be herself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand. It's a deal."

"Tell your club to be at my house at 9:30 tomorrow morning," Shelby said. "I've got a piano and everything else you should need. And you can go over those songs with Rachel."

"Thanks. I will tell everyone and we'll be there, except…"

"Except who?"

"Quinn. Beth," Santana explained.

"I'll arrange for her to be with a sitter tomorrow morning," Shelby said. "How does that sound?"

"Perfect. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh, and don't tell Rachel, ok? Let's surprise her."

"No problem," Santana said as she turned to walk away.

Shelby also turned and looked at the assembled New Directions and saw that Rachel was there with them now. "Rachel," she called out and then got into her car. She was surprised at herself for the plans she had just made. It wasn't exactly giving in and Rachel would still miss the following week, but she knew the girl needed to sing with her club, even if only for a few hours.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked when Santana got back to the group.

"I think I may have just gotten you in more trouble, squirt," Santana said. "You'd better go."

Rachel sighed and started the walk to the car. She swore she could hear the distant sound of the drum beats leading her to the gallows. She didn't even know what she had done this time.

"What did you do to get her in more trouble?" Quinn asked.

Santana made sure Rachel was far enough away before she answered. "Nothing. This is what's going on." She explained to the gathered Glee club the plan for the morning.

Rachel opened the back door and set her book bag inside next to Beth's car seat. She smiled a sad smile at the baby before shutting the door and climbing in the front seat.

"I'm really sorry, Mom," Rachel said. "I'm not sure what Santana told you, but I'm sorry. It's probably not at all like she made it out to be."

Shelby turned and gave her daughter the most quizzical look. She simply kept quiet and let Rachel talk.

"I didn't do anything today. I don't even have a class with Santana. And I was only running a little behind because Mike and Tina stopped and asked me a question. And it would be rude to not answer them," Rachel said. "And then my locker is on the other side of the building. Santana was probably just trying to stir up trouble. She likes to do that. But I can assure you that I have done nothing wrong. And I'm really sorry."

It was then that Rachel looked up and actually saw how Shelby was looking at her. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"No."

"Santana told me that she got me in more trouble," Rachel explained.

"Sounds like she was teasing you, Honey."

"I should have known," Rachel mumbled.

"But let me make sure I understand," Shelby said. "You have no idea what you did wrong, but you apologized for it…"

"Just in case. Just covering my bases," Rachel said.

"I'll remember that next time you tell me how sorry you really are," Shelby said.

"No, Mom, that's not what I meant-"

"Relax, Rachel. I'm kidding."

"Right," Rachel said, relieved. "What did Santana want?"

"She was simply apologizing for her role in your drinking."

"Really? That doesn't sound like something she would do," Rachel said.

"That whole group may surprise you," Shelby said.

"I doubt it," Rachel replied.

"We'll see," Shelby said, finally pulling out of the driveway and heading for home.

**A/N – Please leave a review. I really appreciate any and all feedback.**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the lovely reviews and messages. You guys are just amazing. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

The inky darkness of the very early morning crept into Rachel's bedroom and hung in the air. It was this darkness that greeted Rachel when she jerked awake and out of the nightmare that had been invading her sleep. Her breathing was heavy and there was sweat lining her brow. Rachel sat up in bed and took a moment to get her bearings as her eyes worked to adjust to the darkness. She reached over to turn on the lamp on her bedside table in order to get some light into the room to chase away the shadows that lingered. A quick glance at the clock told her it was only 2:57 and she knew she still had hours left to sleep.

As her breathing evened out, Rachel chanced the darkness and turned off the lamp. She let her eyes adjust once again and then settled back down into her bed and shut her eyes. She was immediately met with the images that had woken her up minutes before and her eyes popped open. She quickly turned her lamp back on and squinted into the light. Rachel knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep for a while, and also that she needed to get out of her room. She slipped out of bed and took her quilt that she'd had since she was a baby and stepped out into the hallway. She took care to be as quiet as possible so she didn't wake her mother as she made her way down the stairs. She settled herself onto the couch and covered up with her quilt and flipped the television on. Mindlessly surfing the channels eventually lolled her back to sleep and Rachel dropped the remote to the ground in order to securely hold onto the edge of her blanket. Sleep came again, and this time it was peaceful.

Shelby was fighting opening her eyes to what was surely sunlight shining through her windows. She could hear Beth stirring and she thought that if she just kept her eyes closed then Beth would quiet down and she could sleep just a little while longer. Beth had other ideas of course. Her eyes were already open and she was done with sleep and would now like her mother to come and get her, thank you very much. Beth's fussing got more insistent until finally she let out a few good cries to let Shelby know she wasn't playing around now.

Shelby opened her eyes to find she was looking directly at her clock which was mocking her with its early hour on a Saturday. 6:23. She groaned as she threw the covers back and got out of bed. She shook the sleep from her mind as she approached the crib and picked up the crying baby, who quieted at her mother's touch.

"Is there any reason you feel the need to get up so early on a Saturday, little one?" Shelby asked her daughter. "You and Rachel simply do not understand the concept of sleeping in. I bet you she's already awake and out running."

Ten minutes later they emerged from the bedroom and Shelby noticed that Rachel's door was open and walked to the end of the hall to check on her. Shelby peeked in the room and saw the lamp on the bedside table was on and the bed was unmade and missing a blanket. Rachel was a stickler for neatness and her bed was always made first thing in the morning. Shelby shrugged it off as she entered the room to turn the light off. It was Saturday and maybe Rachel just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

Shelby found that Rachel was still asleep on the couch when she got downstairs. The missing blanket was tucked under her chin and only one was visible as it clutched the edge of the quilt. Shelby found the remote and turned off the infomercial that was on and looked back to Rachel, studying her for a moment, wondering why she was down here sleeping on the couch. Shelby's thoughts were unable to linger for long because Beth was getting antsy for her breakfast and started to gear up to cry once more. Shelby left the room and headed to the kitchen so as not to wake Rachel.

Shelby returned to the living room nearly forty-five minutes later with a happy Beth in one arm and a mug of coffee in her other hand. She glanced at a clock and saw that it was nearing 7:30 and was surprised to see that Rachel still hadn't woken up. The girl was normally up with the chickens and in full force by now. Shelby placed Beth in her swing and started the light music and automatic swinger and returned to the kitchen to grab the paper before coming back and sitting in a chair by the couch to read. She had assumed that the small amount of noise in the room might wake Rachel up, but the girl slept on.

When 8:00 struck Shelby decided she needed to wake up her. The Glee kids were supposed to be there at 9:30 and she wanted to make sure Rachel had plenty of time to be up and ready. Placing her mug on the coffee table, Shelby got up and leaned over her child and gently shook her shoulder.

"Rachel. Wake up, Honey," Shelby cooed.

Rachel stirred and eventually opened her eyes at Shelby's shaking.

"Mom?" Rachel asked, bleary eyed and confused.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Shelby said as she sat down next to Rachel when the girl sat up. Rachel pulled her blanket up with her so she could remain covered and warm and leaned into Shelby and yawned.

"Why did you wake me up?" Rachel asked.

"Because you've usually been up for about two hours now," Shelby answered. "And you you're on the couch."

It was then that Rachel really seemed to open her eyes and take in her surroundings as the memory of her nightmare came back.

"Are you feeling ok?" Shelby asked, brushing Rachel's hair back and putting her hand to the girl's forehead. She didn't feel a fever.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rachel answered. "I just didn't sleep well last night so I came down here to watch TV."

"Why didn't you sleep well?" Shelby asked.

"I had a nightmare."

"Oh," Shelby said, wrapping her arms around Rachel and gently squeezing her. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, it was just a nightmare. It happens," Rachel said.

Shelby nodded and changed the subject, deciding not to dwell on it. Everyone had nightmares. "So, what do you have planned for today?"

Rachel sat up and finally untangled herself from her quilt so that she could reach out and pick up Shelby's mug of coffee and take a sip. She wasn't normally a coffee drinker but there was something about the way her mother made it that made it taste wonderful.

"I had planned to go and see Daddy this morning," Rachel answered. "We've been texting back and forth and he said he was free either today or tomorrow. And I don't have anything else planned for today so I thought I'd go over there and visit."

"No," Shelby answered quickly.

"No?" Rachel asked, shocked. "But-"

"I mean, of course you can go over and see him anytime you want," Shelby cut her off before Rachel could really get going. "But just not this morning. Can you go tomorrow?"

"Why not this morning? You didn't say anything about having to do anything today," Rachel said. "I'm not grounded and I have my own things going on. I can have my own plans," Rachel was getting worked up.

"Rachel, Honey, calm down," Shelby said, trying to avoid the outburst that was surely headed her way. "I know you can have your own plans, ok? Especially with your fathers. I wasn't saying that. I was just simply hoping that you would reconsider and go tomorrow. That's all."

Rachel took another sip of the coffee and eyed her mother over the rim of the mug. She thought back, trying to remember if Shelby had mentioned anything about plans for Saturday morning, but she couldn't think of anything.

"What are you doing this morning?" Rachel asked.

"Nothing much. Beth and are I going out around nine, but we shouldn't be gone too long," Shelby told her.

"Where are you going? Can I come along?"

"No, you stay here," Shelby said. "We won't be gone long."

"But why? Where do you have to go that's just you and Beth?"

"Just an appointment, Honey," Shelby said, realizing that Rachel felt left out. She was going about this surprise business all wrong.

"Fine. You two go ahead," Rachel pouted.

"Rachel," Shelby tried to appease her. "It's a boring appointment. We won't be gone long."

"Ok," Rachel said. "I'm going to go upstairs and send Daddy a message telling him I won't see him until tomorrow. Will you let me know how Beth's appointment goes?"

"Rachel…"

"Here," Rachel said, handing back the now empty mug. Somehow it made her feel better to have drunk all the coffee.

"Well, I screwed that up, didn't I?" Shelby said once Rachel was all the way up the stairs. She turned to look at Beth to find that the baby was asleep in her swing and she sighed before getting up to go and refill her mug.

An hour and a half later Rachel was back on the couch watching TV, but this time she was showered and had eaten breakfast. Her casual attire of yoga pants and a _Les Miserables_ t-shirt with the phrase "Do you hear the people sing?" scrawled across the back aided her comfort as she sat with her legs curled up under her and started the movie she had settled on. Shelby and Beth were gone for their appointment; a fact that did nothing to alleviate the hurt Rachel felt.

When the doorbell rang a few minutes later Rachel let out a frustrated sigh at the interruption. Pausing the movie, she got up to open the door to find Santana on the other side. Rachel's mouth hung open as she tried to formulate some sort of greeting. She didn't have to worry about welcoming her in, however, because Santana moved past her and into the house, followed by the rest of the Gleeks.

"I've got muffins and doughnuts," Kurt said as he went past.

"Who decided on this ungodly hour on a Saturday?" Puck wondered.

Rachel held the door open further when Artie wheeled in, aided by Sam who helped to life the wheels of the wheelchair up and over the step. Rachel stared at them as one-by-one they turned into the kitchen and the conversations continued. Quinn brought up the rear of the group and waited for Rachel to shut the door and move into the kitchen with her.

"What's going on?" Rachel said. "You guys can't be here."

"Is it ok if I make more coffee?" Mercedes asked.

"Please do," Finn said, yawning.

"Quinn, what's going on?" Rachel asked, hoping someone would give her an answer.

"Since you can't come to Glee, we brought Glee to you," Quinn replied.

"But I don't think that's allowed," Rachel said.

"Will you just relax?" Santana said. "Your mom's not here, is she?" She couldn't quite explain the pleasure she got out of the teasing, but the look on Rachel's face was pretty much priceless. Sure, she could explain the whole situation, but where was the fun in that?

Rachel watched helplessly as Mike searched around for plates and Mercedes filled up the coffee pot with water for the fresh brew. Kurt started to hand out the food once the plates had been found and Tina and Brittany were helping to hand them out. Rachel looked back to Quinn to get some answers but found that her friend was distracted and looking down the hall towards the living room.

"Nice outfit," Puck said, nothing her casual attire.

"I wasn't expecting anyone," Rachel said. "What's going on?"

"its fine," Sam said to help the girl out. "Your mom knows. It's cool."

"She knows?" Rachel asked. That's when it all clicked in her head. The appointment with Beth and trying to get her to change her visit with her father to tomorrow finally made sense. Rachel smiled when she realized that Shelby was doing all of this for her. She had no idea how her mother had gotten them all agree to come over there, but she was glad.

Twenty minutes later Shelby came in the house from dropping Beth off with a sitter and found twelve teenagers in her kitchen. The chatter immediately died down when she entered the room and everyone stared at her expectantly. She surveyed the plates and half eaten muffins and cups of juice and coffee everywhere and then looked at Rachel who shrugged.

"You guys are wasting time down here when you could be up in the music room singing," Shelby said finally, putting on a slight coach voice. "It's up on the third floor…" she trailed off when her eyes glanced over to Artie. Oh my god, how could she have forgotten? She was about to apologize, but Puck spoke up first.

"You mean we have to carry your punk ass up two flights of stairs?"

"You know you get great joy out of carrying me around," Artie answered. "Let's do this."

The kids all got up and moved out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs where Puck, Finn, Mike and Sam carefully maneuvered the staircase with Artie in tow. Only Rachel was left in the kitchen with Shelby who watched as Rachel started to pick up dirty plates and glasses and take them to the sink.

"I've got this Rachel," Shelby said. "Go on upstairs with your friends."

"I'm sorry about earlier, Mom," Rachel said. "I didn't know about any of this."

"That's why it's called a surprise."

"How did you get them to agree to come over here?" Rachel asked.

"They asked for you back," Shelby said.

"What? Why would they? They all hate me. Except for Quinn."

"No, they don't, Rachel. They sent Santana to me to apologize for her role in the drinking so they could have you back. They're realizing that they not only need you, but miss you as well," Shelby said.

"I doubt that," Rachel said.

Shelby pulled Rachel to her as she leaned back against the counter and let Rachel lean into her for a hug. The girl rested her head against Shelby's chest and Shelby rested her chin on Rachel's head. Shelby wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist while Rachel's hung limply at her side.

"It's true, Sweetie," Shelby assured her. "They're not sure how to express it to you yet, but that group knows how important you are to them, ok?" She gave Rachel reassuring pats on her backside as she tried to quell her daughter's fears.

"Ok," Rachel parroted. They stood in silence, both of them not moving except for the gentle pats being delivered by Shelby. Rachel soaked in the feeling of love and reassurance that came with being held like this.

"Mom," Rachel said, breaking the silence. "I really appreciate this, but can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"I don't really like surprises. They make me feel uneasy."

"Noted," Shelby said, taking that new piece of information and locking it away. "You'd better get upstairs and get them started."

Rachel moved from the embrace with Shelby and left the room, only to pop her head around the corner a few seconds later.

"Mom, does this mean that I can go back to Glee at school since you said they asked for me back?" Her smile was hopeful.

"Of course you can go back to Glee," Shelby said, causing Rachel's smile to widen. "After next week like I originally said."

Rachel's smile faltered and she opened her mouth to say something, but Shelby's look dared her to argue the point. So Rachel did what she did best and put her show face on. "Thanks, Mom!" she chirped and then left to meet her friends in the music room.

An hour later the group had been through a few of their songs, with the requisite talking in between, and felt like they were making process. Shelby had vowed to stay away and let them work but she had been creeping ever closer to the door since they started. She now stood just outside the door to the music room and listened to them arguing about a certain arrangement. There were arguments over who would sing what parts and melodies. The voices grew louder as each kid tried to offer their own opinion over top of everyone else. They had sung the same song four times in a row now and it wasn't getting better. When they started the song again, Shelby listened for the individual voices and trying to hear how they blended… or didn't blend in some cases. She shook her head and could take it no longer.

"Stop, everyone. Just stop," Shelby said as she walked into the room. The voices quieted as they all stared at her. "Where did this arrangement come from?"

"It's the one Mr. Schue decided on," Kurt answered. "And we've been tweaking it some too."

"I see," Shelby answered, thinking for a moment. She took the sheet music from Rachel and looked it over. She had to give it to Will because it was clear he was able to get these kids to produce because alone they were descending into arguments as everyone's egos tried to make an appearance. She had heard Rachel several times over the top of the group explaining why she knew best. She'd heard the "can it, shrimp" that followed from Santana, but had let them argue it out. Rachel was not the only one who felt she knew what was best for the group. But it was always Rachel's voice that brought them back to the task at hand. She understood why they felt they needed her, and rightfully so.

"Ok, everyone off to the side." The group just stared at her, unmoving. "Over there," she pointed to the side of the room away from the piano. "Go on. Move."

The kids all shuffled to the side and looked at Shelby curiously, but no one argued. One by one she called them over to the piano and had them sing a few scales. She offered breathing tips and commented on posture. She showed Quinn how to really project and helped Mike learn how to listen to pitch. She talked to Kurt about opening his lower register and offered advice about rounding out the sound in his upper register. When everyone had cycled through, she had them all line up again in the formation they had been in before she came in the room. She quickly gathered up all of their music and then handed them back the parts she felt they would be better suited for.

"I've never sung this part before," Kurt said.

"Neither have I," Finn said, looking at his music.

"Then this will be a good learning experience for us all," Shelby said.

Next Shelby rearranged them in a completely different order than what they had been in the whole time and then sat down at the piano. "Everyone ready?" She directed them into the first note and played the piano part for them. The sound they were now creating was different from the way they were singing it before. The new assignments blended and created a rich tone and the new standing arrangement helped to meld the voices together. The kids knew it right away and Shelby watched as the realization passed from kid to kid and shone in their eyes. They sound only got better as they grew more confident with their parts. When the song finally finished the smiles could have lit this room and the next as well. Shelby swelled with pride as she always did when she was able to really teach music like this. The smile on Rachel's face only made it that much sweeter.

"Ok, how did you do that?" Santana asked. "We've done that song a hundred times now and never sounded like that."

Shelby stood up from the piano and stood in front of her impromptu students. "Sometimes you have to learn to sing in different areas and for different purposes to get the sound you want. Singing is as much about listening to those around you as it is about making your voice heard."

"But what about our routines?" Mike asked. "We don't just stand there and sing."

"Mr. Chang, I won Nationals with kids dancing on their hands. I know about routines," Shelby said. "But the foundation of putting on a good number is the singing. The sound you create as a group has to be perfected before you add anything else in. Once you have that part down you can start building a routine. Because once you know that sound, you can hear it from across the stage and blend your voice to it."

"Want to see the other songs we brought over?" Tina asked quickly just in case Shelby had other things to do.

"Sure," Shelby said as her cell phone started to ring. "I'll be back in one second."

As soon as Shelby left the room the chatter started and she smiled as she heard them all trying to tell each other about how great it sounded. She loved teaching and while it was great to teach the students she had now one-on-one, she had to admit she missed having a large group to lead.

Shelby answered her call to find it was Beth's sitter just verifying what time Shelby would return to get her. She glanced back up the stairs to where the kids were waiting and sighed, but said she would be there in about an hour. The sitter said that actually she was going out and could drop Beth off in about an hour and a half if Shelby wanted. She jumped at the offer because she would be able to spend more time with the kids upstairs. The arrangements having been made, Shelby went back upstairs.

They spent the next hour working on two more songs, each kid taking the lessons to heart and beaming at Shelby's praise. She spent individual time with each student and gave them notes on what they could work on. They wrapped up with another run through of each song and then Shelby declared that their time was up and everyone would need to get going soon.

"Rachel's mom is so awesome," Brittany said to Santana.

"I know, she's amazing," Santana said back. "It's no wonder the munchkin is talented." Santana had not realized that anyone but Brittany was listening to her and so she missed when Rachel's head shot up and her eyes sought out her mother.

Rachel's eyes were swimming with unshed tears as her eyes met Shelby's. Shelby winked at her daughter before making the rounds and making sure no one forgot anything. Artie was carefully carried back down the stairs and set safely on the ground floor. The kids offered their thanks over and over again to Shelby as they left. Everyone said goodbye to Rachel and said they would see her in school Monday until only Quinn was left.

"That was really amazing, Shelby," Quinn said. "No wonder Vocal Adrenaline won all those years in a row. We sound better and you only had us for a couple hours."

"It's a lot of hard work, Quinn, but completely within the grasp of New Directions," Shelby assured her.

"Thank you so much, Mom," Rachel said, practically jumping into Shelby's arms for a hug.

"You're welcome, baby," Shelby said.

Just as quickly as Rachel had gone in for the hug, she let go and turned to Quinn. "Want to see my room?"

"Sure," Quinn said. She had been acutely aware this entire morning that she had never been to Shelby's house before. She had kept her eyes away from the pictures on the walls and tried not to think about the fact that this was the house where Beth lived. But she couldn't turn down the chance to see Rachel's room. She wasn't going to brush off the girl's excitement.

"Wouldn't it be amazing if we were to actually make it to Nationals and get to go to New York City?" Quinn asked as she surveyed the array of Broadway posters in Rachel's room.

"Yes, it would," Rachel agreed. "Oh, Quinn, speaking of New York City! My mom and I are planning a trip there in December and we want you to come with us."

"Really?" Quinn asked. "That would be amazing."

"Beth is going to stay with our grandmother and we'll probably be there for about a week."

"I'm so excited," Quinn said. "That would be so much fun. But wait, Rachel, I don't want to intrude on your first vacation with your mom."

"You won't be. It'll be great," Rachel assured her. Quinn was her first real and true friend and she wanted to get to share New York with her as well.

"Then I can't wait!"

A few minutes later the girls stepped out of Rachel's room because Quinn had said she should get going. Once in the hallway, the blonde noticed there was a door open that had been shut before. Curiously she moved over to it and was peering inside before Rachel could stop her and tell her it was the nursery.

Quinn stood at the doorway and looked in, taking in everything from the pale yellow green walls to the numerous photos that lined the walls and shelves. Shelby was in the room putting away laundry when she noticed that Quinn was slowly making her way into the room. She looked on for a moment as Quinn picked up a small pink sock and held it in her hand as she moved closer to the pictures on the wall. Rachel was standing in the doorway and watching Quinn before turning to Shelby and silently asking what they should do. Shelby slipped past Quinn and motioned Rachel out of the room. She shut the door behind them and led her down the stairs.

"Let her have some time," Shelby said. Rachel nodded and took a seat on the couch and picked up a book she couldn't quite bring herself to read. Shelby went into the kitchen to make them all lunch.

Quinn moved around the room and tried to take in every moment of Beth. She choked out a sob when she came across the most recent picture of Beth and realized she was looking into her own bright eyes. She sat in the rocking chair and breathed in the undeniable smell of baby and wept.

Shelby had asked Rachel to please stay put when she went back upstairs to check on Quinn. She opened the door slightly to find the teenager sitting in the rocker with her head in her hands, shaking. Shelby moved to her and helped her stand and pulled her into a hug. Quinn buried her head into Shelby's shoulder and let herself be held. Shelby didn't give her words of wisdom or offer any advice, she just held her.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said when she finally quieted.

"Don't be," Shelby said. "Just take your time and stay here as long as you want."

"No, I'm ok. I should go down before Rachel gets too worried. I'm going to stop and wash my face," Quinn said once they were out in the hall way. Shelby agreed and told her to come down when she was done and they would have lunch.

Shelby handed Quinn the BLT (extra bacon) she requested and Rachel ate some leftover vegan pasta while she had a salad. Rachel didn't bring up the nursery and Quinn was grateful. Rachel figured that Quinn would tell her when she was ready. The companionable silence was broken by Quinn when she turned to Shelby to talk about New York.

"I can't believe you're going to take me to New York City with you guys. That's so amazing."

"Excuse me?" Shelby said. "How did you hear about that?"

Shelby and Quinn turned and looked at Rachel who had her fork halfway to her mouth. "Was I not supposed to tell her?" Rachel asked, confused.

Shelby shook her head at the kids. "I was going to talk to Mrs. Fabray first, Rachel. Quinn, yes, you are more than welcome to come with us and we're definitely putting the invitation out there, but I have to talk to your mother first so don't get overly excited yet." She shot Rachel a glare and the girl simply shrugged in return.

"Ok," Quinn agreed.

"That means you don't talk to her either," Shelby clarified. "Let me do the mom thing and talk to her."

"Ok," Quinn said again, but she turned to give Rachel a grin, which the girl returned, the unspoken plotting already begun.

Shelby just took another bite of her salad and let them have their looks. She should have been clearer with Rachel about getting permission for Quinn to go. The doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts about New York City and Shelby's eyes went wide and she looked at Quinn. She already knew who was at the door.

"I'm so sorry, Quinn," Shelby said as she got to her feet and went to the door.

"What does she mean?" Quinn asked Rachel.

"I have no idea," was Rachel's response.

A couple minutes later Shelby returned the kitchen holding a wide awake Beth who had just been dropped off by the sitter. The baby was cooing and smiling at Shelby who looked at Quinn with apologetic eyes. Rachel gasped and got to her feet and went to stand by Shelby. Beth kicked her legs in excitement at Rachel's presence and Rachel held her hand out and Beth clasped onto a finger. Quinn didn't move from her spot and simply stared at the child she hadn't seen since that evening in May that almost felt like a lifetime ago.

"Beth," was all Quinn could get out. The baby girl turned her head at the sound of her name to look at Quinn and smiled.

**A/N – Please leave me a review or message. I can't tell you how much they mean to me.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N – Sorry for the delay in getting this one up. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Thank you so much for all of the reviews and notes I've been getting. They mean so much to me. **

**Disclaimer – I asked Santa to bring me the rights to Glee for Christmas, but all I got was a foot of snow. That hurts, Santa. That hurts.**

Quinn stood up from her spot at the table in the kitchen, never taking her eyes off the baby she had given away. Beth stared at the blonde for a few moments longer before turning back and looking up at Shelby. She let go of Rachel's fingers and reached her hand out and put it to Shelby's mouth. The woman instinctively kissed the tiny hand and Beth withdrew it momentarily before repeating the action. The baby was enthralled in the game and gave no notice to the fact that Quinn had tears welling in her eyes or that Rachel had moved away in order to offer Quinn whatever comfort she could. Beth was simply focused on her mom.

"She's gotten so big," Quinn finally said. "I haven't seen her since…"

"She's small for her age," Shelby said. "But well within the standards for her age."

"She looks differently than what I imagined," Quinn said. "I always kind of thought she'd end up looking like Puck. He has a little sister and when I was pregnant and staying at his house, his sister would ramble on about how she bet the baby would look like her. I guess I just started to see her that way. But even in the hospital she had my eyes."

"Babies change as they get older, but I would definitely say she's got more of you in her," Shelby said.

Quinn could only nod as she continued to watch Beth. It was beyond difficult to stand there and look at the child she gave away. Quinn struggled everyday with the idea that she had abandoned the infant. She had spent countless hours wishing the pregnancy had never happened and then even longer convincing herself that it was ok to turn her back on the baby and try to go back and pretend like it never happened. She had struggled with Puck's obvious desire to keep Beth and her own desire to give her away. It was more like her own need to give her away. She knew that she was not ready to be a mother. She could not have provided this child with everything she needed, especially after her own parents had kicked her out. It was the reason she didn't want to think of a name for her and why it was so hard when Puck did. Without a name she could stay detached.

But then there she was; this tiny little person who had locked eyes with Quinn and almost refused to look away. For as long as she lived, Quinn would never forget the moment when they passed Beth to her and the little girl had just stared at her. It was the most precious moment of her life.

"Would you like to hold her?" Shelby asked.

Quinn shook her head no but moved forward all the same. She had to hold her. Part of Quinn felt like this was a now or never situation. If she could just hold her and explain to her than maybe she could stop the suffocating feeling that enveloped her everytime Rachel inadvertently mentioned Beth.

"Sit down," Shelby instructed. She had no doubt that Quinn would be perfectly fine holding a baby while standing, but not right now with her shaky legs and aching heart.

Quinn did as she was told and finally let her tears spill over as Shelby placed Beth in her arms. Shelby had been able to smile at the awe that had been on Puck's face when she had handed him Beth. Quinn's face told a story of guilt and relief. Anxiety and calm.

Quinn held Beth to her and placed a kiss on her head. She rubbed the baby's back even as she felt Shelby rubbing hers. Rachel sat down opposite Quinn and took in the scene before her. Is that how Shelby had felt when she had seen Rachel again all those months ago? Rachel had been too focused on her own heartbreak during that hug at the piano with Brad looking on to wonder about how Shelby may have been feeling.

"Hello, Beth," Quinn said softly. "I'm Quinn." The words 'your mother' did not come to her.

Beth looked on Quinn with curiosity at first and then her interest waned and she started to look around the room. She started to squirm some and became fussy, causing Quinn to sit up straighter and attempt to settle the baby. Shelby stepped back and watched as Quinn tried to rock and then talk softly to the agitated infant. Rachel started to get up to go to her, but Shelby shook her head no and so she sat back down. The panic Quinn felt subsided a little as she tried to calm Beth. Her thoughts shifted from a focus on herself to a focus on Beth as the girl got wound up and let out a wail.

"It's ok, Beth," Quinn said, trying to soothe her. "I know you don't know me, but please don't cry."

It was those words, spoken without much thought except for the well-being of Beth that finally helped Quinn understand and begin the arduous task of freeing herself from the guilt she felt at giving her baby away. Beth didn't know her. No matter how much they looked alike or even despite the fact that Quinn had given birth to her, Quinn was essentially a stranger to Beth. The awkwardness that Beth felt was displayed in her balled fists and angry cries.

Beth's eyes searched the room until they landed on Shelby and the baby squirmed and held her arms out to her. Shelby stepped forward and took Beth from Quinn and held her close and spoke softly into her ear. Beth quieted down and relaxed at Shelby's touched. Her crying stopped and she rested her head on the woman's shoulder. Quinn looked on as Shelby sat back down at her place at the table and settled Beth in her lap. Beth's demeanor had already changed and she was all smiles again before she took hold of one of Shelby's fingers and put it in her mouth and started to chew on it, thankfully without teeth. Quinn watched how natural the two were together and understood that it was Shelby that Beth considered mom.

It was a tough pill to swallow, but it made Quinn feel…better? She would need some time to sort through her feelings but she was glad she was over the hurdle of seeing Beth again. It was something she had worried about an envisioned ever since she and Rachel had become friends. It had been inevitable, she supposed, and now that it had happened, she was glad.

Quinn was finally able to take her eyes off of Beth and look at Shelby and Rachel. They were both looking on her with sympathetic eyes and Quinn knew that she was going to have to be the one to break the tension. She picked her sandwich back up and took another bite, hoping the other two would follow suit. They did and Quinn used the moment of them being focused on their food to wipe away the stray tears that were still on her cheeks.

"I'll call my mom after lunch and see if she can come and pick me up," Quinn said.

"Where's your car?" Rachel asked her.

"We dropped it off this morning to have an oil change and other stuff done," Quinn answered. "We'll go and pick it up later this afternoon. I got a ride over here from Santana. I wanted the chance to get to see your room and all when everyone left."

"We'll give you a ride home," Shelby spoke up. "It'll give me a chance to go in and talk to your mom about New York City. You do still want to go, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Quinn answered. "If it's ok."

"I wouldn't have offered if it wasn't," Shelby told her.

Quinn nodded as she eyes wandered back over to Beth who seemed to have forgotten her moment of fussiness and was now smiling at Quinn around Shelby's finger.

An hour later Shelby was settling Beth into her car seat and calling for the girls to get ready and go. Beth was letting Shelby know her displeasure at being strapped into the seat and was fixing Shelby with a watery glare as she cried.

"Hey, don't blame me," Shelby said to the baby. "Tell your sister to hurry up."

"We're here," Rachel said as she and Quinn came down the stairs. "Stop trying to make Beth mad at me."

Shelby fished a pacifier out of the diaper bag and gave it to the crying baby and stood up to grab her keys only to find that Rachel was already holding them.

"Can I drive?" Rachel asked. Shelby's response was to burst out laughing. She sobered quickly though when she saw the look that Rachel was giving her. Quinn took the moment to squat down next to Beth in her car seat and offer a little bit of comfort to the still whimpering baby. Beth held onto the finger Quinn offered and they studied each other, ignoring Shelby and Rachel's conversation.

"Oh, you're serious?" Shelby said. Rachel nodded, annoyed. "No." Shelby reached for her keys but Rachel held them farther away.

"Why not? I'm almost sixteen and I can technically have a learner's permit now," Rachel argued.

"Well then, you can drive when you get a learner's permit," Shelby said.

"When can I get that?"

"Later."

"Mother." Shelby had to suppress her smile at Rachel's formality. It was the same thing she used to do to her mom when she was annoyed with her.

"Rachel, we'll talk about it later. And I promise I will teach you to drive soon, ok?" She held out her hand, shaking it a bit, demanding her keys back.

"How soon is soon?"

"Rachel."

"Fine," the girl conceded and handed over the keys.

Judy Fabray opened her front door to greet them when she heard the car pull up. Quinn had called to say that she wouldn't need a ride home after all and so Judy was looking forward to seeing them. Rachel was the first out of the car to greet her.

"Rachel!" Judy said, meeting the girl on the porch and holding her in a tight hug.

Quinn and Shelby both stood back and watched smiling.

"They're like long lost friends sometimes," Quinn said. "My mom took to Rachel right away."

Shelby couldn't help but smile at Quinn's assessment. She watched as Judy listened to the animated Rachel and felt immense gratitude for her.

Quinn made her way to the porch while Shelby set about getting Beth out of the car.

"Quinn," Judy said. "Did you? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, Mom. I met her. I held her even," her voice started to shake and Judy put a gentle hand on Quinn's cheek.

Rachel stepped away from them and into the house while Judy and Quinn shared their moment. Quinn followed after a minute and plopped down next to Rachel on the couch. Rachel already had the TV on and was surfing through the channels and squealed when she came across a PBS documentary on the early days of Broadway.

"No," Quinn said, taking the remote and turning the channel.

Judy and Shelby retreated into the kitchen and while Judy put on some water for tea, Shelby got Beth out of her car seat without waking her, a skill she was grateful she had mastered long ago.

"Here," Shelby said when Judy turned back to the table and sat down. She placed the sleeping Beth in the woman's arms and sat down across from her.

"Oh," Judy said as she looked down at the sleeping infant. She also hadn't held her since that day in the hospital and though she had seen her a few times since then, this was still a special moment. "She's just perfect."

"I think so," Shelby agreed.

"Quinn, give it back," they heard Rachel say from the living room.

"No, Rachel. We're not watching that again."

"I wanted to talk to you about a trip Rachel and I are going to take," Shelby said. "I'm taking her to New York City for a week in December before Christmas and I was hoping that you'd agree to let Quinn come with us."

"Wow, that's quite a trip," Judy said. "And are you sure? I wouldn't want her to intrude on your family vacation."

"She won't be," Shelby assured her.

"Well if she wants to then it is fine with me," Judy said.

"Rachel kind of already let the cat out of the bag so Quinn already knows and is excited. Trust me, it would be-"

"Quinn, this movie is so stupid. Why do we have to watch it? Ow!"

"Serves you right," Quinn said.

"Our pleasure," Shelby finished.

"Excuse me," Judy said. She got up and walked out of the kitchen and to the living room where she found Quinn holding the remote far enough away so Rachel couldn't reach it, which was not to say she wasn't trying.

"Girls!" Judy admonished causing both of them to stop the fight over the remote and look at her. She held her index finger up and gave them both a pointed look before turning back and heading into the kitchen.

"They're fighting over the remote," Judy explained. "It's amazing to see Rachel coming out of her shell, so to speak. When she stayed with us that week she was worried and stressed out the entire time. You're doing just great with her."

"Well, we have certainly had our issues," Shelby said. "But we're trying to work everything out so that she feels relaxed and settled. Some days I think we're close and sometimes I see her wringing her hands and acting like she just walked in the door and we've never met. But those moments seem to be coming less and less now. I know there are still some things she's got to overcome that I don't even think she realizes yet. There are times when I see this little girl trapped around trying to be the fifteen-year-old she actually is. Her fathers' absence did a number on her self-confidence and the fact that she's been making all of these decisions for herself for the past few years does not help things."

"How so?" Judy asked.

"I am trying to make rules and enforce them and as soon as I have to put my foot down, she retreats back into herself," Shelby explained. "She told me last week that she thought I wanted to give her back."

"She did not," Judy said, astonished. "After all of this?"

"She did. She's doing her best to hide all these fears she's carrying around."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her that I would never even think to give her back and that if I heard her talking that way again, she wouldn't be able to sit down for a week," Shelby said. "I'm not sure what she needs to hear before she believes it, but I am not opposed to some tough love to help her out."

Judy nodded her agreement. "When Quinn first moved back in here after… the baby was born," Judy looked down at the sleeping child in her arms and gently brushed some hair off her face, "she and I didn't see eye to eye. She had been wronged by my ex-husband and I in the worst way and I think that she was determined to make me pay for it. But I was also determined to make the changes necessary and be the mother I had always hoped I could be. I blindly followed her father for too long and I knew it would take time for her to trust me. But I started to change and held firm to how I wanted to be and how I wanted to parent, she came around. Once she got here and felt safe again, she was able to relax and let our relationship form. I think after nine months of feeling scared and alone and like she had to grow up, she finally let herself fall back into feeling like a kid. It didn't happen overnight, but after a lot of tears, yelling, whining and one grounding later, she and I really formed a good bond."

"Rachel and I have a good bond," Shelby said. "We're both still learning about each other and that's been a great joy. She is not the self-assured young woman she presents herself as and it's just going to take some time to get her there."

"Well, she's got you to help her," Judy said.

"And you," Shelby countered. "And Quinn. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you enough for all of this. You took her in when she didn't have anyone else. If you and Quinn had not been there for her, she might still be over in that house all alone."

"There's no need to thank us," Judy said. "She has done so much for us as well. She really opened Quinn up and helped her to see what being a true friend was and helped shift her focus from only being popular. And I love when she comes to visit me. She's helped me to open my eyes and see new sides of Quinn that I never would have known about. Her situation with her fathers really helped to shine a light on how I could have lost Quinn forever." Judy's eyes watered with unshed tears.

"I know what it's like to feel like you've lost a child forever," Shelby said, her eyes matching Judy's. "And I know the complete joy when they come back into your life for good."

Both women shared a moment of easy silence as their thoughts lingered on their respective children. It was those children who also provided the soundtrack the ruined the moment.

"Rachel, ow!" they heard Quinn yell. There was a thud followed by some giggling from Rachel.

"That's what you get, Quinn," Rachel said as another thud was heard.

"It's like having two ten-year-olds in the house all of a sudden," Judy said.

The noise in the other room escalated and Judy started to get up.

"I'll go," Shelby said.

Rachel stood in the living room with a pillow in her hand and her arm cocked back, ready to strike. Quinn was doing everything she could to keep her distance from Rachel so that the girl could not reach her. Rachel was waiting for any opportunity of Quinn's attention to slip just for a moment so she could make her move. She didn't have to wait long and as soon as Quinn glanced away for a second, Rachel launched the pillow at her. Quinn was too quick, however, and jumped out of the way. She watched the pillow sail past her and right into the face of Shelby as she turned the corner and came into the room. Quinn froze, but the sight of Shelby's hair going every which way was too much for Rachel who lost herself in another fit of giggles. She sat down on the couch that faced away from where Shelby stood and slouched down in a half-hearted attempt to hide but her shoulders were shaking with silent laughter.

Shelby picked up the offending pillow and returned some strands of hair to their proper place. She looked to Quinn who opened and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to come up with an explanation. When that didn't work she simply pointed to where Rachel sat in order to make sure she kept none of the blame.

Shelby stepped into the room and came around the couch so she could get a look at Rachel. Quinn stepped out of her way and watched as Shelby stood her ground in front of Rachel with her hands on her hips, pillow still firmly clutched in her left hand. Rachel looked up and tried to stop laughing when she met her mother's stern gaze, but she simply couldn't. It only made her laugh harder. Shelby too was having trouble keeping a straight face and she knew her act wasn't working Rachel. Quinn was pretty concerned though.

"Rachel." When the girl looked up at her, Shelby swung the pillow and landed a good shot to the side of Rachel's head. Rachel gasped and Quinn started to laugh.

Rachel's shock only lasted a second or two before she started to get up and go for another pillow.

"Oh no you don't," Shelby said, blocking her path and grabbing her around the waist. She turned and sat down on the couch and pulled Rachel down to sit in her lap. She quickly started to tickle the girl, her fingers moving over Rachel's rib cab eliciting peals of laughter from her daughter.

"No… Mom…" Rachel said between laughing and trying to catch her breath. "Quinn…"

Quinn stepped forward wondering who she should help out. Shelby had Rachel half in her lap and half lying down on the couch and she wasn't letting up on the tickle torture. Shelby won out in her mind and Quinn grabbed ahold of Rachel's kicking legs and tickled her behind the knees like her own mom used to do to her when she was little.

"Quinn…traitor," Rachel squealed out.

Judy entered the living room to see what was going on and laughed at the scene before her. It didn't look like Rachel had much of a fighting chance against those two.

"Mrs. Fabray, help," Rachel gasped out when she saw her.

"Sorry, kiddo," Judy said.

"Mom," Rachel said. Her tone changed and Shelby let up some.

"Are you going to throw pillows at your mother again?" Shelby asked.

"I wasn't throwing it at you, I was throwing it at Quinn." was Rachel's answer. Shelby intensified the tickling and Rachel let out another string of laughter. "No! I won't," Rachel said between trying to keep her breath. "Mom… Please…"

Shelby knew from the pleading she heard in Rachel's tone that enough was enough and she stopped her tickling and indicated to Quinn that she needed to do the same. Quinn let go of her legs and went over to stand by Judy. Shelby pulled Rachel up until she was fully sitting on Shelby's lap again and let the girl catch her breath.

"I'll remember that, Quinn," Rachel said as she looked over Shelby's shoulder at her friend. Quinn shrugged innocently and returned Rachel's smile.

"Do you two want to stay for dinner?" Judy asked.

"We'd love to," Shelby answered.

"Come on, Quinn. Let's see what we can make."

Rachel slung her arm around Shelby's shoulder as she finally started to breathe normally again after Quinn and Judy left the room. Shelby held her around the waist and enjoyed the moment of sitting with her daughter.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Rachel," Shelby said smiling at Rachel's impromptu affection. The moment was short lived because Rachel started to chuckle to herself. "What?" Shelby asked, laughing because Rachel was.

"Oh, nothing. Just that you should have seen your face when the pillow hit you," Rachel said before quickly getting up from Shelby's lap and scampering out of the room.

Shelby sat there for a moment longer shaking her head at her child before she followed her back to the kitchen.

When dinner was over, Shelby and Judy took Beth and headed to the living room to talk while the girls did the dishes. Judy had left them with instructions not to throw dish soap at each other or have a water fight. Both girls acted shocked at the idea that Judy would even need to tell them that, but promised to behave all the same.

Beth sat on Shelby's lap and kept a tight hold on her blanket and cooing every so often as if to make sure her voice was heard in the conversation as well. The two women were talking about everything from old boyfriends to life with an infant to worries over their teenagers driving. They were becoming fast friends in their own right in a way that didn't have to do with either Rachel or Quinn.

"I was a nervous wreck when Quinn started to drive," Judy admitted.

"I'm right there with you," Shelby said. "I'm going to have to take Rachel out soon and let her start driving. Who decided it was a good idea to let sixteen-year-olds drive? It's just ludicrous," Shelby said, only half joking.

"Wait until she gets her own car and you can't be with her everytime she's behind the wheel to assist. Well I call it assisting. Quinn calls it nagging," Judy laughed.

"I'm trying to promise myself that I won't be the crazy woman my mother turned into when I started to drive, but now I'm not so sure," Shelby said.

"Please let me know if you're able to manage that."

The ringing of the phone pulled Judy's attention away and she excused herself to go and answer it. Shelby lifted Beth into a standing position on her lap and made faces at her. Judy returned a few minutes later looking as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Judy?" Shelby asked, standing up and holding Beth on her hip. "What's wrong?"

"My mother," the blonde woman answered. "She fell and broke her hip and is in the hospital. She needs someone to come and stay with her for a couple of weeks while she has surgery and gets settled into rehab. My father died years ago so it's just her. She's out in Indiana where I grew up."

"Oh my god, I'm sorry," Shelby said, reaching out and putting a comforting hand on Shelby's arm. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do with Quinn. I don't want to pull her out of school for two weeks, but I don't want her staying here by herself either," Judy said. Shelby could see the wheels in her head turning as Judy tried to think of everything she needed to do in order to go and be with her mother.

"She can stay with Rachel and me," Shelby said. "No, it'll be no problem," Shelby assured her before the protest could even form on her lips. "There, that's settled. It's one less thing you have to worry about."

"Ok," Judy said. "Thank you. I've got so much I have to do before I leave tomorrow."

"Come on, let me help you," Shelby said, leading Judy out of the room.

**A/N – Please leave me a review. **

**Happy New Year!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N – Thank you guys for all of the lovely reviews and notes I've been getting. I can't believe there are over 700 reviews. You guys are amazing. And I can't believe this is the 25****th**** chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer – Yeah… still no. **

"Are you sure she's going to be all right?" Quinn asked her mother again for what felt like that hundredth time that morning. The news of her grandmother's fall had taken Quinn by surprise. The woman was so active and healthy that Quinn didn't think something like this was possible, but a tumble down the three steps of her front porch had proven too much for the older lady.

"Yes, honey, she's going to be fine," Judy answered. "They're going to do surgery tomorrow and then she'll spend a couple more days in the hospital and then move to rehab. I talked to the doctor and he said it's all very routine." Judy was worried herself, but she was trying to keep up a brave exterior for Quinn. Judy knew Quinn was really worried when the girl had not put up any opposition to staying with Shelby and Rachel. Judy expected Quinn to tell her how she would be fine by herself. "Are you all packed?"

"Yeah, I think I have everything," Quinn answered from her spot sitting cross-legged on her mother's bed. She'd been watching Judy try to pack for about forty-five minutes now. "And if I forgot anything, I can always swing by here and pick it up. It's you who needs to make sure you have everything."

"I think I do," Judy said, finally closing up the last of her bags and taking one more glance around the room.

Judy moved her bags from the bed to the floor so she could sit down next to her daughter. She was taking advantage of the moment to just sit and relax. She had spent all of the previous evening and some of the night preparing to leave Quinn with Shelby, as well as staying up to date with what was going on with her mother. It wasn't as simple as dropping Quinn off and leaving town. Judy had to prepare emergency documents for Shelby to give the woman permission to act as Quinn's guardian in case there was some instance where Quinn needed medical care or Shelby needed to sign the girls out of school early, for instance. There were a million scenarios that were running through Judy's mind and she pushed them all aside so she could talk with Quinn.

"Quinnie, I want you to behave yourself while you're staying at Shelby's," Judy started and Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Mom, I know how to behave," Quinn said.

Judy fixed her with a stare and continued on. "Don't argue with her about any of her rules and don't get into any trouble at school and don't get Rachel into any trouble."

"Rachel doesn't need my help to get into any trouble," Quinn said. "She does that all on her own."

"That's beside the point, Quinn. She's younger than you are," Judy said recalling her and Shelby's conversation from the previous night.

"I know she is, Mom," Quinn said. She was about to crack a joke promising not to take Rachel out and get her drunk, but that joke would hit a little too close to home even if Judy wouldn't know why. She instead said, "It's so nice of you to worry so much over your new, short, brunette friend." Quinn faked a pout though the glint in her eye betrayed her teasing. "Your daughter will also do her best not to be swayed by the influences of the short girl you find so endearing."

Judy's face softened and she reached a hand out and touched Quinn's cheek and then pulled her close for a hug. "I'm so proud of you for becoming her friend and helping her out."

Quinn relaxed into her mother's embrace and let herself be held. "Thank you. And I want you to know that this is the happiest I've been in a long time. And maybe the safest I've ever felt. With just you and me here. I'm proud of you too, Mom."

Judy smiled and rubbed Quinn's back affectionately. Their lives were drastically different than what they were even just six months ago. Looking back now she doesn't know how she stayed with Russell for so long. What was she thinking? Judy leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of Quinn's head and said, "Thank you, Quinnie."

The two sat in comfortable silence; Quinn still pulled close, for another couple of minutes before Judy glanced at the clock and realized she needed to get going.

"Now I don't want to hear any reports of you acting up from Shelby when I call or when I get home," Judy said as she let go of Quinn and got up off the bed and started gathering up her bags.

Quinn rolled her eyes once more, but offered a dutiful, "yes, Mom," for Judy.

In a house a few miles from there, Rachel sat at the kitchen table in her father's house, eating breakfast.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come yesterday, Daddy," Rachel said. "Shelby had already made plans that I didn't know about."

"That's ok, Rachel," Scott Berry said. He had actually been surprised that Rachel had wanted to come over at all. They had been texting back and forth for a couple of weeks, but it was nothing substantial. He usually only offered up generic questions about how her days were or how school was going. It wasn't that he didn't want to know more about her, but after all these years, he felt that he'd forgotten how. And, God help him, he felt relief at being able to come home to an empty house. Try as he might, he couldn't quite bring himself to hate himself for it either.

"And everything is going ok with Shelby?" he asked her.

"Everything's great!" Rachel said, putting on her full wattage smile. She didn't tell him of the troubles she had adjusting or the fact that she was still having trouble opening up to Shelby about certain things. Not that he would know what those things were; she had never told him either.

"Have you been talking with your father?" Scott asked.

"A little bit," Rachel answered. "We text every so often. He's out of town right now." Rachel wasn't sure what else she should say. Neither man ever asked about the other, so she was wondering why he would bring it up now. She knew they were working on separating assets and that they were attempting to leave her out of it. She was mostly grateful for that, but part of her still wanted to know what was going on.

"I'm trying to get Shelby to teach me how to drive," Rachel said, changing the subject. "I think I'm going to get my learner's permit soon."

"That's great, Rach," Scott said. He and Henry had playfully bickered once when Rachel was about four over who would get to teach her to drive. They had made a deal; Scott would get to teach her if he agreed that Henry would be allowed to scare any potential boyfriends. What had happened to them?

"I promise not to drive like I did when I was learning to ride a bike," Rachel joked, trying to draw him in to one of their favorite stories they used to tell.

"I should hope not," Scott answered easily, giving off a genuine smile. "I'll never forget seeing you fly over your handlebars and standing up with blood pouring down your face from the cut on your forehead. It was the first time the doctors had ever seen a six-year-old so concerned with leaving a scar. You tried to coach them through the two stitches you got."

Rachel's smile finally reached her eyes as she joined in, "Well once you were able to get me to stop crying, I wanted to make sure the job was done properly. Even if it did leave a scar."

"I think that little scar is kind on endearing," Scott said.

"Yeah, I guess," Rachel agreed.

They fell back into a not-so-easy silence, both unsure of what was expected now. Rachel took a long sip of her juice and looked over at her father only to find him staring out the window. She wasn't sure what she had expected from this visit, but she was certain she couldn't have hoped for anything better than this. And that made her incredibly sad.

Shelby was just laying Beth down in the small playpen in the living room when the doorbell rang. Beth didn't stir and Shelby smiled down at her before getting up to answer the door.

"Come in, please," Shelby stood to the side and held the door open so Quinn and Judy could enter.

"Thank you," Judy said. "I can't stay long because I need to get going."

"I told you that you didn't have to drive over here with me," Quinn said.

"I certainly was not going to just send you over here without coming too," Judy said.

"Certainly not," Quinn mocked.

"Shelby, feel free to do whatever you want with her," Judy said. "I expect her to stay out of trouble," Judy emphasized the last part as she looked at Quinn who was smiling sweetly at her, "but feel free to punish her however you want to should the need arise."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shelby said. "Although I doubt it will come up."

"Thank you, Shelby," Quinn said. "Where's Rachel?" she asked, changing the subject.

"She went to see one of her dads this morning for a visit," Shelby answered, somewhat tensely. She wasn't certain about these visits just yet, but she was not going to tell Rachel no. This was the first one and she would gage how it went once Rachel got home.

"Oh," Quinn said, unsure of how else she should respond. Judy caught Shelby's eye and gave her a sympathetic look.

"But she should be back soon," Shelby said, hoping to lighten the sudden somber mood. "In fact, she'll probably call soon and need a ride home. Maybe you can run over there and get her if she calls while Beth is still asleep."

"Sure," Quinn nodded.

"Ok, I better go," Judy interjected. "I need to get on the road before it gets too late." She pulled Quinn in for a hug and said, "I'll call you and let you know how Grandma is doing."

"Drive safe, Mom," Quinn said. "Tell her I said hello."

"Thank you again, Shelby," Judy said.

"Don't mention it."

Judy stepped out the front door and was headed to her car but took the time to call out, "I mean it, Quinn. Behave." Quinn rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. How many times did her mother feel the need to tell her?

"Come on, I'll show you up to the guest room," Shelby said shutting the door behind them.

An hour and a half later, Rachel finally made her way to the porch at Shelby's house. She took note of Quinn's car in the driveway before opening the door and going inside. She stepped to the living room and watched from the edge of the room as Shelby and Quinn sat together on the couch talking to Beth. The baby was comfortable in Quinn's arms this time and a small smile reached Rachel's features before she turned away and headed for the stairs.

"Rachel, you're back," Shelby said when she heard the creak of the steps. She and Quinn turned t o look at the girl.

"Yeah, I just came in. Hi, Quinn."

"Hi. We were waiting for you to call. I was going to go and pick you up," Quinn said.

"That's ok. I walked," Rachel answered. "I'm going to go upstairs and change." She turned and continued up the stairs and into her room. The knock she knew was coming happened a minute later and she called for her mother to come in. Rachel draped her jacket across the back of her desk chair before looking up at her mother's concerned face.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

"Nothing," Rachel shrugged. "We had breakfast, talked some, and then I came home."

"Why did you walk? I told you to give me a call," Shelby said, reaching up and brushing a strand of Rachel's hair away from her face.

"It gave me a chance to clear my head," Rachel answered.

"It doesn't seem like it worked that well," Shelby said. "It seems like you still have a lot on your mind."

"Daddy and I just don't know how to talk anymore. And I know that's not a new thing, but I still don't really understand it," Rachel said. He used to tell me all these silly jokes that he pretended were the funniest jokes in the world and he would laugh and I used to tell him that he wasn't funny. Why couldn't I have just played along and laughed at his jokes? What did I do that made them want to have nothing to do with me?"

"Rachel…" Shelby said. She tried to step towards Rachel but the girl took a couple of steps back.

"There must have been something," Rachel continued on. "Because for a little while there we were all happy. But they started fighting a lot. I remember that they would argue over everything from who had to take me to ballet to who was making dinner and everything in between. But even with all of the fighting, one of them was there to tuck me in or watch my recitals. But then when I was twelve they both were gone that first time and it's like they never looked back. And for the life of me I can't ever seem to remember what it was that I did just before that to make them both leave." Rachel fought the tears that were forming in her eyes.

Shelby looked on in such despair for her child. Rachel had never gone into this much detail about her dads and her life with them and it made Shelby ache for her. How could they have done this to her? She hated that the girl blamed herself. Shelby stepped closer to Rachel again, wanting to wrap her in a hug, but Rachel moved away again.

"Rachel," Shelby said, staying where she was this time. "None of this is your fault. You didn't do anything that would cause them to do that."

"Because if I could just remember what it was then I could be sure not to do it while I'm here and that way you won't leave too." The tears spilled over this time and Rachel shook her head. "Why can't I remember?"

Shelby felt as if she could feel her heart breaking while she watched Rachel battle with herself over her memory. She was certain that the girl hadn't done anything wrong or gotten into any trouble like Rachel was alluding to. And even if she had, none of this was her fault. She wished she knew how to make Rachel understand that.

"Rachel, I'm never going to leave you, ok? It doesn't matter if you can't remember because there's probably nothing to remember. It doesn't matter what you did… or didn't do. You are not to blame. It was your father's selfishness that led to this. They are to blame, not you." Shelby wasn't sure if she was getting through to her or not. What she did know, however, was that her daughter was not going to go and spend any time with either of the Berry men again until she had a chance to talk to them first.

"Are you listening to me? Rachel?" Shelby took a tentative step closer to Rachel and then moved to stand in front of her when the girl didn't move this time.

"Yeah, I heard you," Rachel said, looking up and meeting Shelby's eyes for the first time.

Shelby wiped a tear from Rachel's cheek and asked, "What did I say?"

"That it wasn't my fault," Rachel parroted. "Thanks, Mom." She stood up on her toes and gave Shelby a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to take a shower." With that she moved away from Shelby and entered her bathroom and shut the door.

Shelby stood rooted to her spot for a few minutes as she let her own tears fall for her child. How could those men have done this to that little girl? Shelby didn't move until she heard the water running from the shower. She grabbed Rachel's coat from the chair so she could hang it in the closet downstairs and then left the room.

When Rachel emerged a little over an hour later there was no sign of the defeated girl who came home earlier that morning. She was her normal self when she walked into the kitchen wondering about lunch and taking Beth from Quinn's arms before she sat down. Beth smiled at her older sister and took a moment to rest her head on Rachel's shoulder, a brief hug, and then she was sitting back up and babbling to Rachel.

"You wish Mom would hurry up with lunch too?" Rachel said to Beth before turning a sly smile on Shelby.

Shelby returned the smile and willed the sadness to stay out of her eyes. She couldn't tell if Rachel was back to feeling ok or if it was all an act, but either way she wasn't sure she liked it. Rachel pretending her problems weren't there was not going to help any of them in the long run. But she had no idea how to get her to talk about it for more than a few minutes at a time. But for now Rachel was back to being happy and Shelby would go with it.

"I thought perhaps we'd go out and get some lunch," Shelby said. "To Breadstix maybe?"

"Oh, Shelby, that reminds me," Quinn said standing up and going over to the woman. "My mom gave me some money to give to you to help pay for whatever you need while I'm here." She took a few folded up bills out of her pocket and tried to hand them over to Shelby.

"No," Shelby said, holding up her hands so she couldn't take the money. "Your mother did not need to give me money for you to stay here. No," she said again when Quinn held the bills closer.

"But my mom said," Quinn started but was cut off by Shelby again.

"No. You keep it and give it back to your mother when she gets home," Shelby said.

Rachel and Beth looked on with interest at the mini-showdown taking place over the money. Beth was in her lap and Rachel was pulled close to the table and Beth had her hands resting on the tabletop, banging it occasionally. Rachel wasn't quite sure why Quinn thought she could win this argument with Shelby.

"I'm just going to leave it there with you," Quinn said, setting the bills on the counter next to Shelby.

She started to walk back to her seat at the table but Shelby caught her arm and gently pulled her back over to her. Quinn tried to get a word in, but Shelby simply turned the girl away from her and slipped the folded bills into the back pocket of Quinn's jeans. She let go of Quinn's arm and sent the girl back to her place at the table with a firm swat to that same pocket. "I said no."

"She said no," Rachel said smirking when Quinn sat back down. The blonde girl reached her arms out and rested them on the table in front of Rachel and Beth. Beth, in a show of solidarity, reached out and placed a tiny hand on top of Quinn's.

The lunch at Breadstix long over and evening creeping down around them, Rachel and Quinn decided to find a movie on TV up in the music room.

"Rachel, one second," Shelby said to her and Rachel stopped at the stairs. Quinn understood and kept going. She was going to take advantage of this and find a movie before Rachel could get there.

"Yes?"

"Are you ok? You know, earlier? I didn't get a chance to talk to you after you got out of the shower," Shelby said.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mom," Rachel said, putting on a bright smile. "I was just feeling sorry for myself earlier. I won't do it again."

"That's not what I meant, Rachel," Shelby said. "I want you to talk about how you feel about your dads. In fact, I think it'd be a good idea if you could talk about it."

"Don't worry about it, Mom. I'm fine. Really," Rachel lied. "I was just having one of those mornings."

Shelby didn't believe Rachel when she said she was fine, but she wasn't going to push it right now. It clearly wasn't the time since Rachel was so adamant about how she was feeling in this moment.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," Shelby said. "Go on up and try and talk Quinn out of whatever movie she's already picked out."

"Thanks, Mom," Rachel said before turning and heading up the stairs.

Shelby watched her go and then headed back into the living room to retrieve Beth from her swing. She wanted to give her a bath before the baby went to sleep. Shelby also started making a mental list of things she would like to start to research about Rachel. She wanted to talk to a therapist about ways in which she could help Rachel. She was beginning to really start to grasp the depth of hurting and psychological issues Rachel may be experiencing from the long stays alone without her fathers.

"What is this?" Rachel asked when she sat down on the couch next to Quinn. She was trying to place the movie from the beach scene, but she couldn't remember it.

"_Jaws!_" Quinn said. "This is a great movie."

"Are you serious?" Rachel said.

"Yeah, it just started. Have you ever seen it?"

"No."

"It's not as bad as you're thinking it will be," Quinn said. "It's only a little bit scary. Just watch."

Two hours later Rachel sat with her hands covering her eyes as Quint, the salty boat captain, lost his grip on Brody and slid into the giant shark's mouth.

"What are you guys watching?" Shelby said, choosing that moment to come into the room. "_Jaws!_" she said when she saw the scene on the TV. "I love this movie. I'm sorry I missed most of it." Quinn indicated her head towards Rachel and Shelby smiled at the blonde girl before taking a seat on the other side of her daughter and wrapping and arm around her.

Rachel could hear the cries of the man and she looked out just in time to see the shark carrying his dead bod away.

"Only a little bit scary?" Rachel said incredulously as she looked at Quinn. "That was gross."

"Just keep watching," Quinn said. "The shark will get it here in a minute or two."

The trio watched until Brody was indeed able to blow up the giant great white and even Rachel couldn't help but smile along with him. That's what you get, shark!

"Come on, you two, time to start getting ready for bed," Shelby said once the credits started rolling. Shelby noticed as Quinn glanced at her time on the cable box. It was only 9:37, so she explained for Quinn. "Bedtime is at ten. We usually don't have any TV or anything after 9:30, but since it was so close to being the end of the movie, it was no big deal."

"Ok," Quinn agreed easily. She wasn't necessarily all that tired, but she could hear her mother in the back of her mind saying 'Shelby's house, Shelby's rules.' She knew her own mother tried to get her in bed by 10:30 anyway.

Quinn was trying to find a comfortable position on the bed as she rolled over and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It was 1:02 and Quinn was having trouble staying asleep. It was a condition that did not speak to the quality of the bed, which was very comfortable, but rather to the newness of her time in the house. Quinn wasn't familiar with her surroundings nor any of the nighttime noises always associated with darkness. She tried in vain to close her eyes, knowing it was still early enough that she could get a decent amount of sleep if she could just get to sleep and stay there.

But a new noise caught her attention. It wasn't like any of the others she had heard before. It was faint and sounded almost like someone was talking. She got out of bed and popped her head out into the hallway, expecting to hear Beth crying. But the noises weren't coming from Shelby's room. Quinn crept down the hall towards Rachel's room and could hear the distinctive whimper the closer she got. She opened the bedroom door to peek in and saw that Rachel was tossing and turning and it sounded like she was trying to talk, but Quinn couldn't understand anything she was saying.

"Rachel," Quinn whispered. The name had no effect on the girl and as she seemed to settle on her side, knocking her stuffed Toto dog off the bed in the process. He had been sitting up near Rachel's pillow, watching over her like a tiny guard dog.

"Rachel," Quinn tried again, but Rachel still didn't wake. Quinn bent down and picked up the stuffed dog and placed it near Rachel's outstretched hand. The girl clasped her hand around the dog and pulled it close, a move that seemed to comfort her and the talking stopped. Rachel seemed to settle and relax and Quinn noticed that her breathing seemed to even out and so she didn't try and wake her again.

Quinn slipped out of the room as quietly as she came in and shut the door behind her. She crept back down the hallway and into the guest room and climbed back into bed. Maybe _Jaws_ hadn't been such a good idea after all.

It was close to three when Shelby was finally able to quiet Beth who had woken up hungry just forty-five minutes before. Shelby thought she had her sleeping through the night, but there were still some nights when Beth woke up demanding a bottle. With Beth settled, Shelby went to check on Rachel, a ritual she had perform every time she got up with Beth since Rachel moved in.

Shelby went to the guest bedroom first and opened the door a couple inches and looked in on Quinn who was sound asleep. Shelby smiled sleepily, but did not enter the room. She then made her way to Rachel's room where she didn't stop at the door and instead went in. She noticed that Rachel's blankets weren't tucked around her shoulders like they normally were and that she was holding onto her Toto dog. It wasn't how Rachel usually slept, but Shelby was trying not to read too much into it. She instead pulled the blankets up and tucked them snugly around the girl and didn't bother moving the stuffed dog. Shelby leaned down and placed a light kiss on Rachel's temple before standing up and simply watching the girl sleep for a few minutes. As Shelby slipped out of the room, she made firm on her decision to help Rachel come to terms with her past.

**A/N – Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought.**

_**Jaws**_** is, of course, the classic Spielberg movie. It's amazing. Watch it. I don't own it and wouldn't change a thing if I did. **


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N – I'm sorry about the delay in getting this posted. I'm going to try and be quicker with the updates, but no promises. Life and all that. But thank you so much for all of the reviews and notes and alerts I've received. It all means so much to me. Honestly.**

**Disclaimer – I've been trying to get in contact with Ryan Murphy, but he won't take my calls. So he still owns it. **

Quinn rolled over in bed and fought her body's insistence that she wake up. She couldn't believe that she simply could not stay asleep. She felt as if she'd been tossing and turning all night, aside from the few minutes she'd spent investigating the noise when she heard Rachel and her nightmare. Quinn settled on her side and willed herself to go back to sleep. She was tired and if she didn't get some rest it was going to be a very long day.

It wasn't until a couple minutes later when the phone she set on her alarm started going off that Quinn realized that it was actually morning and she had been asleep longer than she realized. She sat up and reached over to the bedside table and silenced her alarm and then rested back on her bed so she could avoid getting up and getting ready just yet. She wasn't ready. Quinn closed her eyes and sighed as she tried to talk herself into getting up.

"Quinn," Shelby said, knocking on the bedroom door. She had expected to see the girl before now. Rachel was already dressed and downstairs, but that wasn't say much since Rachel was always up early.

"Quinn," Shelby knocked again. She waited a few more moments and then opened the door a few inches so that she could look in. She saw the blonde girl still asleep in bed and holding onto her phone. Shelby took a look at her watch as she entered the room and made her way over to the bed.

"Quinn, wake up," Shelby said. She shook her shoulder and spoke again. "Quinn."

"What?" Quinn mumbled, not opening her eyes.

Shelby smiled and shook Quinn's shoulder again. So this is what most teenagers were like. Ninety-nine percent of the time Rachel was up before she was. "Quinn, you've got to get up and get ready for school."

Quinn finally opened her eyes to see that Shelby was leaning over her. She glanced at the woman's eyes and saw the amusement dancing in them and then looked down at her the phone which was still in her hand. "Oh crap!" she said when she saw the time. It had been thirty-two minutes since her alarm went off.

"Good morning," Shelby said, laughing. "Time to get up and get moving."

"My alarm went off half an hour ago," Quinn said.

"The key to the alarm working properly is that you have to actually wake up and get out of bed when it goes off," Shelby said.

Quinn threw the blankets aside and was getting out of bed when she stopped to glare at Shelby. "You sounded just like Rachel when you said that."

Shelby smiled and started to make her way out of the room. "Thank you." She shut the door behind her as she went out into the hallway.

"I didn't mean that as a compliment," she heard Quinn call out.

Shelby went back and opened the door again and poked her head in to look at the disheveled blonde. "Keep it up and I will let Rachel come up here and bug you about the finer points of punctuality."

"I'm going, I'm going," Quinn said with a laugh. Shelby closed the door again and made her way downstairs.

Rachel and Beth were in the kitchen eating breakfast when Shelby came in. Well, Beth was eating breakfast and Rachel was feeding it to her. Rachel didn't see what Beth saw in the peaches baby food, but the little girl loved them and Rachel had a good time feeding her.

"She overslept a little, but she's getting ready now," Shelby said.

"Maybe I should wake her up when I get up tomorrow," Rachel said.

"No. She's not here for you to torture," Shelby said.

"Mom," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"Here, let me do this so you can eat something yourself." Shelby took the spoon from Rachel and scooped up another bite for Beth. She made funny faces at the baby and opened her mouth wide just as Beth did to take the bite.

"Mom?" Rachel asked.

"Hmmm?" Shelby replied just before she opened her mouth while Beth took another bite.

"What are you doing this afternoon?"

"Nothing much," Shelby answered. "Why?"

"Good! Can we go driving this afternoon?"

"Oh. Honey, you have to have your learner's permit before I can take you out driving," Shelby answered.

"Can we go and get that this afternoon?" Rachel asked. "It's just a written exam and I'm pretty sure I'm ready for it."

The problem was that Shelby wasn't ready for it. And she was prepared to keep deflecting as long as possible. "Not today, Rachel."

"But-"

"I'd like to go over some of the study questions with you beforehand," Shelby improvised. "So I can make sure you really understand what you're reading. Maybe another week or two and we can go and get your permit."

"Another week or two," Rachel whined. "But, Mom!"

"Rachel," Shelby warned.

"Fine," Rachel sulked. She walked over to the cabinet that held their glasses so she could get one to pour herself some juice. She didn't take one of the normal glasses today and instead opted for something different. Pulling the glass down, Rachel went to the sink and not the refrigerator and filled her glass with water. She turned to look at Shelby while she drank.

Shelby looked over at her and saw that Rachel was drinking from the gold star glass she had given her months before. The one she asked her to get a drink of water from if ever she was sad. Rachel took a long sip of her water and stared pointedly at Shelby as she did so. Shelby kept her gaze and fought the urge to roll her eyes. Rachel was attempting to guilt her into it and Shelby had to admit, that this was a pretty decent strategy. But she was not going to cave. The two stared at each other in a silent showdown. And sure, it was manipulative, but Rachel was genuinely sad. She was ready to learn to drive.

Beth did not care about the fact that Rachel couldn't drive yet or the fact that her mom was resisting letting her sister drive with every excuse possible. She did, however, care that her mom had stopped feeding her. Shelby was holding a full spoon in mid air between the jar and Beth while she and Rachel had their staring contest. Beth banged her hand on the tray of the high chair once, but Shelby did not turn back to her.

Rachel took the cup from her lips and let out a dramatic sigh as she turned back to the sink the refill it. Beth, still not getting the bite that was hovering in front of her face teasing her, finally reached out and grabbed the spoon. She took a handful of the peaches and put her hand to her head and spread the baby food in her hair.

"Beth, no," Shelby said when she looked back at the baby. Beth only smiled as she reached forward and grabbed Shelby's hand, spreading the light orange goo all over the woman's rings and watch. "Thank you, honey," Shelby said to the baby. She put the spoon down and Beth immediately picked it up and started to bang the tray with it.

Quinn walked into the kitchen as Shelby leaned down to pick up the towel that had been resting on her knee and had fallen to the floor so she could start to clean Beth off. Quinn looked on as Beth found the open jar of food on the tray and turned it on its side, spilling the contents onto the tray. Beth squealed as she rubbed her hands in it and then put her hands to her face and in her hair again.

"She's got the food in her hair," Quinn said.

"I know," Shelby said as she picked up the towel and sat back up. "She grabbed-" she was cut off when Beth started to bang her hands in the pile of puréed peaches and splatter them all over Shelby, the table, the floor and herself. Beth laughed as Shelby sighed.

"Here's another towel," Rachel said, handing her mother the hand towel she swiped off the over handle. She set the gold star cup, still with some water in it, on the table in front of Shelby and made her way over to Quinn. Shelby looked at the cup and did roll her eyes this time.

"Are you ready, Quinn?"

"Yes," Quinn answered and the two girls headed towards the door.

"Rachel, I'll see you right after school," Shelby said to her.

"I'll just ride home with Quinn," Rachel answered, confused.

"No, I will pick you up. You're still restricted from Glee this week and part of that was me picking you up after school," Shelby reminded her. Quinn moved away to stand by the front door to give them a semblance of privacy.

Rachel's shoulders dropped in a defeated manner. She had almost completely forgotten about not being allowed to go to Glee.

"Rachel?" Shelby prompted.

"Yes, Mom," she said before heading to the door to join Quinn.

"And Quinn," Shelby called out. "If you don't come here right after Glee, be home by six."

"Yes, Shelby," Quinn said, mirroring Rachel's response.

Shelby looked back to the cute mess she called Beth as she heard the front door close. The girl was busy spreading the peaches around the entirety of the tray.

"Ok, young lady, it is time to get you cleaned up."

Quinn pulled her car out of the driveway and started the trip to school, yawning as she did so. She was hoping for a relatively easy day that passed quickly.

"Did you sleep ok?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, for the most part," Quinn answered. "I had trouble staying asleep at first, but I think that's just because I was in a new house. How did you sleep?"

"Fine," Rachel shrugged.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You were having a nightmare last night," Quinn answered. "I heard you talking in your sleep."

"Oh," Rachel said looking down at her hands.

"I'm sorry if Jaws scared you that badly," Quinn said. "You get to pick the movie next time, I promise."

"Thanks, Quinn," Rachel said. She did not tell her friend that her nightmare was not about a giant shark. She knew this nightmare, even if she only half remembered it right now. Rachel never let on about them; not to her fathers nor to Shelby and not to Quinn. They were just nightmares. "I'm sorry I disturbed you. But I will take you up on your offer to let me choose the next movie."

"I'm sure you will," Quinn said. "I'm already trying to brace myself for what you might pick."

"Very funny."

The pair rode in silence for a few more minutes before Rachel spoke up again. She had an important favor to ask Quinn, but she needed to work out how to go about it.

"Quinn, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Quinn answered. They were stopped at a red light so she looked over at her friend.

"I'm going to ask you a favor and I want you to consider it before you make any decisions one way or the other. I want you to remember that I am your friend and would do the same for you if the situations were reversed. And my predicament seems to be precarious at the moment and I am running out of options."

"What is it, Rachel?" Quinn interrupted if for no other reason than to make sure that Rachel actually took a breath at some point.

"Will you teach me to drive?" Rachel chanced a quick look at Quinn who was now concentrating on the road as they passed through the green light.

"No," Quinn answered without much thought.

"Come on, Quinn. Shelby's not going to teach me anytime soon. And you've got a car and you're my friend-"

"No," Quinn said again.

"But we could go out of town a little ways and you could let me drive in a parking lot or something," Rachel reasoned. "And then out on one of the many seemingly empty roads near cornfields around here."

"Rachel, I'm pretty sure your mother would kick my ass if she found out that I was letting you drive. And then she would kick yours. And then my mom would get home and kick mine again. Hell, she might kick yours for good measure too. And then my mom would take my car away and I'd be stuck walking to school in my Cheerios uniform and it's starting to get colder out and after a while I would simply freeze on the side of the road on the way to school one morning and it would be all your fault because you made me let you drive my car. No."

"But, Quinn."

"Rachel, I'm really sorry that Shelby is not taking you out driving yet. She's probably scared to death," Quinn said. "But maybe give her a little time and try it her way for a week and then ask again."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Rachel said as she slumped back in her seat. She sulked a bit for Quinn's benefit, but in truth, she had not expected Quinn to say yes…this time. Rachel decided she would work on her at a later time.

That afternoon the Glee club, minus Rachel, met at their normal time and the kids were still buzzing over their session with Shelby.

"We need to ask her to work with us again before Sectionals," Artie said. "Once we have a firm set list."

"I agree," Kurt said. "Maybe we could trade her for Rachel."

"Kurt," Quinn admonished.

"Sorry. I know we need the diva herself as well," Kurt conceded.

"Santana, maybe you could ask Coach Corcoran to help us again," Sam suggested.

"Why do I have to do it?" Santana asked. "Quinn knows her better, make her ask."

"Will you ask, Quinn?" Finn said.

"Sure. It probably won't happen until after we have Rachel back," Quinn said.

"That's fine, we need Rachel anyways," Santana said.

Everyone grew silent as they stared at her. Had Santana just admitted that out loud?

"Whatever," the Latina said.

"Hi, guys," Mr. Schue said as he walked into the room. "I want to go over the songs we were working on last week and then I want to discuss an interesting assignment I came up with for you guys."

The kids stood and took their places in the formation Shelby had put them in over the weekend. Brad and the rest of the musicians started the first song and Will could hear a difference as soon as the kids started singing. His look of amazement was not lost on the students and their smiles widened as his did. Brad looked over to them and gave a half nod of approval. They really were very good, he admitted. He still didn't like any of them though.

"Guys, that was great!" Will said as he clapped after the song was done. "We are going to be really tough competition at Sectionals this year."

"Is that song definitely on the set list then?" Kurt asked.

"I'm not sure," Will answered. "I'm still looking at a few things I want to try."

"Will you tell us as soon as you know for sure?" Tina said.

"Of course," Will said, becoming confused. "Why?"

"We just want to be prepared and be able to get a head start on the songs and staging," Quinn answered. They had all agreed not to mention their trip to Shelby's because no one wanted to hurt Mr. Schue's feelings. That didn't mean that they weren't anxious to work with her again, as was evidenced by the group's earlier conversation.

"I'll let you know as soon as I can," Will promised. "Now, I have an idea for an assignment for this week," he said taking his place in the center of the room as the kids all sat back in their chairs on the risers. "It won't be due until next Monday and there will be no song involved."

This statement received some quizzical looks since there was always a song involved. Will shook it off and continued on. "I want you guys to pair up and explore an art form that you're not familiar with. When you come back on Monday you can talk to the club about what you learned."

There were blank stares all around and even Brad had no idea what this assignment was for. Puck finally raised his hand and voiced the as of yet unsaid, "why?"

"Because I think that sometimes we get bogged down too much with the focus on songs-"

"We're a glee club," Tina deadpanned.

"And we forget that there are other forms of self-expression that would be worth our time looking at," Will continued as if she hadn't spoken. "I want you guys to look at how other artists work and create and what impact that art has on its audience. It'll be great. You can all get out in the town and explore a little bit. So, everyone got it?"

Eleven heads nodded and, satisfied, Will stepped into his office to pick up some more sheet music.

"That makes absolutely no sense," Mercedes said.

"What other forms of art does he expect us to find in Lima, Ohio?" Kurt wondered.

"Graffiti," Puck said. "No, it's mine! None of you can steal it," he said, laying claim.

"I'm working with Puck," Finn jumped in.

Other groups were formed and ideas were tossed around, though none of them were that original or good. Quinn decided she would let Rachel decide on this one since the girl would be back in Glee by Monday and would need to work on it. Quinn would simply follow her lead.

Quinn walked into Shelby's house about forty-five minutes after Glee let out. The first thing she heard was Beth's cries and Shelby trying to talk to her. Quinn stepped into the kitchen to see Shelby working to make a bottle while Beth loudly voiced her disdain at how long it was taking.

"Here, let me do that," Quinn said as she stepped into the room and took the formula from Shelby. She began to scoop out the proper amount to put into the bottle while Shelby paced with Beth. "Where's Rachel?"

"She's upstairs looking over the driver's manual at my insistence," Shelby answered.

"I bet she's enjoying that," Quinn joked. She felt the water from the tap to make sure it was warm enough and then began to fill the bottle.

"I told her you guys wouldn't be allowed to watch any movies tonight if she didn't at least humor me and study some, even though she claims she already knows it all," Shelby said.

"You might have been doing me a favor," Quinn said as she handed the bottle over to Shelby who held it for Beth. "I told her she could pick the next movie we watch because she had a nightmare last night over Jaws."

"She had a nightmare?" Shelby questioned.

"Yeah. I was having trouble sleeping and I heard her talking so I went into her room to see what was wrong. I tried to wake her up, but she didn't hear me. She was tossing and turning, but settled down after a minute so I left," Quinn explained. "I've never thought Jaws was that scary."

"Me either," Shelby agreed. Her mind was not on the scary movie, but on the fact that this was the second time in two nights that Rachel had been having nightmares. Rachel's reaction to the visit with her dad was still fresh in Shelby's mind and now the idea of multiple nightmares had her a little bit worried. "Can you feed her, Quinn?"

"Sure, of course," Quinn answered. Shelby flopped her burp rag on Quinn's shoulder and then removed the bottle from Beth's mouth. The baby cried while she was passed from over and then settled again as soon as she had her bottle back. Quinn sat down at one of the chairs at the table and smiled down at the little baby. Beth was holding onto a finger on the hand Quinn was using to hold the bottle.

Shelby was going to excuse herself, but she didn't really think Quinn would notice whether she was still there or not. The woman made her way up to Rachel's room and knocked on the door. She knocked again when she didn't hear an answer and then decided to open the door and look in when all of her attempts to request entry went unheeded. She saw Rachel sitting at her desk and reading over the driver's manual as she had been instructed. But she was also wearing her ear buds and bopping her head to the music from her iPod while she read. That was why she hadn't heard any knocking. Shelby shut the door behind her and then stepped into the room. She waved an arm and caught Rachel's attention. She didn't want to just walk over to her so she wouldn't startle the girl.

"Hey, Mom," Rachel said after she removed the ear buds and paused her iPod.

"Rachel, you're supposed to be learning the material, not glancing over it while you listen to music," Shelby admonished.

"I already know it," Rachel said. "And besides, I figure that I will be listening to music while I drive and that this is good practice for the learning to focus on the task at hand even though I may be presented with distractions."

"I guarantee that you don't know it already. And you won't be driving while listening to any music at first," Shelby said. "At first, I said," when she noticed Rachel starting to gear up for an argument. "Rachel, why didn't you tell me you had another nightmare last night?" Shelby leaned against the desk and looked down at her little girl. Rachel looked down at her hands for a moment and then changed her posture and sat back in the chair and shrugged.

"I barely remember it," Rachel said. "There was this shark and lots of blood," Rachel lied. "Why did Quinn tell you?"

"She was telling me how you get to choose the movie tonight because you had a nightmare over the one from last night," Shelby told her. "Was it really about the shark, Rachel?"

"Of course," Rachel said, but she couldn't keep Shelby's gaze. "I don't do well with horror movies and lots of blood and stuff." The pair sat in an uneasy silence before Rachel got up. "Quinn's home? I'm going to go down and see her."

"Rachel," Shelby stopped her. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Rachel stepped back over to stand by Shelby and took her hand. "I know, Mom." _Except for the fact that I'm scared I'm going to make you want to leave me like my dads did_. "And trust me, if there was something to tell, I would tell you. It was just a nightmare." Rachel leaned forward and rested her head on Shelby's shoulder and sighed. She worried about all the lies she told when it came to things about her past. What would happen if Shelby ever found out about them? Would there be some sort of punishment? What if that was the thing that drove Shelby to leave her. Shelby always told her how much she wanted her there, but sometimes Rachel couldn't help but wonder if Shelby was lying to her just like she was. She hated feeling like this. She much preferred when they were happy and she didn't have to wonder about her fears all the time. The nightmares were not helping, but now that Shelby and Quinn both knew about them, she felt like this was not going to be the last of it no matter how much she insisted they were nothing.

Shelby placed a kiss on the top of Rachel's head and breathed in the smell of her shampoo and conditioner. "Ok. But if it happens again, please tell me."

"I will, Mom," Rachel lied again.

"Ok, so how about we go start on some dinner?"

A couple hours later, Shelby sat at the table happily listening to Quinn and Rachel discussing their days. The subject had inevitably strayed to Glee and Quinn was now telling them of Will's latest assignment.

"So we have to pick an art form we're not familiar with and then report to the club about it on Monday. It didn't make much sense to any of us," Quinn said. "Mr. Schue said something about learning other ways of expression and how people see it."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Shelby said. "It might help you guys grow a little bit to see the art as a member of an audience. It can help you learn different ways of expressing yourself. What art form are you going to work on?"

"I don't know," Quinn answered. "We're supposed to work in pairs so I'm taking a seat on this one and letting Rachel decide."

"I'll have to think on it," Rachel said.

"Puck and Finn already picked graffiti, so that's out," Quinn said.

"Of course they did," Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Oh, and speaking of dumb assignments," Quinn spoke up again. "I have to write a letter to myself as a twelve-year-old. My history teacher said it would be a good way for us all look into our past and examine how the past affects us now."

"That sounds like it could be pretty interesting," Shelby said.

Rachel scoffed. "Do you know what I'd write to my twelve-year-old self? 'Don't worry, Rachel, they'll be home soon.'"

Shelby looked at Rachel who was wearing an expression of defiance and a hint of anger. She stabbed at a vegetable on her plate, but never looked at her or Quinn. Shelby could tell that Rachel was lost in her own thoughts so she turned back to Quinn.

"What are you going to write about?"

"I don't know," Quinn shrugged. "I'll just make something up and throw it together so I can turn it in tomorrow."

"You will do no such thing," Shelby said. "You are going to sit here and write that letter after we're done with dinner."

"But-"

"No buts. You are not going to slide by on an assignment just because you don't like the subject of it," Shelby said, the teacher in her coming out. "I'll help you if you need it."

"But, Shelby," Quinn whined. "It won't take very long and there's no need for you to worry about it. "I don't think I have much to say to my younger self anyways."

"Quinn, you are going to sit here and work on this assignment and you are going to put real thought into it," Shelby said.

"But-" Quinn tried again and was cut off once again.

"Quinn." The blonde recognized that tone of parental authority and knew it was useless to argue any further.

"Fine," she sulked, suddenly not very interested in the last of her peas.

"My homework's already done," Rachel gloated with a smirk. She got up to take her plate to the sink.

"Good, then you can do the dishes," Shelby told her and wore her own smirk as she saw Rachel's shoulders slump. "And then when you're done, I think you should sit down with us and try this assignment as well."

Rachel half dropped her plate in the sink and spun around to face Shelby. "What? Why? No."

"I think it might help you," Shelby answered. "Quinn said she didn't have a lot to say to her younger self, but I'm sure that you do."

"I'm not in the class," Rachel said. "It's not my assignment."

"I know that. It'll just be an exercise then."

Rachel shook her head. "I'd rather not."

"Rachel."

"Mom, it's a silly letter. It's not something that will really matter," Rachel said. "It sounds like a bogus assignment to me."

"Then you should have no problems working on it," Shelby reasoned.

Rachel shook her head again defiantly and then turned back around to the sink and turned the water on full blast. Shelby watched her daughter and knew that she had to get her to work on some way to confront her past. She could tell that Rachel was holding back so much and there had to be a way to get her to talk about it. Writing this letter could be a start.

Twenty-five minutes later, Rachel was loading the last of the dishes into the dishwasher and Quinn was sitting at the table with Shelby. Quinn tapped her pen against the blank paper in front of her and looked around the room, concluding that Rachel had the right idea by getting all of her homework done at school. She made a mental note to not bring up schoolwork even one more time while she was here.

Rachel closed the door to the dishwasher and, without a word, started to make her way out of the room only to be stopped by Shelby.

"Where are you going?"

"To check on Beth," Rachel said.

"She's fine. She's asleep in her swing and I just checked on her a few minutes ago," Shelby said. "Sit down here with us and write a letter, Rachel."

"No," Rachel shook her head again. "Why are you trying to make me do homework that isn't mine?"

"I think it would be good for you," Shelby said. She felt for Rachel more than she could bear sometimes, but Shelby was also getting a bit perturbed with Rachel so openly defying her right now.

"I don't," Rachel said. "I think it would be a waste of time." With that she turned and left the room.

Shelby got to her feet and followed after her daughter, catching her on the stairs and escorting her back into the living room. "Rachel, it's a simple request. I'm not even asking you to write more than a page. Give yourself a chance to look into your past a bit."

"I don't need to look into my past," Rachel said. "I live with it. I know it's there."

Quinn expected to see Shelby back any second now, but the longer the woman took, the more Quinn wanted to get out of there. She took a surreptitious look around and then quickly started to pack up her notebook.

"Then how about you pretend you're that twelve-year-old kid and write a letter to me," Shelby suggested. "Maybe it could be from one of the first times you were all alone. If you had had me to talk to then, what would you say?" Shelby tried to keep the tone light, but she was desperate for Rachel to go through with this idea.

Quinn peeked around the corner and saw the pair talking in the living room, Shelby with her back to the stairs. Quinn was waiting for the perfect time when she could slip past them and get away.

"Ok," Rachel said quietly. "I will write a letter to you. It'll be from the third time they left me alone. That was a full four days. But please can I write it up in my room? And can I give it to you in the morning before I go to school?"

"Sure, Honey," Shelby said. She pulled Rachel close for a hug and held her tight, almost as if she was trying to squeeze as much love as she could into her girl.

Quinn chose the wrong time to try and get up the stairs because when they broke the hug Shelby turned around and saw her. "Oh no you don't." Shelby took her by the arm and led her back towards the kitchen. "You're doing this now because yours actually has to be turned in."

"Shelby," Quinn whined as the older woman sat her down.

"Here, let me start it for you," Shelby said. "'Dear, Little Quinn. If sixteen-year-old Quinn doesn't stop behaving like twelve-year-old Quinn, sixteen-year-old Quinn can experience twelve-year-old Quinn's nine o'clock bedtime."

Quinn's eyes widened at the threat and she pulled her notebook back out and started to work in earnest.

An hour, and two drafts of the letter later, Quinn flopped down on the bed in Rachel's room. The smaller girl was sitting at her desk surfing the internet. "What are you looking for?" Quinn asked, turning to her side and supporting her head with her hand on her bent elbow.

"I'm looking into our Glee assignment," Rachel answered. "I've got the perfect art form."

"Oh?"

"Tattoos," Rachel beamed.

"Tattoos?"

"Yes. I've actually done a lot of research on them because, in the back of my mind, I've always kind of wanted one," Rachel said. "And there is a tattoo parlor not too far from here. We can go there tomorrow."

"Tattoos…" Quinn said again. "I like it."

Later that evening, Shelby marveled at the quiet in the house. All three children were asleep and she was headed there as well. She did a quick room check for Quinn and found that the girl was asleep. She stood longer in Rachel's doorway watching her sleep, looking for any signs of a nightmare, but the girl didn't move. Her deep breathing and way she clutched her quilt were normal for Rachel and Shelby quietly shut the door.

The following morning, Shelby found herself anticipating the letter that Rachel was supposed to have written for her. She didn't expect to find anything very revealing and she wouldn't be surprised if Rachel hadn't done it at all. But at the last moment, just before she stepped out of the house, Rachel put a folded up piece of paper in her mother's hand. Shelby waited until the girls were in the car and gone before she dared to open it. Inside the note she found one line written in Rachel's surprisingly sloppy handwriting.

"Where are you, Mom?"

**A/N – Please leave me a review. I do so enjoy and appreciate hearing from you guys.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N – Guys, thank you so much for the reviews and messages. And thank you to those of you have the story or me as an alert. I truly appreciate it. **

**Disclaimer – I wanted to hold the new Golden Globe, but Ryan Murphy wouldn't let me. He kept saying that I don't own Glee. **

"Where are you, Mom?"

Shelby said the words aloud as she continued to stare down at the note Rachel had given her. Tears formed in her eyes and she was momentarily rooted to the spot. By the time she got her feet moving and opened the front door in order to call Rachel back to the house; Quinn's car was already out of the driveway and carrying to two girls towards the school. Shelby shut the door and wiped at her eyes. Her heart ached for what Rachel had been through and she cursed the girl's fathers yet again. Couldn't they see what they had been doing to her all that time?

Shelby thought back over Rachel's reluctance from the night before. She had initially pushed her daughter to write the letter because she thought it would be a good way to perhaps get inside Rachel's head and learn about some of the things that were bothering her. Shelby was convinced that if she could just get Rachel to open up a little then maybe the girl wouldn't be so worried about her past. The very notion that Rachel blamed herself for her fathers' shortcomings was enough for Shelby to want to question her further. Combine all of that with the nightmares and now this little note, Shelby knew that she needed to get Rachel to talk to her.

Shelby had been doing a lot of research in between sessions for her students. She talked to doctors about the psychological effects a situation like Rachel would leave on a kid, especially a kid who had been entering her teenage years at the time. Rachel had been an only child and used to getting all the attention from her fathers when she was younger. They clearly doted on her as a small child and gave her the things that she wanted like voice and dance lessons. The impact of suddenly being alone and having to make all of her own choices would have been pressing on a child like Rachel.

On top of all of that, Rachel blamed herself for her parents being gone. She must be carrying around a lot of guilt and anger at herself, even more than the anger she directed at her fathers. In fact, Shelby wasn't really certain at all that Rachel was angry with her dads. Even as Rachel was able to confront them and tell them she needed more, she still held onto her love and loyalty to them.

Shelby sat down at the table in the kitchen with a new cup of coffee and gave a little thanks that Beth was still sleeping. She set Rachel's paper down in front of her and looked at the four words that conveyed so much. Shelby thought back to where she was when Rachel was twelve. She had been here in town teaching at Carmel and doing everything she could not to think about her daughter everyday. She knew she was not allowed to see her and it was a blessing to be in the same city. If she had only known about Rachel's life and situation, she would have stepped in long ago. She still couldn't believe that she walked away a second time after meeting Rachel earlier in the year. She had seen a confident young woman and their reunion had not gone like either of them had planned. Looking back on it though, it was so easy for Shelby to see the clues that Rachel had been giving her. The subtle hints were not so subtle anymore and she wished she could have those couple of months back.

Shelby wished there was more she could do to help Rachel. She needed to get Rachel to open up to her, but how? She wanted to make sure Rachel felt like she could be a kid again and she was doing her best to be the parent of a fifteen-year-old. And while Rachel listened for the most part and accepted her punishment when she didn't, Shelby still had to break through that exterior that Rachel held onto. Rachel had been making all of her own decisions and not answering to anyone in a long time. Rachel was smart, and had her moments of maturity, but no kid ever gave themselves consequences for their own actions. It was what Shelby had tried to explain to Rachel after the drinking at the party and it was then that she found out that Rachel thought Shelby would give her back. Shelby knew that was deeper than Rachel simply upset at the thought of being punished and she needed to get down to those insecurities and try to put them to rest. Shelby did not particularly want to follow through on her promise of a spanking to Rachel should she hear that again, but she would. Who knows, it may be just what Rachel needs to grasp onto that feeling of being a kid and being with a parent who wasn't going to leave her, no matter what.

Shelby also knew that her frustrations were rising with Rachel's every refusal to talk to her. The girl had successfully brushed off the nightmares and had pretty much flat out refused to work on the letter Quinn had to work on. Shelby wasn't sure what she would have done or suggested if Rachel had not finally agreed to write the letter to her mom. Part of Shelby wanted to put Rachel in her place and say, 'I'm the mom and that's why,' but part of her wanted to let Rachel go and have her space.

A cry pealed out over the baby monitor that was close by and Shelby's attention was pulled to the now very much awake Beth. She left the note on the table and took another long sip of coffee before she got up and headed for the stairs.

Rachel and Quinn walked towards the choir room with their lunches, avoiding the throngs of people in the hallway. The bell had rung only moments prior and the halls were crowded. Rachel had caught up to Quinn and was going to head to the library to get some studying in when Quinn suggested that they eat in the choir room first. Rachel agreed, knowing that it would be easier to eat first rather than have to try and sneak her food around the watchful eyes of the old ladies who ran the library.

"How'd your history class go?" Rachel asked with a smirk as she opened her bottle of water and took a sip.

"Fine," Quinn answered. "I better get an A on that stupid letter or your mom might flip out or something."

"I'm still curious as to where you thought you were going to sneak away to last night," Rachel said. "I don't think it would have taken Shelby all that long to figure out where you were."

"I hadn't thought that far ahead," Quinn admitted. "I just figured that you had her distracted well enough for her to forget that it was my assignment in the first place."

"No such luck," Rachel said. "I'll try harder to distract her in the future though."

"No need," Quinn said. "I learned my lesson. I'm not going to bring up the subject of my homework again if there is any indication that your mother is around and can hear me."

Rachel only laughed at her friend's declaration.

"She threatened to send me to bed early!" Quinn said, laughing.

"Been there and done that," Rachel said. "She's pretty serious about her going-to-bed-early threat."

"Speaking about telling her about assignments," Quinn said. "Are you going to tell her what you decided on for our assignment for Glee? Do you think she'll like the tattoo idea?"

"I think perhaps it would be best if we wait to tell her about it until all of our research has been completed," Rachel said. "I don't think she's opposed to tattoos or anything, but it's never really come up so I don't know."

"Ok," Quinn agreed.

"I've done a lot of research on them in the past so it shouldn't take too much time to formulate a proper presentation for Glee," Rachel said. "I've always kind of wanted a tattoo so I've read a lot about them."

"Really? You want a tattoo?" Quinn asked. She was kind of shocked. Rachel did not seem like a tattoo person at all. Quinn half expected Rachel to include a lecture about not getting any tattoos because it would be bad for the career she dreamed of. "What do you want?"

"I've had a few things in mind. I would want something that represented me, but would be small enough to be hidden when I go on my future auditions," Rachel said and Quinn smiled knowingly. "I've always thought about getting a gold star. A small one, of course. How about you? Have you ever thought of getting a tattoo?"

"Not really," Quinn said. "But I wouldn't dismiss the idea. I have no idea what I would get though."

"We'll have to look into that," Rachel said.

"Hey, losers," Santana greeted as she and Brittany entered the choir room. Puck followed closely behind. "We looked for you in the cafeteria and then figured you must be in here."

"Hello, Santana," Rachel said, putting on a smile. She was still unsure of the girl and how she would be treated. "Hi, Brittany, Noah," Rachel said to the other two.

"Hi, Rachel," Brittany said. Puck nodded and Santana just sat down.

"Does your mom know you're in here, Squirt," Santana said, though not unkindly. "We don't need you to get in anymore trouble."

"Why is that, Santana?" Quinn coaxed the girl. She smirked at her Latina friend over the top of Rachel's head. Rachel was looking at Santana somewhat wide-eyed and eager.

Santana shot the head cheerleader a glare and then fixed her stare on Rachel. She was about to open her mouth when Brittany spoke up for her.

"Because she misses Rachel being in Glee club."

Quinn's grin widened and Puck laughed as he made his way across the room to pick up a guitar. Rachel looked around at them, not sure if she was being picked on or not. She finally looked back to Santana who was looking her over, loafers and argyle socks up to the red sweater with the rocking horse on it she wore today. Rachel felt suddenly self-conscious and looked down at her hands.

Quinn's grin disappeared at Rachel's new demeanor and she shot a look at Santana. Santana rolled her eyes and stuck a foot out and nudged Rachel's knee with it.

"I will admit that I do miss you being around in Glee," Santana said when the girl looked back up at her. "You usually know what you're talking about and even though you have a habit of telling people when they're not singing properly, I get that you're trying to help. Glee will be better when you return."

Rachel's eyes were wide at Santana's little speech and she beamed when the girl was finished.

"Thank you, Santana. I appreciate your honesty. And I vow to try and present any criticisms in a more thoughtful and kinder manner from here on out," Rachel said.

Santana seemed to accept that and the two shared a small smile before Puck spoke up asking about the assignment that Mr. Schue had given them the day before.

"I don't understand this assignment," Brittany said.

"For once, you're not alone," Quinn said. "I don't understand it either."

"I've already started on my graffiti research," Puck said, strumming a few chords on the guitar he'd picked up.

"Of course you have," Santana said. "Where did you put it?"

"That's classified information, babe," was Puck's answer.

"You're crazy," Santana told him.

At Santana's words Puck started to play a familiar song and Rachel even clapped when he sang the first line of the chorus.

"You may be right," Puck sang. "I may be crazy. But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for."

Rachel jumped up and started to sing along and was quickly followed by Santana, Quinn and Brittany. Puck played the guitar and the five enjoyed a few minutes with Billy Joel before the bell rang signaling they needed to get to their next class.

"Don't tell mommy about this, Munchkin," Santana said to Rachel on her way out. "I don't want to have to kick your ass if you're not back in Glee next week."

Shelby sat at home picking at her lunch. She smiled at Beth who was sitting in her high chair and eating some of the dry cereal Shelby had put on the tray. Rachel's letter was still open and on the table and Shelby could not help but glance at it every now and again. She was so fixated on it and worried about it that she had almost driven down to the school in order to take Rachel out early so they could talk about it. She had ultimately decided against it though. But she felt she needed to talk to someone about it.

Shelby reached for her phone and called her mother, hoping she'd get a hold of the woman when she wasn't busy.

"Shelby," Rebecca greeted. "How are you today? How are Beth and Rachel?"

"We're fine, Mom," Shelby said. "I was hoping I could talk with you about something if you're not busy."

Rebecca assured Shelby that she wasn't busy and so Shelby launched into the whole story about Rachel saying Shelby wanted to give her back and the nightmares and how Rachel reacted to the visit with her father and then the resistance to the letter writing from the night before. She finally got to the one line Rachel had actually written her when Shelby had been able to convince her to write a letter.

Rebecca had listened quietly and intently to Shelby's story and made sure to collect her thoughts before she spoke up.

"She blames herself for them leaving her alone and now she thinks you want to send her back?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm not sure if she thinks that anymore," Shelby said. "But she won't talk to me about anything either. I'd be willing to bet that the nightmares having something to do with it as well, but she keeps saying they're just nightmares. I don't know how to get her to open up."

"You can't force her to talk to you," Rebecca said. "As much as you would like to. She needs to know she's safe and that she can tell you these things without you wanting to walk out on her. She doesn't trust you yet."

"I don't know how many different ways I can tell her that I'm not going anywhere," Shelby said.

"You'll just have to keep saying them over and over again, I think," Rebecca told her. "It sounds to me like she's not just worried about what she thinks she did to drive her fathers away, but that she's worried that it's her herself that drove them away. Not necessarily a specific action or misdeed, but that they didn't like her for who she is. She's not afraid of misbehaving, she's afraid you won't like her after a while."

Shelby sniffed away the tears that were threatening to fall as she listened to her mom. "How could she think that? How could her fathers let that thought linger in her head?"

"It's not an easy situation and it's not an easy solution," Rebecca said. "You're going to have to try and make her understand everyday."

"I'm doing my best," Shelby said. "I actually think we might start to work through some of it today. She did write that note and maybe that's her way of saying that she's ready to let me in a little bit."

"I hope you're right, Honey," Rebecca said. "Please let me know how it goes.

After promising to keep her mother up-to-date, Shelby went into the mid afternoon with a new sense of hope that Rachel would finally open up to her today. The note said it all. She was looking for her mother to come and get her. And Shelby had her now and was not going to let her go.

Shelby also reasoned that Rachel's note conveyed some of the anger that her child had pent up at her, at her fathers, at the situation. She needed to help Rachel work out some of that anger.

Yes, Rachel had written that one-sentence letter for a reason and Shelby was looking forward the getting to talk with her about it.

The drive to Rachel's school that afternoon was a long for Shelby. She felt like she caught every red light and she even had to wait for a train to pass. Rachel was already out of the school and waiting for her when Shelby pulled up. Rachel quickly put her book bag in the back seat and said a quick hello to Beth before climbing in the front seat. She was in a great mood and Shelby did not get a word in as Rachel told her about the day. She smiled contentedly at her child's happiness and simply decided to wait until they got home to talk about the letter. Not that she could have brought it up in the car anyway, Rachel was talking a mile a minute. The only thing about her day that Rachel didn't mention was singing in the choir room because she wasn't sure if that was allowed or not.

Rachel dropped her book bag by the door in the foyer and moved to the kitchen with Shelby behind her carrying Beth who was sleeping in the baby carrier. Rachel noticed the letter on the table immediately and looked at it as she grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. Rachel stole a surreptitious glance at Shelby and then moved to the table. She took a drink of her water nonchalantly while she picked up the letter and tried to hide it away. She felt her mother standing behind her and reaching around to take the letter out of her hand. Rachel tried to hold it away, but Shelby simply leaned into her and let her longer arms do the work and took the paper from her daughter.

"Let's talk about this, Rachel," Shelby said as she stepped back so Rachel could turn around.

"Why?"

"Because it's something that we need to talk about."

"I can't," Rachel said, refusing to meet her mom's eyes. "I've got homework I need to work on."

"Don't lie to me, Rachel," Shelby said. This talk was already not going as she had imagined it would after the phone call with her mother. "We need to talk about this. _You_ need to talk about this. Your letter says, 'Where are you, Mom?' Well, I'm right here. Talk to me."

"No," Rachel said as she tried to get past. She was stopped by her mother.

"Yes."

"No," Rachel said again. This time she was able to slip past Shelby and out of the kitchen. Shelby took a quick look at Beth and saw that she was still asleep and went after Rachel. She caught up to the girl as she was taking her first couple of steps up the stairs. She took a firm hold on her arm and brought her back down to the main floor and led her into the living room and sat her down on the couch. Shelby watched as a range of emotions passed over Rachel's features. Everything from worry to fear and shame before it finally settled on defiant.

"Rachel, you and I are going to talk about this," Shelby said. "Something is going on and whatever it is you're so concerned about, you need to tell me so I can help you."

"I'm not concerned about anything," Rachel lied.

"Rachel," Shelby said with an exasperated tone. "Don't lie. The nightmares-"

"They're just nightmares," Rachel cut in. "Everyone has nightmares from time to time." Rachel didn't dare mention the times she had had them before Shelby found her on the couch that morning.

"Two nights in a row? And what about everything you said after you visited your dad?"

"What about it?" Rachel asked. "It didn't go as I planned and I was venting."

"Why didn't it go as planned?"

"Can we drop this?" Rachel asked, rising to her feet.

"No, we cannot drop this," Shelby answered. "Sit down." Rachel sat down and crossed her arms across her chest making her appear the petulant child she was acting like. Shelby sat down on the coffee table opposite Rachel and the two studied each other for a long minute before Shelby spoke again.

"Can you at least tell me what you mean when you wrote that letter? If it's nothing like you say it is, why write that at all?"

In this question, Rachel found her way out, she thought. "I wrote it because you made me. I didn't want to write anything at all and you kept insisting that I had something to say and that I'm carrying some deep secret. But I'm not and you simply refuse to believe that." Her voice was raised now and Shelby sat back, stunned.

"Why do you feel you have to know every single thing about my life?" Rachel continued. "That letter I wrote meant nothing. I wrote that line because it was the shortest thing I could come up with and I knew you'd be upset by it."

With that Rachel was on her feet and racing for the stairs. Shelby sat stunned for a few moments. Rachel had done it on purpose, and worst of all, she did it to hurt her? She was not going to let it go at that and she too got to her feet and headed for the stairs.

"Rachel, you come back here right now." Shelby's tone was not one that Rachel had heard before and it made her stop with her hand on the knob of her bedroom door. She thought about ignoring her and going on into her room, but it was just a fleeting notion because something in Shelby's tone told her she had better turn around and face her mom.

"Come here," Shelby said when Rachel finally turned and looked at her. She could tell that the girl was hesitating and so she added a, "Now."

Rachel let go of the doorknob and slowly made her way towards Shelby. She stopped in front of Shelby but kept her eyes downcast.

"I think you're lying Rachel," Shelby said. "I don't think you wrote that letter out of spite or to hurt me. I think you wrote it because you're scared and you're searching for any way you can to tell me how you feel except by actually telling me." Shelby put a hand to Rachel's chin and titled the girl's head up so she would look at her. Shelby saw the tears swimming in Rachel's brown eyes, but she pressed on. "What do you need to say? What do you need to ask? I'm right here."

Rachel shook her head no and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Rachel, I am telling you to talk to me. You're my kid and I need to know how I can help you. I want to help you and I can't do that until you tell me what's wrong."

Rachel shook her head again and the tears spilled over this time and all she said was, "please, Mom."

Shelby released her chin and Rachel looked down again, sniffling. Shelby was at a loss. She was frustrated at Rachel's refusal to talk. And she was hurting at Rachel's tears. She was angry at Rachel's tactics and lies and she was disappointed that Rachel didn't feel comfortable enough to open up to her.

"Fine," Shelby said. "We can wait on talking about. And we can also wait on the talk we're going to have about lying." Rachel visibly stiffened at this point, but she nodded her head. "I think you should stay in your room until Quinn gets home," Shelby instructed, knowing it would still be about two and a half hours until the blonde got there.

Rachel brought her gaze up to meet Shelby's eyes and asked, "why?"

Shelby put an arm around Rachel's shoulders and led her down the hall towards her room. She reached out and turned the knob and swung the door open. "In this house, Rachel, we do not do things to hurt people on purpose." She punctuated her sentence with a hard swat to Rachel's skirt covered backside and sent her into the room. "Stay off of your laptop and phone for a while. And no iPod."

Rachel turned to Shelby and nodded, the tears still visible on her cheeks. Shelby reached in and shut the door before making her way back downstairs to check on Beth.

Rachel glanced around her room and sighed before sitting down at her desk and slipping her shoes off. She made quick work of changing into some clothes to lounge around in before deciding to lie down for a while. Her day had been going so well up until Shelby had wanted to talk about the letter. Rachel curled up on her bed and looked out her window.

Thirty minutes later Shelby had returned to the second story with Rachel's book bag and Beth in her carrier. She expertly unbuckled the baby and moved her from the car seat to her crib without waking her up. Shelby was still amazed that she was able to do that. She smiled down at the sleeping child and then left the room. She walked over to Rachel's room and knocked. She wanted to return her book bag to her, or at least put it in the room so it was not simply on the floor by the front door. She poked her head in after she knocked and saw Rachel lying on the bed with her back to the door. Shelby could see that her shoulders were shaking and she quickly set the bag down and went to the bed. She kicked her shoes off and lay down next to her daughter.

"Rachel," Shelby put a hand on Rachel's waist. The girl rolled over and buried her head into Shelby's shoulder and cried. Shelby wrapped her arms around Rachel and rubbed her back. "Please talk to me, Rachel."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. I'm sorry if I hurt you and I'm sorry you had to sp-spank me."

"Oh, honey."

"I shouldn't act like a little kid," Rachel said. "I am more mature than that."

Shelby couldn't help but chuckle at Rachel's proclamation of maturity. "Rachel, it's ok to feel little."

Except that Rachel knew that it wasn't ok to be little. Her fathers had left her alone when she was little. She took comfort in Shelby holding her and slowly her tears subsided. The pair laid in silence for a long time after the tears had dried. Shelby had shifted to her back and allowed Rachel to rest her head on her chest. She was almost certain that Rachel had fallen asleep until the girl finally spoke up.

"Mom, I know you said I had to stay here until Quinn got home, but can I help you make dinner?"

It didn't take much convincing for Shelby to grant her reprieve and once they had gotten up, she took Rachel's hand and led her down the stairs and to the kitchen.

Dinner was nearly ready by the time Quinn got home. Rachel was glad that Shelby had let her out because Quinn arrived home more than hour later than did the day before.

"The Cheerio meeting ran over," she explained when she came in the front door.

"That's ok," Shelby said. "Dinner will be ready soon."

Quinn was careful to avoid all topics pertaining to schoolwork during dinner and instead let Rachel ramble on about some new Broadway show she had been hearing about. After the kitchen was cleaned Shelby said that she had noticed some groceries they needed, and since it was easier to shop without a baby, she told the girls to watch Beth and that she would be back after a while.

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked when she saw that Rachel had changed back into the clothes she had been wearing at school that day.

"We're going out," Rachel said. "We're going to go do some research about tattoos for Mr. Schue's assignment."

"Now?" Quinn asked, incredulous. "What about Beth? I don't have a car seat."

"We're going to walk. We'll take the stroller," Rachel assured her. "There is a tattoo parlor right up the road. We pass it everyday on the way to school. It's still early and we'll leave a note for Shelby. Come on."

Quinn agreed that it was still early. Shelby hadn't told them they couldn't take Beth for a walk. And this was basically what this was. Quinn couldn't imagine that they would be that long. She, of course, had to wait for Rachel to change Beth's clothes into a suitable outfit before they could go. Rachel didn't think that the cute, footed outfit with a giraffe on it was the right thing to wear for an outing to the tattoo parlor. She instead put the baby in a red, short sleeved onesie and a pair of jeans, with matching red socks.

"It makes her look more like a tattoo kind of girl," Rachel said when Beth asked why they had to change her.

"That makes no sense, Rachel," Quinn said. "You said you thought about getting a tattoo and look how you're dressed."

"Yes, but it has taken years to cultivate this style," Rachel said and Quinn rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't want Beth to go in there looking like every other baby who happens to have that giraffe outfit. She looks a little cool now. She's got a swagger."

"She looks a little like Puck," Quinn commented.

Beth looked at Quinn from her spot in Rachel's arms and titled her head a little. Quinn matched the tilt and Beth gave her a toothless smile. Beth titled her head the other way and Quinn followed suit. Both were smiling at each other when Rachel broke it off.

"She can do that for hours. Come on, let's go."

Sometime later Shelby was pushing a cart to her car from the local grocery store. The store was in a strip mall that housed lots of other regular stores and novelty shops. She opened the trunk of her car and placed the bags inside, quite pleased with the fact that it didn't take her as long as it normally did when she had Beth. Though the baby was still young, and Shelby knew it was going to be much harder to shop with a two-year-old, she was just able to get in and out quicker without her. She was grateful to have Quinn there to stay not only with Beth, but with Rachel as well. Not that her eldest needed a babysitter, but Shelby had not really left Rachel on her own for long periods of time before. She worried about Rachel being left alone simply because she wanted Rachel to feel that there was always someone right there for her.

Shelby shut the trunk and found she was staring at the tattoo parlor that had been in this shopping center for years. She didn't usually park on this side of the lot, but her normal spots had been full. It wasn't until a second glance that she saw something she thought she recognized. She knew that stroller. Who took a baby to a tattoo parlor? Shelby stepped a couple of feet closer and dropped her keys in shock. She knew that stroller because it was Beth's stroller. And she knew that because she could see Quinn standing inside holding the baby.

Shelby hastily picked up her keys and then swiftly crossed the parking lot. She was standing outside, looking in past the red TATTOO sign on the front window. And she did not like what she saw. Rachel was sitting in the chair behind the front desk looking intently at the man who was holding the needle gun up. She watched in horror as he brought the gun closer to Rachel.

"I'm going to kill them," Shelby said as she headed towards the door.

**A/N – Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought.**

**Also, the song that Puck and the ladies start to sing is You May Be Right by Billy Joel. It's an amazing song. Look it up.**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N – Thank you so much to everyone who reads and especially those who review. You guys are great. I mean it. The reviews mean a lot to me and I so appreciate getting to read your thoughts and opinions about the story. **

**Disclaimer – I still don't own anything. Sigh.**

The bells that were tied to the door handle of the tattoo parlor rang out suddenly causing both Rachel and Quinn to jump and look towards the door. The angry bells matched the angry woman and Quinn gasped a bit as Shelby stepped all the way into the parlor and gave them a hard look. She turned to look at Rachel and saw that the girl was wearing the same expression of shock and worry that she was. Rachel was able to change her expression much quicker than Quinn was though and hid her worry with a façade of calm.

Shelby surveyed the girls and she noticed their glances. She thought that even Beth seemed to be wearing an expression of guilt. She vaguely noticed the man asking if he could help her before she started talking. Well, yelling.

"What the hell is going on here? Rachel, you get up out of the chair. And you," she turned her angry stare on the man with the needle gun, "what do you think you are doing?"

"I, umm… They wanted…"

"They wanted what?" Shelby cut him off. "They are children. The one you are hovering over with that needle is only fifteen years old. Rachel, I said get out of that chair," she spoke to her daughter again when she realized the girl hadn't moved.

"Shelby," Quinn said, hoping to try and diffuse the situation. Shelby held up a hand to the girl and cut her off as she stepped closer to the counter.

"What kind of establishment is this?" Shelby again turned back to the man. "If there is one line tattooed on either of these girls I am going to call the police and the Better Business Bureau and this place will be shut down within the week."

"But, I… They…"

"Mom, stop yelling at Ben," Rachel said, still not moving from the chair she was occupying.

"Who is Ben?" Shelby yelled.

"He is," Rachel said pointing to the man with the needle gun.

Shelby turned her gaze back to the man who was about to tattoo God knows what onto her daughter and narrowed her eyes. He was wearing a sheepish smile and raised his hand slightly like he was in a class and the teacher was calling roll. Shelby looked him over and noticed that both of his arms were covered in tattoos. She could also see the tattoos creeping up his neck from under his gray t-shirt.

"I was just-" In his attempt to explain he had turned back towards Rachel, still holding the needle gun.

"Stop right there!" Shelby yelled. "You keep that needle away from her!" She came around the counter this time and took Rachel's arm and made her stand up. She moved the girl back around the counter placed Rachel behind her as she turned back to face Ben.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? Do you make it a practice of breaking the law and giving underage kids tattoos because they feel like it?" Shelby asked. "Don't you have any type of integrity about your work? I want your full name so I know who to report when I start making phone calls."

"But they-"

"I don't care what they told you. As soon as they came in here, you should have turned them right around and sent them home again," Shelby said. "You are the adult here. Why would you even let them in here in the first place?"

Shelby's anger was taking hold and Ben didn't have a chance. Rachel glanced at Quinn who was looking at her, silently telling the girl to jump in and explain. Rachel nodded her agreement and tried to step back around Shelby, but found it difficult since her mom still had a strong hold on her arm.

"Mom, wait," Rachel said, she wriggled free and was able to finally get around and stand in between her angry mother and the slightly scared Ben. "It's not Ben's fault."

"Of course it's his fault," Shelby countered. "You need to be eighteen to get a tattoo unless you have parental consent," Shelby trailed off as she finally looked down at her daughter. "What did you do?"

"I've always kind of wanted a tattoo and so I came in here a few weeks ago to pick up the permission slip." Rachel looked at Shelby with wide, earnest eyes as she tried to explain the predicament. "I'm quite adept at signing my fathers' names since I've had to do it so often over the last few years."

Shelby's look of anger deepened as she listened to her daughter start the explanation. She didn't care what Rachel wanted in this moment because when they got home, they were going to have that talk. Among other things. Shelby looked to the ceiling, feeling as if she'd need to count to a million before she calmed down.

Ben stood perfectly still, the needle gun held up in his hand as he listened to that little girl talk to her mother. This was not going to end well.

Quinn and Beth were staring at Rachel as the girl started to explain to Shelby what was going on. Rachel took the moment of Shelby looking at the ceiling to glance past her mother to Quinn and offer a small, devious smile. Quinn understood immediately and winked.

Rachel's expression had turned back to one of contrition by the time Shelby looked back down at her. "You are telling me that you forged your father's signature and decided you were going to get a tattoo behind my back?" Rachel nodded solemnly. "And you thought it would be a good idea to bring Quinn and your infant sister along with you when you did it?"

"Actually, Shelby," Quinn spoke up. "The more Rachel talked about it, the more intrigued I got. I thought maybe I would come here with her and possibly get one myself. Do you want to see the ones we were thinking about getting? Ben has already drawn up some designs…"

She trailed off when Shelby turned around and fixed the girl with her angry stare. Shelby took Rachel's arm again and then looked back over at Ben. "Don't move." He shook his head no and then watched as Shelby moved her daughter across the room to stand by Quinn.

"You both were going to get tattoos?" Shelby questioned in a soft, but dangerous tone. Both girls nodded. "And just how were you planning on paying for it?"

"With the money my mom gave me and you wouldn't take," Quinn answered and Rachel had to hide her appreciation at the brilliance of that answer. Shelby looked over at Quinn and the blonde girl could not hold her stare and lowered her head. Quinn didn't look over at her again until Shelby had turned her unwavering angry expression back to Rachel.

Shelby stooped a bit so that she was at Rachel's eye level and spoke very directly and clearly so that both Rachel and Quinn could hear her. "Rachel, you are quite mistaken if you think that the swat you received this afternoon is considered a spanking. But I promise you that I will show a real spanking as soon as we get home."

Rachel felt the color creep into her cheeks at Shelby's words and she didn't even bother to look over at Quinn to see her expression. Quinn's eyes were wide as she took in the seriousness of Shelby's words. She cast a quick glance at Rachel and then back at Shelby wondering what the woman had in store for her. She would not be surprised to hear the same sentence as Rachel.

"And as for you," Shelby looked over at Quinn, "I'm going to call your mother and let her decide what should be done. Understood?" Both girls nodded and a quick glance to each spoke volumes. Perhaps it was time to end the charade.

Ben stood on the other side of the room watching the scene and, though he couldn't hear what was being said, knew that it was serious. He knew he should have turned those girls away the moment they set foot in his parlor.

"And you two had better hope that I am right when I say I think I walked in here before Ben could give either one of you a tattoo," Shelby said, this time loud enough so that Ben could hear as well.

"Actually, one of us already got a tattoo," Rachel said. Well, almost time to end it.

Shelby sighed and then stepped back, but she pulled Rachel along with her. She started to push up Rachel's sleeves to check her arms and try and get a look at her shoulders. Finding nothing on her arms, Shelby turned her around and lifted the back of the sweater to try and see Rachel's back.

"Mom," Rachel protested, trying to keep her clothes in place.

"Holy shit," Ben muttered under his breath as he watched the scene unfold. Crazy mothers were the worst.

"Mom, it wasn't me," Rachel said. Shelby spun her back around and looked down at her daughter before moving her gaze over to Quinn.

Quinn took a couple of steps back as Shelby advanced on her. "Wait," Quinn said.

"Quinn," Shelby said, the warning tone evident in her voice.

Quinn was trying desperately to avoid the same inspection Rachel had just received. She shifted Beth in her arms so that she could use one hand to raise the sleeve covering the baby's left arm. Shelby stopped and stared when she saw the small heart with the word 'MOM' on her infant daughter's arm, up near her shoulder.

"She got it for you," Quinn said, smiling.

Shelby took a step closer and inspected Beth's obviously fake tattoo; the kind that was applied to little kids by rubbing a wet paper towel over the paper with the image and usually lasted for a few days. Beth was smiling and kicked her legs when Shelby moved her gaze from the shoulder to her baby's sweet face. She then looked at Quinn and saw the smile on her face. Shelby next turned to Rachel to find that her daughter was grinning devilishly at her. She looked to Ben, who still looked like he may pass out, and then suddenly realized the joke.

Shelby spent the next few moments trying to get her heart rate back to normal as she looked back and forth between her daughter and young houseguest, both of whom were trying not to laugh. She finally stepped over to Rachel and asked, "You weren't ever going to get a tattoo, were you?" Rachel shook her head no. "And you weren't going to give them tattoos, were you?" she asked looking at Ben.

"No, ma'am," he said. It was then that he finally moved his arm and put the needle gun down on a nearby table.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, looking back to Rachel.

"We're here to do some research for Mr. Schue's assignment," Rachel answered. "We have to study an art form we're not familiar with. And we picked tattoos. We decided to walk up here after you had already left for the store."

"You finally decide to do some homework outside of school and this is what you do to me?" Shelby asked with a laugh as she pulled Rachel in for a hug. The relief was evident in her body language as she placed a kiss on the top of Rachel's head.

Quinn stepped over to them and Shelby wrapped an arm around her as well. "And just when did you decide to let me think that you were both planning on getting one?" She placed a kiss to Quinn's temple as Rachel answered.

"About ten seconds after you started yelling at Ben," Rachel said. "It was kind of funny, don't you think? A good joke?" She blanched a bit as Shelby turned a stern expression back towards her. "All in good fun, Mom. Right? Mom?"

Rachel was backing away towards Quinn as Shelby approached her. "I just thought it would be funny."

"You know what'll be funny, Rachel?" Shelby said. "Watching you and Quinn scrub my house from top to bottom this weekend. You two can do that either before or after the essays you write me about tattoos." Shelby watched as the girls openly gasped and stared at her in complete shock. "I want it to be at least ten pages long. I want to know about the history, the dangers, the reasons for getting them, the impact on society, and how they are viewed by the public at large. To start with."

"But Shelby-"

"Mom, I-"

Both girls started to speak over each other as they tried to reason with Shelby. The woman only said "shhh" to quiet them as she took Beth from Quinn's arms and moved to talk to Ben. The girls looked at each other and sagged their shoulders in defeat at Shelby's proclamation.

"I'm so sorry," Shelby said to Ben, holding out her right hand for him to shake, which he did. "I jumped to conclusions, but I certainly was not expecting to see my teenage and infant daughters with their friend in a tattoo parlor this evening. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. It would have been easier on me if I'd let you explain instead of them."

"It's perfectly fine," Ben said. "I understand your reaction. And for the record, I turned them away as soon as they came in here. But the little brunette is quite persuasive and the next thing I knew I was talking to them about my experience with tattoos and then showing her the needle gun. That's where you walked in."

"Trust me, I know how persuasive she can be," Shelby chuckled.

"And her little tattoo should wash off in a few days," Ben said smiling at Beth and offering her a finger to hold. "My young nephews were here earlier and I always give them a fake tattoo. This one was still on the counter when they came in and they thought it would be funny to get it for you."

"I kind of like it," Shelby said as she glanced down at Beth's arm. "Thank you again. And I'm sorry for all the trouble." They shook hands again before Shelby placed Beth in her stroller and headed over to the girls who were still pondering Shelby's sentence to them.

"Mom, I'm really sorry," Rachel said, trying to argue on their behalf.

"Please, Shelby," Quinn added.

"It was just a silly joke," Rachel added.

Shelby stopped and looked at them, smiling at their pleading faces.

"Don't worry, girls. I just thought that one good joke deserves another." With that she walked out of the parlor, pushing Beth in front of her and leaving Rachel and Quinn standing there bewildered.

"Does that mean she was kidding?" Rachel asked Quinn.

"I hope so," Quinn said.

"Bye, Ben," they called out together, turning around to wave at the man before hastily following Shelby out to the car to clear up whether she was joking or not.

By the time they arrived home, the girls had been able to clear up that Shelby was indeed joking with them. Shelby was pleased to be having a pleasant end to what had been a really stressful and tiring day. Rachel's letter and her flat out refusal to talk about it had left Shelby angry and disappointed. But the tattoos had surely elevated her blood pressure and so now as she sat around the kitchen table with Rachel and Quinn, and Beth in her high chair, she soaked in the happy laughter and easy demeanor as the girls recounted her grand entrance into Ben's tattoo parlor.

"I thought maybe one of the veins in your neck was going to burst, Mom," Rachel said. "I think you scared Ben half to death."

Shelby only shrugged at that assessment and smiled at the girls. "It is a mother's right to freak out when she thinks her kid and kid's friend is getting a tattoo before they are an adult. One day you'll probably understand. May you both have kids that put you through that situation," Shelby said placing a familiar curse on them. "And I can't believe that you got Beth in on your schemes. My sweet little baby is already being led into trouble by her older sister."

"She was a willing participant, Mom," Rachel said. "She wanted a tattoo and she was determined to get one. And you see that she did. You're going to have to watch for her."

Shelby rolled her eyes and smiled at Rachel's joke. "I'll certainly have my hands full when you two can actually work together on one of your schemes."

"I don't scheme!" Rachel said causing both Shelby and Quinn to laugh.

"Tell that Beth one day when she sees the pictures of her 'MOM' tattoo," Shelby said.

"Are you really that opposed to tattoos?" Quinn asked her.

"No," Shelby answered, "but you two are way too young. I mean that," she said looking at them seriously.

"I have to admit that I've thought about getting one," Rachel said. "Just thought about it," Rachel clarified when she saw Shelby's stern look. "Did you ever want a tattoo? Would Nana let you get one?"

Shelby looked down at her watch and took note of the time. 9:58. Damn. "I brought up a tattoo to my mother once," Shelby answered. "And she completely freaked out, much like I did, and forbid me to get one. Ever."

"How old were you?" Quinn asked.

"I was nineteen," Shelby answered.

"But you were an adult" Quinn said. "You could get one if you wanted."

"Well, I was home for the summer after my freshman year of college," Shelby told them. "And I certainly wasn't as grown up at the time as I thought I was."

"What did you want?" Rachel asked.

"It was just something small, but your grandmother said no," she shrugged.

"And you just accepted that?" Quinn asked.

Shelby took a long sip of her water and eyed the girls, stalling.

"You didn't, did you?" Rachel said, a smile slowly spreading on her lips. "You got a tattoo."

Shelby looked down at her watch once more. 10:00. Thank God. "It's bedtime," she announced, but the girls didn't move.

"You did. You got a tattoo!" Rachel said. "What is it? _Where_ is it?"

"Come on, up. Bedtime," Shelby said. "Let's go."

"Shelby," Quinn said. "You have to tell us." The girls were getting to their feet because Shelby was and she ushered them towards the entrance to the kitchen.

"Mom," Rachel said.

Shelby sighed and realized there was no real way out of this. "Yes, I got a tattoo. A small one. It's a music note on my hip."

"That's so cool," Rachel said.

"I'm glad you think so." Shelby placed a kiss on Quinn's forehead.

"So I just need to wait four more years and then I can get a tattoo?" Rachel asked.

"No. I want you to be at least 25 before you get one."

"How is that fair?" Rachel asked.

"It's not," Shelby answered with a smile, hoping that this would be the last of it and there would be no more follow-up questions.

"What did Nana say?" And there it was.

Shelby kissed Rachel's forehead and said, "Goodnight girls." She nudged them towards the stairs, hoping they would turn and leave.

"Mom?" Rachel said. "Oh my god, she doesn't know!" Rachel said when she figured it out.

The girls laughed at Shelby's brief sheepish expression before she held her head higher and moved them towards the stairs.

"Mom, I can't believe you."

"That's so funny," Quinn said.

"Goodnight, girls." Shelby watched as Rachel and Quinn climbed the stairs talking to each other about her now known tattoo. God help her if her mother ever found out.

Shelby went back into the kitchen and smiled at Beth who was still sitting contentedly in her high chair eating the pieces of dry cereal that Shelby had set on her tray for her.

"That better be your last tattoo for a long while, little miss," Shelby said to Beth. The baby held a cheerio out towards Shelby and she happily bent down and opened her mouth for Beth to give her the cereal. "Thank you, honey."

Shelby picked up her glass of water to take another sip, but then set it back down and moved to the fridge. She sat back down a couple minutes later with a full glass of wine and took a sip and sat back and sighed. If there was ever any evening that called for a glass of wine, this was it. It really had been a hell of a day. She glanced back over at Beth and could see the fake 'mom' tattoo on the baby's arm and Shelby just shook her head and took another sip of her wine.

It was after 11:00 by the time Shelby was able to get Beth to sleep. She had rocked in the rocking chair in the nursery for a long time before bringing her over to put the baby in her crib. Shelby stood and watched Beth for a few minutes, comforted by the peaceful face and steady cadence of her breathing. Satisfied that Beth would stay asleep, Shelby then moved to her vanity and took off her rings, watch, and earrings and returned them to their proper places. She noticed Rachel's note sitting on the table from when she left it there earlier. Shelby picked it up and read it once again. She knew exactly what it said and wasn't sure why she felt she had to look at the words as if they may have somehow changed.

The words resonated in her mind once again and she thought back to what she was doing in her life when Rachel was twelve. She had been here in this house and working at Carmel. Vocal Adrenaline was working towards its first national title and she was receiving accolades about her coaching style and the programs they presented. She thought about Rachel all the time and if she had only known any of this was happening, she would have been right there for her. She wished she could get inside of Rachel's head and know what the girl was thinking about. She wished she knew what a twelve-year-old Rachel would have wanted to talk to her about.

Shelby took the note and dropped into one of the drawers of her dresser, in case Rachel spotted and tried to take it back again, and then went about getting ready for bed. Once her face was washed and teeth brushed it was nearing midnight and Shelby knew she needed to get to sleep. But she left her room to check on the girls first, as she did every night before she actually crawled into bed. It had come to include Quinn while she was here and it was the door to the guest room that Shelby opened first.

Quinn was sprawled out on the bed with an arm hanging over the side and the blankets bunched at her feet as if the girl had kicked them off. Shelby entered the room and carefully moved Quinn's arm and tucked in gently back on the bed. Next she pulled the blankets back up to Quinn's shoulders so that she would be covered and stay warm. Quinn rolled over to her side and opened her eyes ever so slightly before shutting them again.

"Shelby," Quinn murmured.

"Hmmm?" Shelby answered, her tone soft and soothing as if she were trying to coo her back to sleep.

"I miss my mom," the girl mumbled again, not awake, but not back into a deep sleep either.

Shelby smiled into darkness and the girl's sentiment and tucked the blankets tighter around Quinn's shoulders and body like she always did for Rachel. "I know, honey. She misses you too," Shelby whispered before placing a soft kiss on Quinn's head. The girl's breathing evened out and she slipping back into the deep sleep she had been in when Shelby first opened the door.

Shelby stepped out of the room and softly shut the door behind her. Rachel's room was her next stop and Shelby entered the room to find that Rachel was tucked securely under her blankets with one hand visible and holding onto her quilt, as it usually was when Rachel slept. Shelby sat on the edge of the bed and watched her daughter, half hoping that she would start mumbling in her sleep like Quinn had. She needed Rachel to talk to her when the girl wasn't guarded, but Rachel didn't speak or even move for the few minutes that Shelby sat there watching.

Shelby reached out and brushed some hair out of Rachel's face and smiled at the peaceful expression that made her daughter seem younger than she was. Would it have been a nightly ritual for Shelby to tuck Rachel in if they had been together when the girl was younger? Shelby came in to check on her when she was sleeping every night, but usually didn't tuck her in, in the traditional sense of it. Would Rachel have fallen asleep in her lap if they had been together years before now? Would Shelby have been able to carry her to bed? Would she mumble that she missed her mom when staying the night at a friend's house? Shelby had to blink back the tears at the thought of the time missed together. The one question that pounded in her mind was whether or not Rachel would feel she could talk to Shelby now if she had been there three years ago? What would Rachel have said to her?

Shelby placed a hand on the other side of Rachel so she could lean down and left a kiss on her daughter's head. "I love you, Rachel," Shelby whispered and then sat back up and got up to leave the room.

Another check on Beth and Shelby was finally ready to climb into bed. She pulled back her blankets and snuggled down into her pillow and drifted off to sleep thinking about Rachel and wondering about the younger child she never got to know.

The morning cam much too soon for Shelby's taste and before she knew it she was walking down the stairs and into the kitchen where she expected to find Rachel and Quinn already up and ready to go. Shelby didn't see either girl, but she took the time to start a pot of coffee before she set out in search of them. A check of the clock told Shelby that it was much too close to the time they needed to leave for school for neither girl to be down here and ready; especially Rachel who was usually the first one up every morning.

"Rachel. Quinn," Shelby called out to them, but not too loudly so she didn't wake Beth. "Let's get a move on. You two are going to be late for school." She stood and listened for a few moments from her spot at the bottom of the stairs, but she didn't hear anything from either girl.

"Rachel," Shelby said again. "Let's go. Now." There was still no response.

Exasperated, Shelby climbed the stairs and went in search of her daughter and momentary ward. She bypassed the guest bedroom and went straight for Rachel's room, flinging the door open when she got there.

"Ra-"

Shelby's word was cut short when she saw her daughter looking up at her. Rachel was giving her a funny look as she tried to figure out why her mom was staring at her like that.

"Mom?" Rachel asked. "Are you feeling ok?"

Shelby opened her mouth to speak a couple times, but nothing came out. She glanced around the room and tried to take it all in before her eyes settled back on Rachel.

Tears formed in Shelby's eyes as she looked at her daughter. It took her a few more moments before she found her voice and was able to talk again.

"Rachel? What is going on here?"

**A/N – Please leave a review and let me know what you guys thought of this one. Thanks!**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N – I'm so sorry for the long delay. I was sick most of last week and into the weekend and have just been really busy otherwise. I keep trying to not go any longer than a week in between updates and I know I missed that here. But I'm going to try harder to get them out more frequently. **

**Thank you so much to all of those who are sticking with me and reading and reviewing. I appreciate it so much. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

"Rachel? What is going on here?"

Rachel continued to stare at Shelby from her spot on the floor, a guilty expression playing on her face before she looked away and glanced around the room at the mess she had made. There were hundreds of pages of sheet music spread all over the floor, desk with bed and a twelve-year-old Rachel sitting in the middle of it all.

Shelby looked on the scene and all of a sudden couldn't place why she felt that there was something off about the whole thing. Was it something about the room? Was it a different color? Had the _Annie_ poster always been above the bed? She could have sworn it was by the window the last time she was in here? And there was something that stood out about Rachel that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Was she…smaller? Was her hair longer? Shelby wished she could remember. All of these questions left her when she noticed that Rachel was looking her way again, exactly like a kid who was caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Mom, I thought you had already left," Rachel said.

"Clearly," Shelby answered as she started to try and make her way into the room, attempting to avoid stepping on any of her sheet music. "What are you doing?"

"I was looking for a song to sing in the talent show at school. It's in a month and everyone has to clear their talent and presentation with Mrs. Winslow, that old bat, before they can participate."

"Rachel," Shelby admonished.

"What? It's true. She's like a hundred and forty-seven years old," Rachel said. "And she apparently is still mad at those cheerleader girls from last year for doing that creepy dance."

"Creepy dance?"

"Yeah, you remember. It lacked any artistic nuance and thought and was simply a vulgar display of sex-"

"Rachel."

"And that Quinn Fabray was the ringleader. I don't think she'd be able to get away with something like that if her parents were to ever actually show up at school for anything. I tried to offer my help to them, but they pushed me aside like they always do," Rachel said. "One day when I'm on Broadway they're going to regret having missed out on the chance to work with me. But it'll be too late by then because I won't want to have anything to do with them."

Shelby had finally made her way across the room, picking up music as she went, and stood over Rachel, her eyebrow quirked as she stood waiting for an explanation.

"And I was going to have all of this picked up and put away before you got home from your meeting ," Rachel said as she scrambled to her feet and started to pick up the music.

"Meeting? Shelby asked. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for school?" She could have sworn that today was a school day.

"It's Saturday, Mom," Rachel said. "You only have to go to school on Saturdays if you get a Saturday detention," Rachel stole a glance at Shelby. "And I promise that I won't get that again. But it's honestly not my fault that my peers refuse to listen to any type of reason when confronted with song choices that are obviously better than the ones they pick out. And Mrs. Winslow has no idea how to resolve a conflict even when presented with all the facts. Why do I always end up with choir directors who won't listen to me? I can't wait until I get to go to Carmel and be in Vocal Adrenaline with you," Rachel finished. She hoped the rambling at the end was enough to distract her mother away from the punishment she'd been grounded for months earlier.

Shelby stood there trying to process the rambling and barely noticed when Rachel took the music she had been holding so the girl could add it to her pile on the desk. "I forgot I had a meeting," she said finally. "And I was going to leave you here all alone?"

"Yeah Mom, I'm not a kid. I can stay by myself," Rachel said, looking at Shelby like she was crazy.

"But only for short periods of time, honey," Shelby said.

"I know, I know," Rachel said. "If you ever needed to go away for any long period of time I'd stay with my dads or with Nana and Grandpa." She recited it as if she'd heard this particular speech many times before.

Shelby had the sudden urge to hug her child and as the girl straightened the piles of sheet music on her desk, Shelby stepped over to her and bent down and wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist. Rachel was never one to pass up a hug and put her arms around Shelby's neck and smiled when her mom picked her up. Shelby held Rachel close and she could swear she felt like she was getting to hold Rachel for the first time.

By the time Rachel started to squirm her way out of Shelby's arms, the moment had passed and Shelby was busy helping Rachel put the music back in its proper order. Rachel saved out her selection of "Not for the Life of Me" from _Thoroughly Modern Millie_ and the pair carried the rest of the music up to the third story music room to put it away.

"What are your plans for the day?" Shelby asked once they were finished.

"Well seeing as how it's Saturday, I was supposed to hang out with Daddy, but he called and cancelled this morning. Again."

"I'm sorry," Shelby said.

"That's ok," Rachel told her. "I thought maybe you and I could spend the day together, now that you're home from your meeting."

"I'd love that," Shelby said. "We can do anything you want."

"What about your meeting?"

"I can skip it," Shelby answered. "I'm not even really sure what it's for. So tell me. What would you like to do today?"

"Well…" Rachel drawled and Shelby knew that her choice of words may come back to haunt her. She mentally prepared herself for whatever outlandish scheme that Rachel was throw her way. Knowing her daughter, she could end up trying to talk Shelby into letting her learn to drive her car now. Rachel had already hinted at it despite her young age. Teaching Rachel to drive was not a prospect Shelby was looking forward to. At all.

"Well…" Shelby parroted when Rachel didn't complete her thought.

"I was thinking that we could paint my room today. It's been the same color for years and I know we've been talking about it, but we never seem to find the time to get it done and now seems like a perfect day. It's not too hot outside so we can keep the windows open so we can have proper ventilation. And I've been thinking about adding some new posters to my walls and changing where I have some of the ones that are up now." Rachel spoke quickly, as if she was testing Shelby's ability to keep up with her.

"I think we could get it done pretty quickly, Mom. It probably wouldn't even take much more than half a day. You could work on the parts that are really high up and I can do all the trim since we both know that you're terrible at doing the trim," Rachel continued on. She figured as long as she kept talking her mother couldn't say no. "We could put on some music and sing and paint and it'll be the best day ever, Mom."

Shelby couldn't help but smile at Rachel's enthusiasm and her obvious attempts at manipulation. She didn't see why they couldn't paint the room, but it was fun to watch Rachel try and talk her into it.

Rachel stepped up to Shelby and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and leaned her head on her chest. "Please, Mom. It's been the same colors since I moved in here with you permanently five years ago. And Daddy never let me pick the colors of my room and I had to live with that horrible shade of yellow they thought I would like. I like yellow, I do, but that really was a terrible color. And I know I picked out the colors that are on the walls now in my room, but that feels like forever ago and I was such a little kid then and I'm so much more grown up now. I just feel like I need a change."

Shelby wrapped her arms loosely around Rachel's shoulders and leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"I already have a couple ideas for paint colors," Rachel started up again. "It wouldn't take us that long to pick out the paint and get started. If we left now-"

"Ok, Rach," Shelby cut her off. "There's no need to sell it anymore. We can paint your room. How about we get an early lunch and then head to the store?"

"Great! Thanks, Mom!" And with that, Rachel was off in a dash, the hug forgotten. She was down to her room and pull out some shoes before Shelby had even made it part of the way down the stairs.

True to her word, Rachel had indeed been researching and knew the colors she wanted to look at. It didn't take her long to settle on a pretty light green color for the walls and a complimentary pink for the trim. They were back home with all of their supplies before Shelby knew it. She barely remembered her or Rachel changing clothes or laying the drop cloths or pouring the paint. She was working with a roller, covering up the purple paint that was on the walls with the green Rachel had selected. Rachel lay on her stomach on the floor working with a paint brush along the top of the baseboard.

"We could paint your room too when we're done with mine," Rachel said to Shelby.

"That's ok," Shelby said. "I really like the colors up in my room. What made you want to change yours?"

"I just felt like I needed something different," Rachel said. "While I still love the shade of purple, I thought the green was really pretty. And purple doesn't feel very grown up."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Rachel, but you are not grown up," Shelby said lightly.

"But I'm much more grown up than when I picked it out at seven!" Rachel protested. "And I heard people talking and they said that only babies would have a room that was purple."

Shelby glanced down at Rachel sympathetically as she heard the real reason for the need to change wall colors. She knew that Rachel didn't have many friends and the girl tried to present herself as a person who wasn't susceptible to all of the teasing, but Shelby knew there were times it truly bothered Rachel. And in an instance like this, there was something that Rachel could do to change it and so she was. But she didn't want her daughter changing her opinion of things because other people were laughing at her.

"Rachel, I hope you're not painting your room because you were teased about it. If you like the purple, that's all that matters."

"But I've been thinking about it for a while and I do want to change the color," Rachel countered. "Everyone needs a change every once in a while. Don't you like the color?"

"I love it, honey," Shelby said. "It's going to look great in here when it's all completed."

"I hope it's dry by the time I go to bed tonight," Rachel commented after a couple of minutes.

"I want you to stay with me tonight," Shelby said. "Or in the guest room. I want to give you room a chance to air out completely."

Rachel nodded absently at Shelby's decision and then turned her concentration back to the section she was painting. Not one to let the silence linger for very long, Rachel began to sing one of her favorite songs, a Barbra Streisand one that Shelby had taught her long ago. Shelby soon joined her and the pair sang as they painted, no doubt serenading any neighbors who may be walking by.

An hour or so into it, Rachel had paint all over her hands and it was working its way up her arms. Shelby kept telling her to be more careful and to not get paint everywhere, but it seemed inevitable. Rachel was surprised at well Shelby was able to keep herself clean, but it was easier when you were handling the roller with the long handle and not a paint brush. Still, Shelby did manage to get a couple of spots on her pants and one on a sleeve.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"Why do you think Daddy keeps cancelling? Do you think it's because of what happened the last time I was there?" Rachel kept her eyes focused on the wall in front her and did not look at her mom. "The whole thing really was my fault. But I apologized over and over. I even wrote them a letter saying how sorry I was."

"It was all an accident, Rachel," Shelby assured her. "Nothing you did is that bad. None of this is your fault. I'm sure they're just very busy and are working out when you can go over there next. And I saw your letter and it said everything you needed to say." Shelby was determined to have a talk with those men soon about what they were doing to Rachel. Someone needed to set them straight about time spent with their daughter and she was going to be the one to do it.

"Yeah, I guess," Rachel mumbled. "I just wish I understood what I could do to make it better."

"There's nothing you have to make better, Rachel. You're a kid. Do you understand that?"

"Yeah," Rachel mumbled again.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel answered clearly this time.

Another couple of hours and Shelby was pouring the last of the green paint into the roller tray so they could finish up with the last part that needed the second coat. She left the room to get them each a bottle of water, promising to return in a moment to help start to clean up once Rachel was done with her part. Rachel stretched across the floor, still on her stomach and reached for the tray. If she had been looking she would have noticed that Shelby had moved it some and it wasn't until her elbow landed in the cold liquid that it wasn't where she thought it would be. Rachel gasped and in her haste to pull her arm away, ended up tilting the tray until most of its contents had spilled onto the drop cloth on the floor and subsequently all over Rachel herself. She dropped her paintbrush and stood up, trying to avoid the green goo, but was unsuccessful. There would be Rachel sized footprints all over the cloth by the time this was over. The entire front of her shirt was covered and it was dripping down onto the sweatpants that were cut off at the knees that she was wearing for the occasion. Rachel turned towards the door when she heard Shelby returning and realized there was no way she could hide this. She instead crouched down facing the wall and picked up her brush and started working on the last part she was trying to finish up.

"Here's your water," Shelby said as she stepped in the room and set the bottles on the desk. It was then that she noticed the puddle of paint on the floor. "Rachel."

Rachel sprang to her feet and turned so her mom could see her, a devilish smirk playing on her lips. "I accidentally spilled it."

"I see. And you stay right there," Shelby said when she noticed that Rachel had taken a step towards her.

Rachel lunged forward towards her mother, leaping up and forcing Shelby to catch her. Shelby did and Rachel wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and lifted her legs up to wrap them around her waist. Shelby groaned, not at the weight, but at the fact that she was now getting covered in paint. She stood still and let Rachel squeeze her tightly in an attempt to transfer as much paint as possible. Shelby smiled at Rachel's childish behavior before putting on a serious expression and setting Rachel down.

Rachel looked up at her mother's face and wore an expression of contrition. It only last a moment before she reached her hands out and put them to Shelby's cheek and pulled her mom's head down and placed a kiss on her forehead. Rachel let go and then started to giggle at the two perfect green handprints on Shelby's cheeks.

"The green suits you, Mom."

Shelby rolled her eyes but smiled at Rachel all the same. She enjoyed seeing this carefree version of her daughter every once in a while.

"And a shower is going to suit you, young lady," Shelby told her.

They both instinctively looked towards the door of Rachel's en suite bathroom and realized that they had blocked it earlier when they were moving furniture around the paint. Rachel would have to use the hall bathroom that was usually reserved for guests. Shelby pulled Rachel away from the puddle of paint, careful not to step in it herself, and stooped down so she could unceremoniously put Rachel over her shoulder, close to fireman style. Though she was twelve, she was still small and Shelby had no trouble lifting her off the ground.

"Mom," Rachel protested, though she put her hands on Shelby's back and smiled when she looked at the two handprints she had left.

"Rachel, I am not letting you get footprints, green or otherwise, all over the house. Don't touch anything."

The trip to the bathroom was short and Rachel listened and did not touch anything along the way. Shelby carefully set her down directly in the tub and then picked up a washcloth and held it while she turned the water on so that she wouldn't get green paint all over the handles. Rachel kept away from the cold water until it warmed up and she could start the shower spray. Shelby pulled the curtain and then stepped back to have a look at herself in the mirror. Courtesy of Rachel she now had green all over her clothes and hair. And, of course, there were the two green handprints on her cheeks. Shelby thought about what a great moment it was for a picture, but let it pass as she had no one there to take it. She grabbed another washcloth and set about the task of cleaning her face while waiting for her turn in the shower.

Hours later the pair sat in their pajamas on the couch watching a movie and picking at popcorn. The bowl was mostly untouched because Rachel and Shelby were much too involved with the movie. Try as she might, Shelby couldn't remember the name of it. She did know that it was scary and she had tried to turn it off several times, but Rachel was insistent that she wanted to watch it so that she could see the ending. Rachel kept inching her way closer to her mom until she was practically sitting in her lap. Rachel sat next to Shelby, but was leaning across her and letting her mother cradle her as one would a baby. Shelby covered her with a blanket and let Rachel turn in towards her at every attempt to shield her eyes from the screen.

"Can we go to bed now?" Rachel asked when it finally ended. Her face was still firmly pressed into Shelby's shoulder and Shelby was rubbing soothing circles in her back.

"Are you sure you want to go to bed now?" Shelby asked with a laugh.

Rachel only nodded.

"Do you want to sleep in the guest room or with me?"

"With you," Rachel answered immediately. "Are you going to sleep too?"

"Sure thing, honey," Shelby told her. She was able to get Rachel to sit up and then to her feet so they could make their way upstairs. Rachel held her hand the whole time and didn't let Shelby out of her site while they brushed their teeth and washed their faces before bed.

Shelby held back the covers while Rachel crawled in and then tucked them tightly around the girl once she had lay down and seemed comfortable. She kissed Rachel's forehead and then made her way around the other side of the bed and got in next to her daughter. Rachel's eyes stayed on her the whole time and she rolled over to her side so she could look at her mom in the bed. Rachel reached her hand out under the blankets and found one of Shelby's and held on tightly.

"It's ok, Rachel. I'm right here," Shelby spoke to her in soft tones, as if she was speaking a lullaby. "Just close your eyes."

"I can't. I don't want you to be gone when I open them again."

"I won't be gone. I'm going to stay right here," Shelby assured her.

"You'll never leave me, will you, Mom?" Rachel asked. Her eyes were wide and serious and she seemed to hold her breath as she waited for Shelby's response, as if her entire world hinged on the answer.

"I'll never leave you, Rachel. I promise. I'll never leave you." Tears formed in Shelby's eyes as she watched Rachel finally close hers; releasing the breath she had been holding as she did. Rachel's grip on her hand never lessened and Shelby used her thumb to rub the top of Rachel's hand in an effort to calm her. She waited until she was sure Rachel was finally asleep before she let her guard down and start to relax so she could go to sleep as well.

Shelby heard crying and she stirred in her sleep, rolling over to her side and hoping the noise would stop. Then she heard it again. And then there was her voice.

"Where are you, Mom?" she heard Rachel yelling. Crying. Shelby tossed onto her other side.

"Where are you, Mom?" The crying was louder this time. More insistent. Rachel must be having a nightmare because of the movie.

The thought of Rachel sprang Shelby into action and she awoke suddenly, sitting up in bed and feeling the space to her side as she tried to reach out for Rachel.

"I'm right here, Ra-" The space was untouched and had not been slept in. The crying was still there, growing louder and Shelby glanced around the room in confusion.

The sudden realization of the dream hit her when her eyes rested on Beth's crib and the crying infant inside. Shelby rubbed her face and threw back the covers and got out of bed and went to Beth. She picked the little girl up and cooed to her, gently rocking and swaying. Beth quieted and took comfort in her mother's arms. Shelby glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 2:11 in the morning. She groaned and left her room to go to the kitchen to prepare a bottle for Beth.

Beth drank happily while Shelby stared off into the darkness thinking about what had been a vivid dream. It was almost as if she could still feel Rachel holding onto her after she had leapt into her arms while covered in paint. She wished more than anything that she could have known Rachel when she was a younger child. It would have been her great joy to get to see Rachel grow and learn and thrive. She wished she could somehow get past the fifteen-year-old that lived with her now and talk to the twelve-year-old that still lingered in there somewhere. She needed that girl to understand that Shelby was always going to be there for her. She needed that girl to understand that no matter what happened with her fathers, it wouldn't change the way Shelby felt about her. She wished she knew how to communicate with that little girl.

It didn't take long for Shelby to get Beth back to sleep after she finished the bottle and once the baby was snug in her crib, Shelby once again went to check on Rachel. She quietly opened the bedroom door and stared in at the sleeping form. It didn't look like Rachel had even moved from the time closer to midnight that Shelby had looked in on her. She stepped farther into the room and stood by the bed for a few moments just watching before she leaned down and left a kiss on Rachel's head.

"I'll never leave you, Rachel," Shelby whispered into her ear. "I promise. I'll never leave you."

**A/N – Please leave me a review. All of you who guessed that Shelby was dreaming were absolutely right. I wanted to get to show Shelby having a few moments with a younger Rachel, even if it was all in Shelby's head. **


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N- Thank you so much for all of the reviews for the last chapter. I'm glad everyone seemed to like it. And thank you to those who are still with me and reading and reviewing. It is greatly appreciated. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Shelby left Rachel's bedroom and once again returned to her own room, knowing that she needed to get back to sleep. She didn't want to forget about the dream she had just had though and retrieved a notebook and pen from a bedside table and started to write down everything she could remember. The details came quickly and she wrote down everything from what Rachel was wearing to things she said to the green handprints on her face. Shelby filled up more than three pages with notes and thoughts about the dream and it was well after three by the time she settled back into her bed.

The morning came much too quickly for her liking and by the time she and Beth met the girls downstairs for breakfast, Shelby was already hoping that she could get Beth down for an early nap so she could take one too.

"Good morning, Mom," Rachel greeted cheerfully when Shelby entered the room.

"Good morning, honey," Shelby responded. "Good morning, Quinn."

"Sure," Quinn mumbled sleepily. She was sitting at the table with her head propped up on her hand with her eyes closed. Quinn was convinced that ever since she overslept that first morning, Rachel was making a little extra noise in the morning on purpose so that Quinn didn't get the chance to sleep even a minute past her alarm. In fact, she was usually up about twenty-five minutes prior to it going off thanks to Rachel happily (and loudly) going about her morning routine.

Shelby chuckled at the girl as she put Beth in her high chair and then went to pour herself a cup of coffee. She was half convinced that one of man's greatest inventions was the coffee machine on a timer that started to brew itself in the morning. It was a little slice of Heaven on Earth for the coffee to be ready and waiting for her by the time she got to the kitchen.

"Do you two have anything exciting going on today?" Shelby asked conversationally while Rachel ate a banana and Quinn picked at her cereal.

"Not really," Rachel said. "But I do plan to use this, my last Wednesday away from Glee, to do some further research on songs we could be doing for Sectionals. Mr. Schue usually turns all of my offers aside and doesn't listen to them, but someone in the club has to start thinking about the competition if he's not going to."

"We've been trying out different things," Quinn said. "He was impressed with how the songs we worked on over here last weekend sound, but he keeps adding new ones to the mix. It really is getting down to the wire for when we need to pick the ones we're going to perform and start to focus on them. Coach Sylvester makes us practice the same routines over and over and over again and we've won Nationals."

"I'm sure Mr. Schue is doing what he thinks is right for the club," Shelby told them, although she wasn't completely sold on that herself. No, she took that back. He is doing what he thinks is best; it just was not working out the way they all would hope.

"Maybe you could talk to him, Mom, and explain the types of things that need to be done in order to win a big competition," Rachel said.

"Maybe. But let me think about that, ok? It's his club and he can run it as he sees fit," Shelby told them.

Both girls agreed and were happy to have the prospect that maybe Shelby would talk to Mr. Schue at some point. But for now that would have to wait since they needed to get to school. Shelby held Rachel back for a few moments and held her in a long hug.

"I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too, Mom." Rachel felt like she was being smothered and she laughed as she tried to pull back. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Shelby said as she finally let her go. "Have a good day in school."

"Thanks, Mom. Bye!" Rachel met up with Quinn outside and Shelby watched until they pulled out of the driveway and were headed down the street.

Half way to school Rachel reached up and turned off the radio in the car and looked at Quinn expectantly. Quinn glanced over at her a couple times, giving her a confused look and finally raising her eyebrows as if to ask, 'what?'

"Rachel, if you didn't like the song, all you had to do was change the channel, you didn't have to turn it off," "Quinn said when she still didn't get anything out of her friend.

"It's not about the song, Quinn even though that selection was particularly awful." Quinn rolled her eyes. "It's about my question from earlier in the week. Have you given it some more thought?"

Quinn searched her brain trying to remember just what it was that Rachel had asked her. She wasn't really aware that she was supposed to be thinking about anything, much less deciding on a request. Rachel could tell that Quinn had no idea what she was talking about so she refreshed her memory.

"I asked you if you would teach me how to drive," Rachel clarified. "I believe you said you would think about-"

"I believe I said that our mothers would kill us both in my build up to a no," Quinn said. "I am not the person to teach you to drive, Rachel. Besides, can you even see over the steering wheel?"

"Very funny, Quinn," Rachel said, sarcasm present. "And why aren't you the person to teach me? And Shelby and your mom would never have to find out. I don't mean on the road or anything. We can stay in an empty parking lot or something. And that way by the time Shelby decides that I can get my permit, I'll already be that much farther ahead. In a roundabout way, you're actually helping Shelby because if I prove I can actually drive the first time she lets me behind the wheel, it'll take a lot of the stress off of her and she won't be so worried. You're doing her a favor, Quinn."

Quinn kept silent for a couple minutes as she drove towards school. Rachel was right; there were plenty of places they could go where neither of their mothers would ever find out. Lima was nothing if not the very definition of the middle of nowhere. She did agree though that Shelby was being too hesitant in letting Rachel learn to drive. It was a rite of passage and Rachel was missing out on it. And if they did stay in an empty parking lot, what's the worst that could happen?

"I don't know, Rachel," she finally said. "Can I think about it some more?"

"Sure! Thanks, Quinn. I know it's a big decision for you," Rachel agreed. "Who taught you to drive?"

"Lisa, the driving instructor for the class my parents put me in," Quinn said. "My mom would let me drive with her occasionally, but she was a nervous wreck the whole time. I didn't think she was ever going to let me drive again after I accidentally ran a stop sign and took out a trash can. But Lisa was great."

"Maybe I can get Shelby to sign me up for a class!"

"You have to already have your permit though," Quinn said and Rachel slumped back against her seat. Stupid learner's permit.

Shelby was taking the time in between her students' appointments to enjoy another cup of coffee while she went about the task of collecting laundry so she could start a load. Beth was napping in Shelby's room and the quiet in the house was settling. While Shelby still enjoyed the moments of quiet and time she got to spend to herself, she found that she missed all the noise that normally filled the house now. She missed it especially when she stepped into Rachel's room to empty the laundry from her daughter's hamper. There were only a few items since Rachel had just done some laundry a couple days prior and Shelby easily scooped them up and set them in her laundry basket.

On her way to the door, the laundry basket bumped into Rachel's desk and Shelby stopped to pick up some papers that had fallen off. She bent down to pick up the papers and found that a book had fallen too. It was open and Shelby realized it was the driver's manual that Rachel had been studying in order to get her permit. She flipped through a few of the pages and found that Rachel had been taking notes in the margins on almost all of them. Rachel had been writing everything from questions to tricks for remembering certain things to speculation about laws, one with a note saying she was going to look it up to see why that law was in place. Shelby hadn't quite realized how seriously Rachel was taking her studying. Of course she knew that the girl wanted to drive, but she could count on one hand the times she knew about Rachel actually studying. She realized now that the girl had been spending a lot more time on it that she thought.

Perhaps it was time. Shelby knew she had been spending a great deal of time worrying about how she could make Rachel trust her and now she understood that maybe she needed to show her daughter a little of the same trust in her.

Rachel didn't notice the group of people walking up to her as she sat in the library completing the homework she wasn't able to finish up in her classes. Rachel liked to work ahead and get homework out of the way and she made sure to use all of her free moments in her classes to work on her schoolwork. She wasn't as far ahead as she had been in the last few days because she had been spending her time the in the library studying for the exam she had to take in order to get her permit. But she realized she had left the book at home today and so it was back to her History work. If she had been looking up instead of bent over her text book, she would have noticed Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Mike approaching her.

"Hey, Rachel," Kurt said, in a whisper as they all sat down.

"Hi," she said to them. "What's going on?"

"I saw you come in here earlier and we just came into to say hello," Tina said. "Since we can't see you in Glee."

"I'm looking forward to next week," Rachel agreed.

"Has Quinn been keeping you up to date on what songs we're singing?"

"She tells me what you guys have been rehearsing, but she also said that Mr. Schue hasn't decided on an actual set list for Sectionals yet. I'm not sure what he's waiting on."

"We were actually hoping to talk to you about that," Mercedes said.

Rachel looked at them with a mixture of awe and trepidation. She knew things were changing and she was glad for it, but she was still used to them not listening to her ideas or suggestions.

"Will you ask your mother if we can practice with her again?" Kurt said.

"Oh. Umm, sure. It probably wouldn't be until this weekend, but I can ask her," Rachel said, smiling. She loved that her mom was someone that they could look to for help. They all knew that Shelby was the absolute best.

"The weekend?" Mike asked.

"Yeah. And besides, wouldn't it be best to wait until Mr. Schue has actually given us the set list before we start working on something?" Rachel said.

"There is no set list yet," Artie said, as he approached the table. "I just left Mr. Schue's office and he said he wanted to go over a few more songs and that he'd make a decision soon."

"We were thinking that if we get your mother to work with us on a few of the songs we all think will work well, we can be ready and show Mr. Schue how great they sound next week when you're back and hopefully that will help him decide," Tina explained.

"It sounds like a plausible plan," Rachel said. "I'll ask my mom about it and let you know what she says."

"Thanks, Rachel," Mercedes said as the group got up and left the table.

"Don't forget to tell Mr. Schue to keep me in mind when he's picking out the songs," Rachel called out to her retreating group of friends, earning her shushes from people around her. Kurt looked back and said, "never" just as loudly, causing Rachel to grin at him. Her grin lingered until she looked away say the look of reproach she was receiving from the ancient librarian. Her façade turned serious and she muttered a "sorry" before returning to her work.

Shelby arrived at McKinley right on time to pick up Rachel that afternoon and found that Rachel was already there waiting on her. The girl was sitting on a bench reading through a book when Shelby pulled into the space in front of her. She smiled at Rachel's concentration and the fact that she didn't even look up at the car. Shelby stepped out of the SUV so she could get her attention.

"Hey, Rach," Shelby called out to her. Rachel looked up at her and smiled; an action that melted Shelby's heart everytime. It was a sensation she hoped she never got used to.

"Hi, Mom," Rachel said when she got in the car before leaning over and giving Shelby a kiss on the cheek.

"How was your day?"

"I had a really nice day today," Rachel answered. "How was yours?"

"Fine," Shelby said as she backed out of the space. "I have a surprise for you."

"What? What is it?" Rachel asked.

"I can't tell you," Shelby said. "It's a surprise."

"But, Mom, that's just mean." Shelby laughed. "Are you going to tell me soon or are you attempting to torture me in some fashion?"

"Well, I suppose I could torture you a little bit because that seems like it could be kind of fun," Shelby said and Rachel gasped dramatically. "But if you can be patient you'll know in about fifteen or twenty minutes."

"And if I can't be patient?" Rachel questioned.

"I can make you wait indefinitely," Shelby answered.

Rachel quickly shut her mouth, determined not to say anything about what Shelby's surprise may be and instead shook her leg anxiously why trying to find a song she wanted to listen to on the radio. She had completely forgotten about asking Shelby about working with the Glee kids.

While Rachel was trying her best not to let her curiosity get the best of her, the Glee kids were gathered as a group in the choir room listening to Kurt relay to them the earlier conversation.

"She said that she would ask her mother, but that we probably wouldn't be able to get over there until this weekend. But she didn't see why Coach Corcoran wouldn't help us out."

"This weekend?" Sam said. "Don't you think we should get started right away?"

"Well yeah, but its Coach Corcoran's decision," Tina said.

"Quinn, I thought you were going to talk to her since you're the one actually staying there for a couple of weeks," Puck said.

"I was. I am," Quinn said. "I just haven't yet. I'll talk to her tonight. But Rachel's right. It'll probably be the weekend before all of you can come over."

"Why?"

"I don't know… It's a school night? It'll be dinner time? Shelby may have plan? We'd probably get a lot more done on a Saturday anyway," Quinn said.

"But how do you know if you haven't even asked her?" Santana said.

Quinn started to say something else, but was cut off when Mr. Schue entered the room.

"Good news, guys," he announced. "I've found some more songs I want to try out and put them in our repertoire to possibly use at Sectionals."

"When will we know a set list, Mr. Schue?" asked Kurt.

"It's the week before Halloween, Kurt. And Sectionals isn't until the beginning of December. We've got plenty of time."

"But schools like Vocal Adrenaline work on their set list for months, not just a few weeks," Tina said. "And we all know how good they are."

"Guys, don't worry about it. We always pull it out in the end," Mr. Schue said.

"But maybe we'd be a little more confident about it if we knew ahead of tim-"

Mr. Schue cut Artie off when he started writing on the whiteboard. "I've got our assignment for next week. As I just mentioned, Halloween is next week. I want all of you to find a Halloween themed song and present it to the class. Maybe we can put together an assembly for the school. But for now, let's work on some of the new songs I found." He started to hand out the music and missed the glances the kids passed between each other. They didn't mind the weekly assignments and doing assemblies, but they just wanted to work on the real competition that was coming up as well. Every one of them loved the Glee club, though they all expressed it differently, and they wanted to be able to be their best when competing against other schools; especially since they were working toward a trip to New York City for Nationals.

Rachel squealed with delight when Shelby pulled the car into the parking lot at a local DMV.

"Oh my god, Mom, thank you so much!" Rachel said, barely waiting for the car to be in park before she jumped out and started to head towards the door.

"Hang on, Rach," Shelby said to her. "I've got to get Beth."

Rachel was as patient as she could be while waiting for Shelby and Beth to catch up. She held the door for her mom since Shelby was holding the baby carrier and a diaper bag along with her purse, but charged ahead to the check-in desk.

"Hi. I'm Rachel Berry. I'm here to take the test to get my learner's permit. I promise that you have nothing to fear and that I am well-versed in all of the rules and laws as stated in the study guide. I've been studying and ready for a while now, but I have only just convinced my mother to actually bring me to your fine establishment so I can take the test. So if you will just point me in the direction of-"

Her sentence was cut short when Shelby stepped up beside her and used her free hand to wrap an arm around Rachel's head and clamp her hand over the girl's mouth. The man sitting behind the desk had to stifle a laugh.

"Sorry. She's here to test for her permit."

"Take a number and fill this out," the man said as he handed a clipboard with a form already on it to Rachel. She only nodded because of the hand that was still firmly in place over her mouth.

"Thank you," Shelby said. She removed her hand and guided Rachel away from the desk and to the chairs in the waiting area. Shelby took the form from Rachel and filled it out for her, having her sign it at the end before she signed her own name on the parent/guardian line.

"So what now?" Rachel asked as she made funny faces at Beth causing the baby to smile and kick her feet.

"We wait," Shelby told her.

"But why? It doesn't look like it's that busy in here."

"Welcome to the fun world of the Department of Motor Vehicles."

Quinn was the first one packed up and out the door when Glee practice ended. Word had spread around for everyone to take their time so they could talk when the girl left.

"I think we need to take matters into our own hands," Santana said. "If we were all to just show up at the house at the same time, would she really turn us away?"

"I don't know…" Finn said. "If Rachel and Quinn think it's better to wait until the weekend, maybe we should. They do know her better."

"Yeah, but she seemed like she was enjoying herself helping us last time," Artie argued.

"That's true."

"There's only one way to really find out," Puck said.

"I agree. We need to go over there tonight," Santana said.

"I'm game," Kurt said.

"It can't hurt to ask," Mercedes reasoned.

Once they were all in agreement, the made arrangements to meet back at the school in half an hour, mainly to give Brittney and Santana time to change out of their Cheerio uniforms, and then they would drive over to Coach Corcoran's together.

Just when Shelby thought she was going to go crazy if she had to tell Rachel how long they had been there one more time, the girl's name was called.

"Thank God," Shelby said when they got up and made their way to the open teller.

Rachel presented the elderly woman with the paperwork and waited for her to tell her what she needed to do next.

"We'll set up the test for you over there," she pointed to the section of computers in the corner. Another look at her computer and the woman was able to tell Rachel to sit at station number two. "And you can wait back in the waiting room, Mom," the woman said to Shelby. Shelby smiled at her and then wished Rachel good luck before she and Beth returned to their previously held seats.

Rachel walked confidently towards station number two and sat down feeling completely ready. She looked over at Shelby and smiled when her mother offered her a thumbs up and then turned back to the computer screen.

Shelby tried not to stare at Rachel while she was taking the test but she found herself glancing over there quite often. Beth sat on her lap enjoying the attention she was getting from other patrons and only became fussy when she dropped her toy. Shelby picked it up only to have Beth let it drop again. Shelby picked it up a few more times with the same results and Shelby hoped the baby would grow tired of the game soon. When she didn't, Shelby took the toy and hid in the bag and gave Beth some dry cereal instead knowing that Beth liked them too much to drop them. True to form, Beth held tightly to her tiny fistful of cereal and sat contentedly.

By the time Shelby turned back to look at Rachel, the girl was no longer sitting, but was instead making her way back over to her mother. The bright smile on her face seemed to indicate that Rachel had passed. Shelby returned the smile and stood, Beth in arms, to greet the girl.

"I passed!" Rachel said excitedly as she threw her arms around Shelby's neck and then placed a kiss on her mother's and then Beth's cheek. "It's official. I can drive."

"It's official that you can learn to drive," Shelby corrected. "How'd you do on the test?"

"I only missed three," Rachel said.

"Oh? Which ones?"

"I don't know," Rachel answered. "It doesn't matter anyways." Shelby shook her head. "Now I just have to wait for them to call me back up so I can get the permit."

"Congratulations, honey."

It was a much shorter wait for Rachel's name to be called the second time and she went up alone to take her picture and receive her learner's permit. Shelby looked on with pride and smiled when she saw the thousand watt smile Rachel displayed in the pose for her picture.

"Here it is, Mom, look," Rachel said when she came back over and showed the card to her mom.

Shelby took it and checked over all of the information because she was certain Rachel hadn't done it. "It's wonderful. Now how about we get out of here and get home?"

"That sounds great," Rachel said as Shelby picked up the carrier with Beth securely strapped in it. "Can I drive?"

"No."

"But Mom!" Rachel whined, eliciting a laugh from some of the people around her.

Quinn had been surprised to find the house empty when she got home, but she took advantage of it. She got her homework completed and put away. She had done well with doing it quietly and getting it out of the way so she wouldn't have a repeat of her first day there when Shelby insisted on her doing her homework in the kitchen. When it was finished, Quinn decided to start on dinner so it would be cooking or close to ready when Shelby and Rachel got home. The sound of the doorbell stopped her from going into the kitchen and she made her way to the front door instead.

"What are you all doing here?" Quinn asked when the Glee club once again forged their way into Shelby's house. "I told you I would talk to her."

"We decided that it might be best if we all talked to her," Santana said.

"And maybe we can even get some practice in tonight," Sam said.

"Come on you guys. You can't just barge in here. Shelby's not even home," Quinn said.

"We'll wait," Santana told her.

Quinn started to protest again, but it died on her lips as she watched her friends start to spread around the house. Someone flipped on the TV and someone else was getting a drink while others moved off upstairs. Quinn followed after them to make sure that no one bothered Shelby's bedroom. She didn't have to worry about it because those upstairs were all interested in finding Rachel's room instead.

Shelby was driving home and was closing in on her house and she was grateful for it. She was ready to be home and she could tell Rachel was dying to tell Quinn about her permit. And more than anything she was ready for Rachel to stop asking why she couldn't drive right now.

"Rachel, I told you I will take you driving this weekend. You're not driving with Beth in the car," Shelby explained again.

"I know, Mom. But I would be really careful. I wouldn't do anything to hurt Beth."

"Oh, honey, I know that," Shelby softened. "But you've never actually driven before. And the first time you do so is not going to be with your baby sister in the car. So can we stop talking about it?"

"I know. But, Mom-"

"Rachel."

"Fine," Rachel said, sitting back and looking out the window. Part of her knew that her mother was right, but a bigger part of her was impatient and she felt she was ready.

Shelby turned onto the street where she lived and immediately noticed the number of cars that were in her driveway and parked along the curb. She looked over to Rachel for an explanation, but the girl just shrugged.

"I had no idea they were all coming over," Quinn said when the pair plus Beth entered the house. She wanted to make sure she was relieved of all blame right away.

"What's going on?" Shelby asked.

"They want to know if you would be willing to work with them again on some songs," Quinn said.

"I told them I would ask tonight," Rachel said.

"I did too," Quinn agreed. "But they showed up here anyway."

Shelby sighed and put Beth's carrier down and let Quinn go about getting the baby out. She left the room the round up the Glee club.

"Turn it off," Shelby said to those who were watching TV. When they did, she stood at the base of the stairs and yelled up for everyone to come down. She felt like Maria von Trapp counting the kids as they came down the stairs until she was certain she had ten plus the two currently living in her house present.

Puck went over to stand by Quinn and smiled when she handed Beth to him. He looked down in awe at her and then shared a meaningful glance with Quinn before they both turned their eyes back to the baby.

"Coach Corcoran," Santana said after being pushed forward by Artie and Kurt. "We were hoping you'd be willing to help us again with some of the songs Mr. Schue is thinking about using in a set list for Sectionals. He hasn't actually made a set list, but we got together and picked out a few of our favorites and we thought that if we can get them really good, he'll be more inclined to choose them."

"Am I right to assume that Mr. Schue doesn't know about this?" Shelby asked.

"Yes. It's just like last time."

Shelby glanced at the clock and then scanned the eager faces in front of her, Rachel's included, and nodded her head. "We can work for a couple of hours and that's it. But if this becomes a regular thing, I want more notice before you just show at the house and you're going to have to tell Mr. Schuester. Understand?"

There was a chorus of 'yes' and Shelby sent them all upstairs to the music room to get ready. Rachel stopped by her room first so she could change and drop off her book bag.

"Where were you guys?" Quinn asked while Rachel pulled out a t-shirt and yoga pants to put on.

"Look!" Rachel beamed while showing Quinn her learner's permit.

"Oh my god, you go it!"

"Yep! Shelby says we can go out driving this weekend."

"That's great!" Quinn was secretly relieved that now Rachel would stop asking her if she would take her driving. "I'll leave you to get changed."

"Thanks, Quinn."

Rachel met the group upstairs a few minutes later and Shelby's two hour limit turned into three and a half. They were really making progress with their song selections and Shelby made them go through the ones they didn't like as well to help them understand why they liked and disliked certain things. Time was taken away from singing when they all sat down to eat the pizzas Shelby ordered for them, a vegan one included.

Mercedes had been the first to ask if she could hold Beth and the other kids soon followed suit and Beth was passed around between all of them while Rachel snapped pictures. She made sure to get a picture of Beth with each member of her Glee club family as well as some fun group shots. Kurt was the one to finally give her back to Shelby after Beth spit up on what he said was a brand new Marc Jacobs sweater. Shelby assured him it could be cleaned, but he seemed skeptical.

The evening finally started to wear down and the kids started to head out at Shelby's gentle insistence.

"Hey, Rachel, before I go," Finn said, "I noticed that your room is different here than it was at your dads' house."

"Oh."

"Me too," Puck said. "I don't think there's as many Broadway things around. Although I'm glad that mask thing is still there."

Rachel stole a glance at Shelby who had her eyebrows raised at the information that these boys not only knew how Rachel's room was decorated at her fathers' house, but could also give specific details.

"I think it's the same bed though," Finn said.

"I think so," Puck said.

Rachel quickly turned away from Shelby when she noticed that the look of surprise had changed into a glare and she was desperately trying to usher the boys out the door. Quinn was no help as she stood back and did little to hide her smile.

"It's a completely different bed," Kurt chimed in, correcting them. "The wall color is different too. I love the way you use the space in the room. "It's a great layout."

"Well thank you!" Rachel said, trying desperately to get these last three Glee kids out of the house. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Later," Puck said while Finn offered a "bye" and Kurt waved.

Rachel shut the door and waited a few seconds before turning back around and facing her mom. Shelby's glare remained the same and her hands were on her hips.

"Ummm," Rachel started.

"Quinn," Shelby said to the girl standing behind her.

"I'm going to go upstairs and… be upstairs," Quinn said brightly, the amused smile never leaving her lips. She felt for Rachel, but was glad it was her friend in this situation and not herself.

"I'm going to go upstairs too," Rachel said. She quickly made her way to the staircase but stopped when she felt Shelby grab onto the back of her shirt and pull her back towards the living room.

"Let's have a talk."

**A/N – Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review. **


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages I've received. And to everyone who has put the story on alert or on their favorites list. I really do appreciate it. This is a lot of fun to write so I'm glad people are enjoying it.**

**Disclaimer – I clearly don't own Glee because if I did they never would have sung any Bieber. I'm just sayin', guys. **

Rachel stepped backwards from the stairs as Shelby tugged on her shirt and then guided her to the couch. She took a seat with her legs curled beneath her and tried to read her mom as the woman moved some magazines aside and sat opposite her on the coffee table. Rachel watched as Shelby took a moment to glance to the other side of the room to look at Beth, who was in her swing. Rachel looked too and couldn't help but smile when Beth yawned. Turning back to Shelby, Rachel wished she knew what her mother was thinking about this whole thing. She could only imagine that Shelby was coming to all of the wrong conclusions about the list of boys who knew about the specifics of her room. Sure there had been making out and sure her dads had never been home, though that was hardly to do with planning on her part, but kissing is all it had ever been. Even with Jesse, she never got that far. Rachel was worried that Shelby would turn this into something where she felt she couldn't trust her. She had always been prepared with a story for her fathers about why the guys were there with her in case one of them had come home unexpectedly, but this was a different situation for Rachel. It was one thing that had worried her since she moved in with Shelby; she knew what to expect from her fathers and she didn't from Shelby. She didn't know whether or not she liked that Shelby had been silent so far. The silence could mean anything and Rachel tended to jump to the worst case scenario. She looked down at her hands when Shelby leaned forward and took them in her own and started to run circles on the back of Rachel's hands with her thumbs. It was a little gesture that only Shelby had ever done with her and Rachel found it comforting. She decided that this would be a good time to speak up and get out what she wanted to say before she let Shelby get too far or even started at all.

"Rachel," Shelby said, but was interrupted by the girl.

"Mom, let me say something first please. I know what you must be thinking about this situation and about me, but it's not as bad as you think. I dated Finn and Puck, and yes I had them up to my room, but nothing ever happened. All we ever did was kiss," Rachel told her. "And Kurt was only there one time to help me out with something. But he's Kurt and he notices decor and stuff like that. But I promise, Mom, it was only kissing."

Shelby looked at Rachel intently and let her talk. She was actually glad that the girl had started in because she wasn't that sure of what she had wanted to say. Clearly she needed to have a talk with Rachel about sex, but that was easier said than done.

"I've never done…I've never had sex," Rachel said, tightening her hold on Shelby's hands. She was glad that her mom continued to rub the small circles on the back of her hands. She felt the color creep into her cheeks and she looked away for a second.

Shelby wanted to smile at Rachel's admission and subsequent embarrassment, but she kept a serious visage up to match Rachel's serious mood. She didn't think she could stop her eyes from sparkling over the news though.

"Even when things started to get really serious with Jesse and I thought I was ready, we still never went that far," Rachel said.

Shelby's eyes lost their momentary sparkle and her face changed from impassive happiness to a look of shock and anger. Rachel had thought she was ready with Jesse? That little punk! She said to befriend her daughter. Befriend! Jesse was a good kid and Shelby had trusted him more than any of her other students. He was the proverbial teacher's pet and that had made it that much worse when she found out about the egging incident. She had been more disappointed in Jesse than anyone else and she had worked him harder because of it. His punishment had been worse and everyone had known it. But even so, he had still emerged from that as her star and she had been proud when they won Regionals again. She still hated that it had been at the expense of Rachel's team, but it had been her job to take the competition seriously for her team. But Jesse's hand in the egging paled in comparison to the information that he and Rachel had been close to sleeping together. She hoped he came back into town soon because she would like to sit him down for a little chat.

"I realize that I probably shouldn't have had them all up in my bedroom alone," Rachel continued, causing Shelby to let thoughts of Jesse go and focus back on her daughter, "but it seemed like the natural place to hang out. I was home alone most of the time anyways and my room was where I spent most of my time so it's where we were comfortable. I didn't exactly have to ask for permission and I wanted them there, so it just made sense. It was really nice to have someone over that I could talk to and be with. Well, not be with in that way that you're probably thinking. But to have some company around to hang out with. Those were some of the only times I ever really felt like Finn or Puck was listening to me. Jesse was different. I always felt like I knew him right up until…" she hung her head and looked away for a second, embarrassed once again. "Right up until he went back to Vocal Adrenaline." Rachel looked back up and met Shelby's eyes and said, "But don't worry, Mom, I haven't had any of them over here to your house or in my room since Finn and I broke up."

Shelby let out a breath and sat back and was silent while she took in all that Rachel had said. It wasn't as simple as a talk about sex and boys in her room as she imagined it would be a few minutes ago when they sat down.

"Rachel," Shelby started and once again was interrupted. This time it was Beth who let out a loud cry from her place in the swing. Rachel and Shelby both looked over at her and could see that the swing had stopped and Beth was letting out another cry and her little fists were balled eyes were watery. Shelby knew that it was time to feed the baby and sighed when she looked back to Rachel and dropped her daughter's hands. She got up from her spot on the coffee table and picked up Beth and rocked her for a little bit, hoping to calm the crying for a few minutes so she could continue her talk with Rachel, but Beth was not cooperating and continued her cries

"I've got to make her a bottle," Shelby said to Rachel who only nodded in response and then she headed to the kitchen.

Rachel sat alone on the couch for about a minute before deciding that now might be a good time to head upstairs since her mother was occupied. She got up and went upstairs to find Quinn and see what she was doing.

Shelby stuck her head out from the kitchen when she heard Rachel going up the stairs. She started to call her back, but instead decided to take this chance to think about what Rachel had told her. Rachel was a teenager. They kissed. She wasn't too worried about that. The most upsetting part was the fact that Rachel had needed those boys for companionship. It saddened Shelby to think of her wonderful daughter all alone in her fathers' house. She looked to Beth who was drinking her bottle and cradled the baby a little closer to her and wonder about what she would be like as a teenager and vowing to never let her feel lonely.

Rachel entered the open door of the guest room and saw Quinn reclining back on the bed. It took a second to notice that the girl was on the phone and so Rachel held up her hand to indicate that she was sorry and turned to walk out of the room so Quinn could have her privacy.

"Hang on, Mom," Quinn said as she stood up from the bed. "You can come back Rachel. What? Yeah, she's right here. Hang on." Quinn pulled the phone away from her ear and held it out to Rachel. "It's my mom. She wants to talk to you."

Rachel smiled and gladly took the phone. Judy Fabray had quickly become one of her favorite people and she was more than happy to get the chance to talk with her. She knew Quinn had been talking with her daily, but Judy had never asked for her before.

"Hi, Mrs. Fabray," Rachel said brightly. "How is everything going? How is your mom progressing?"

"Hello, Rachel," Judy said on her end. "What is this I hear about all of those boys who have been in your room?"

"How did you?" Rachel shot a glare at Quinn who did nothing to hide her smile and sat down in a nearby chair to watch. She had been on the receiving end of this talk more than once since moving back home with her mother. "It was nothing. Just a-"

"Rachel," Judy cut her off. "You should not be spending time with any boys alone in your room. You are only fifteen-years-old."

"I'm not a little kid."

"No, but you are too young. You do not need to be engaging in anything like that."

"But I-"

"Rachel, sex is a very serious issue and you cannot simply brush it aside," Judy continued. "Of course I understand all about the urges people get," Rachel scrunched up her face in a disgusted manner forcing Quinn to cover her mouth so her mother wouldn't hear her laughing in the background. "But you have to learn to control yourself. You are just coming into your own and discovering yourself and there is simply no need for you to feel compelled to sleep with anyone right now."

"I'm not."

"Did you even love any of those boys?" Judy asked her, but didn't wait for an answer. "At your age, I hope not. You are far too young for any of this."

"But Quinn-"

"Yes, I know all about Quinn. And she has heard this same thing many times, although I know it was after the fact. I was never able to talk to her like this before and if I had been, she might not have ended up pregnant when she did. And you, young lady, are not going to end up pregnant. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I wouldn't" Rachel was about to say how she wouldn't do that and ruin her future, but a look at Quinn stopped her. Quinn understood and her smile faltered and she momentarily looked away.

"You say that now, but anything can happen in the moment and you need to be prepared for it," Judy said. "Now, tell me. What do you have to use for protection?"

Rachel stood there in stunned silence, her mouth open and her eyes wide as she tried to formulate a response. This was a conversation she had never expected to be having with Judy Fabray.

Judy waited for a response and did not like it when she didn't hear Rachel say anything. "Rachel, are you listening to me?"

"No. I mean, yes, I'm listening," Rachel said. "I was thinking."

"Rachel, if you need to think about it, then you are not prepared."

"But I'm not havin-"

"Rachel, this is a serious matter and I don't want you thinking that you can get by without having to talk about it," Judy said.

"But I thought we were talking about it right now," Rachel interjected.

"You and I are going to have sit down and talk about it when I get home."

"But, Mrs. Fabray, I'm not completely clueless and I've got Shelby I can talk to," Rachel told her.

"Of course you have your mother. But you've got me too and we're going to have that talk."

"Didn't we just have it?"

"Rachel."

"Yes, Ma'am," Rachel mumbled into the phone as she took notice that Quinn's delighted smile was back.

"Good girl. Now I've got to run so will you tell Quinn that I love her and I'll call her tomorrow?"

"Of course. Bye."

Rachel hung up the phone and tossed it back at Quinn. "Your mother said that she loves you and will call you back tomorrow. I, however, hate you and am thinking of not speaking to you at all tomorrow."

Rachel's teasing was evident and Quinn got up and gave her an over-exaggerated hug and said, "You know you love me." Quinn pulled back and held Rachel at arm's length. "Now. Tell me about all of those boys in your room."

Rachel rolled her eyes but sat down on the bed and started to tell Quinn her stories. Two hours later they were still talking, but now it was about things they had done as kids, the topic of the guys having been dropped long ago. Their laughter rang through the house and Shelby could only smile as she and Beth sat watching a movie downstairs. She could talk with Rachel later.

As it neared ten, Shelby took the now sleeping Beth up to her room and settled the baby in her crib. She still wanted to get the chance to speak with Rachel before she went to sleep and so she slipped quietly out of the room and made her way down the hall to her daughter's room. She knocked lightly, and then stuck her head inside when she didn't receive an answer. Shelby noticed that the light was on in Rachel's bathroom so she sat down on her bed and waited for the girl to come out.

When Rachel emerged in her pajamas a few minutes later she found her mom sitting with her back leaned up against the headboard and flipping through one of her magazines.

"Mom?"

Shelby looked up and smiled at her daughter as she put the magazine back on the bedside table. "So tell me, Rach, is this bed more comfortable than the one at your dads' house? I hear they're pretty similar," Shelby joked.

Rachel smiled at Shelby's levity and then joined her on the bed, sitting Indian style across from her. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. But I've got a few friends I can ask to come over and try it out if you want."

"I do not want," Shelby told her. "In all seriousness though, Rachel, that can't happen here. I understand about the position you were in and that you were making all of those decisions for yourself, but that's the case anymore. And I'm sorry that you were so lonely, but hopefully that's not the case anymore either." Rachel shook her head to validate her mom's point.

"Good. Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind you kissing your boyfriends. Within in reason, of course," Shelby hastily added. When she said kissing she was picturing chaste, sweet kisses and it suddenly occurred to her that that probably wasn't how Rachel was seeing it.

"But kissing can lead to more and that's something I don't think you're ready for. I don't think you'll be ready for a long time," Shelby emphasized. "A lot of people think they're ready and then they end up regretting it and I don't want you to be one of those people. But most importantly, I want you to feel prepared and protected. There are all types of protections available and we can talk about what would be best for you."

"Mom," Rachel cut her off. She was not eager to go through another talk about sex tonight. "I'm not… I don't need the protection yet." She was going to kill those guys for bringing any of this up in the first place.

"Ok," Shelby conceded. "But there are a couple of rules I'm putting down. There will be no boys in your room if I'm not home. And if I am home, your door will remain open at all times. Got it?"

"Mom," Rachel whined. "I wouldn't-"

"Got it?" Shelby asked again.

"Got it," Rachel said.

"Good. Do you have any questions?" They both stood up and Shelby pulled the blankets back so Rachel could climb into bed.

"What about Kurt?" she asks as she lies down and smiles sweetly up Shelby.

"Rachel."

"Fine, fine. No boys," Rachel said.

Shelby pulled the blankets up to Rachel's chin like she liked them and then tucked them in tightly to her body. Rachel grabbed onto her quilt and Shelby leaned down to give her a kiss on her head.

"I love you, Rachel," Shelby said before heading for the door.

"I love you too, Mom," Rachel said through a yawn, causing Shelby to smile as she flipped off the light and exited the room.

Shelby was headed back to her room when she saw the light coming from under the bedroom door in the guest room.

"Quinn," Shelby said knocking. "It's after ten. Time for bed."

"Ok," Quinn said back.

Satisfied, Shelby went back to her room so that she could get herself ready for bed. She enjoyed the comfort of a long, hot shower and then read a chapter in the book she was working on. She was going to read another, but decided it could wait when she saw that it was closer to midnight than it was eleven. She got up to do her customary check of the girls before she got in bed for the night and immediately noticed that the light in the guest room was still on when she left her room. Shelby went there first and debated whether she should knock. Quinn could have simply left the light on and might be asleep. She opened the door just enough to be able to look in and saw that Quinn was sitting at the desk with her textbooks and a binder open, writing. She had her head resting on her hand with her elbow on the desk and was concentrating as best she could.

"Quinn," Shelby admonished. "What are you doing? You should have been in bed well over an hour ago."

Quinn was startled and jumped when Shelby spoke. She looked over to the woman with a guilty, if not tired, expression.

"I'm doing some homework. I had more than I realized."

"Why would you wait until now to do it?" Shelby came all the way into the room and stood over the desk.

"I didn't get a chance to earlier because the whole club showed up. And then Rachel and I sat around talking the rest of the night," Quinn said. "I know I should have done it then, but we lost track of time."

Shelby was ready to reprimand the girl, but the look of exhaustion on Quinn's face stopped her. She could have a word with her tomorrow. Instead she pulled up a second chair and sat down next to her. "What are you working on?"

"History. I feel like I've read the same thing over and over and I can't find these last two answers I need to write out to finish. I swear they're not in this chapter like Mr. Graham says."

Shelby picked up the assignment paper and read over the questions that Quinn was struggling with and then watched as Quinn took that opportunity to rub her eyes and yawn.

"Quinn, why don't you stop for the night and work on these last two questions in the morning? You're too tired to concentrate on it right now," Shelby said.

"I can't. It's my first class of the day," Quinn said.

"You can do it before you leave for school. I'll help you."

"No, I want to finish it now," Quinn snapped. "It's a stupid assignment and I want to get it out of the way, not have to wake up and start on it again. Who cares about any of this crap anyway?" Tears of frustration appeared at the corner of her eyes and Quinn dropped her pencil and leaned back in her chair.

Shelby put the assignment sheet down and turned to look at Quinn who was staring up at the ceiling fighting her rising anger at the homework. "Ok. How about I help you find the answers in the chapter real quick and we'll get them out of the way?" She would ignore Quinn's attitude and snapping right now because she could see how tired the girl was, but Shelby filed it away to speak with her about it later.

Quinn nodded and Shelby turned back to the desk and picked up the assignment sheet once again. She was able to find the answers to the questions pretty quickly, knowing that a fresh pair of eyes was all that was needed. Within twenty minutes Quinn had completed her homework and had all of her books and notebooks packed away in her school bag. Shelby turned down the blankets on the bed while she waited for Quinn to return from the bathroom where she had gone to brush her teeth before going to sleep.

"I'm sorry, Shelby," Quinn said when she returned.

"It's ok, Quinn. We can talk about it later," Shelby said as she pulled the girl in for a hug. Quinn rested her head on Shelby's shoulder and let the woman hold her for a minute. "Now, seeing as how it's after midnight and you're still awake, I think it's time you got into bed." Shelby gave Quinn a few motherly pats on her backside as the girl turned to get into the bed and then tucked the blankets tightly around her in the same way she did for Rachel.

"Goodnight, Shelby," Quinn said drowsily.

"Goodnight, honey," Shelby said quietly as she leaned down and placed a kiss on Quinn's head.

Shelby made a quick stop by Rachel's room and peeked in at the girl before going to her own room and finally getting to go to bed herself.

As predicted, Quinn was irritable and grumpy the following day. She barely said two words to Shelby that morning wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed. She and Rachel stopped at a coffee shop on their way to school and that seemed to help for a while, but by lunchtime Quinn was fully entrenched in her bad day and was simply doing her best to wait it out so she could go home. She was already planning on making a stop by her house after Glee so she could be by herself for a couple of hours before going back to Shelby's. It didn't help that she had gone all morning thinking it was Friday and that it would soon be the weekend, only to discover that it was really Thursday and she had another day of school to go before being able to sleep in and lounge all day.

Quinn was surprised when Rachel joined her in the cafeteria for lunch since it was usually the other way around and Quinn joined Rachel in the choir room.

"I know you're having a bad day so I thought I would come and sit with you," Rachel told her.

"Thanks," Quinn said, offering a grateful smile.

The cafeteria was at its busiest and Rachel could see all of the other Glee kids scattered around the large room. She was surprised that Quinn wasn't sitting with any of them or any of the Cheerios and was about to say something when Kurt suddenly appeared at the table.

"I'm surprised to see you in here, Rachel," he said.

Rachel just shrugged as she opened her lunch and took a bite. "I figured I'd come and hang out with Quinn today."

"What's up?" Mercedes asked as she sat down.

"Nothing," Rachel said. More of the Glee kids were coming their way and soon the table was full. Even Santana and Brittney joined them, almost daring any naysayers to speak up.

"I forgot to bring some water," Rachel said as she got to her feet. "I'm to go and get some."

The conversations continued as she walked away and made her way to the counter where she could get a bottle of water. She hated that the water was right next to the slushie machine because she didn't like having to be anywhere near it, but she had little choice in the matter. She slipped on a wet spot on the floor and bumped into the tall boy wearing a letterman jacket in front of her.

"Hey, watch it!" he said turning around.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump-"

Her words were cut off by the slushie that he threw in her face. She gasped at the shock and cold of it and stood still for a few moments as it dripped off of her. She was just wiping her eyes when Quinn appeared at her side and shoved the boy away from Rachel.

"What the hell are you doing?" she yelled at him.

"Back off, Fabray!" another boy said as he joined them and pushed Quinn back. That was all it took for Puck to get to his feet and join the group. He got there and stepped up next to Quinn just as the boy who slushied Rachel threw another one, this time aiming for Quinn. It was Puck that took the brunt of it to the face and this time the boy found himself on the floor when it was Puck who pushed him.

The table full of Glee kids was on their feet in the next instant and was moving to the center of the commotion. The rest of the hockey team follow suit and soon the counter that housed the drinks for sale became a free-for-all. The lady working the register wisely left her station and moved out of the way.

Rachel did not back down and stepped right up to get her hands dirty in this fight. She tried shoving players away from her friends and stomped on a few feet. The boys had thrown a few punches and had probably received some as well and the slushies were flying. There seemed to be a constant flow of them since they were right next to the slushie machine. Both sides had cohorts handing them out and it was a miracle that no one was slipping and falling on the floor because of the mess. Rachel had been hit twice more and each time it took her a few moments to recover from the stinging cold landing in her face.

Quinn was also covered in the offending liquid, but she continued to give as good as she got as she continued to shove people out of the way and throw slushies. Rachel had just finished wiping her eyes once again when someone placed a full slushie in her hand.

None of the kids noticed as Principal Figgins and Sue Sylvester entered the cafeteria. The scared worker had gone straight to his office and found that Sue was there also. The shouts of the other students in the cafeteria drowned out their calls for everyone to stop

Santana stood stock still with shock when she was hit with a grape slushie; it was her first time. She shook her head as she tried to get the numbing cold off her face. "Oh, hell no!" she said as she lunged forward and pushed the jock who had thrown it at her. He slipped and bumped into Tina who was standing behind him.

Rachel looked down at the cup brimming with purple slushie in her hand and then looked up and sought out her target. The boy who had started it all was standing in front of her not too far away and she quickly judged her aim. She didn't notice when Tina fell into that boy and knocked him out of the way. She threw her slushie with a look of satisfaction until that boy's face disappeared from view as he fell and she watched as her slushie sailed right into the face of Sue Sylvester, with bits flying over her shoulder and landing on Principal Figgins who stood behind her.

The room was suddenly silent as everyone in the cafeteria looked on. Rachel's mouth hung open in shock as she felt herself root to the spot. Just as quickly as the room had gone silent, it filled with noise again as people took off in every direction to get out of there and away from Sue's impending wrath. The hockey team scattered and Rachel faintly heard Principal Figgins yelling at them to stay put even as he tried to wipe the slushie that had landed in from his face and jacket.

Rachel looked on as Sue seemed to move in slow motion. She moved her hands up and wiped the slushie from her eyes and then flicked her hands to shake the frozen drink off of them. She opened her eyes and stared down at Rachel who, despite her verbose nature, could not put two words together. Rachel felt like Sue's eyes were drilling holes through her. She didn't dare to look away and it felt like an eternity as she waited for Sue to react.

The rest of the Glee club looked on in horror as Sue stared at Rachel. Even the three Cheerios had no idea what to do or say. Santana looked to Quinn who did not return the gaze because she was too busy looking at the scene in shock. Santana next looked over to Puck who looked back shaking his head. She next swung her gaze around to Kurt who was able to put into words what they all were thinking. He mouthed two words to Santana who could only nod in response.

'She's dead.'

**A/N – Please leave me a review. Thanks so much, you guys. **

**And that's right. I slushied one Sue Sylvester. Well, Rachel did. But rest assured; my love for Sue knows no bounds. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. **


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages I've received. It means a lot to me. And thanks to everyone for sticking with me. Sorry for the delay with this one, but here it is. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Rachel kept her eyes glued to Sue's face as the woman took another swipe at her eyes to try to clear the slushie out of them. Her eyes opened once again to look on the shocked face of Rachel Berry who was opening and closing her mouth as if she was working out how to string two words together. The anger in Sue's features felt like it was pouring over onto Rachel and the girl lost track of everything else in the room. She no longer noticed the cold and sting of the slushies that covered her own face; nor did she notice the rest of the Glee club and Principal Figgins standing there watching as if they were just waiting for the moment Sue decided to attack.

"Ms. Sylvester," Rachel was finally able to stammer out. "I- I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to throw it. I-"

"I don't want to hear it," Sue said, shocking those around her with how quiet she was being.

"But it wasn't directed at you," Rachel continued on. "That Daniel boy from the hockey team threw one at me and-"

"I said," Sue shortened her stature until she was at eye level with Rachel and only inches from her face, "I don't want to hear it. I hope you enjoyed that little display because you just stamped your ticket out of this school. I'm going to have you expelled within an hour."

Tears formed in Rachel's eyes as she took in Sue's words. She had seen a lot of things from Sue Sylvester, but Rachel couldn't remember a time when the woman was quite so serious. Rachel was terrified.

Sue stood back up to her full height and looked around at all of the other kids that were still there. "I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted, Glee club, because you are finished." Then, turning back to Rachel, she said, "Come with me." Sue looked over at Figgins as if she was issuing him a silent command and then turned and started to walk out.

Rachel didn't move from her spot and only shook her head no at Sue's order even though the woman was no longer standing in front of her. The club moved out of Sue's way as she stalked past with Figgins following behind.

"Go and tell Mr. Schuester to come to my office. Quickly," Figgins said to Finn. He was angry at these children too, but the principal knew that Rachel was going to need an advocate with her until he could get in touch with her mother. "The rest of you report to the Vice Principal. I will be there soon." Finn took off in the opposite direction and Figgins continued to follow after Sue.

Sue looked over her shoulder to see that Rachel was still standing where she left her and called out, "Q, bring her." She never even broke her stride as she slung open the door and stepped out into the hallway.

Quinn stepped up beside Rachel and put an arm around her waist and lightly squeezed the girl to her. "Come on," she said gently and guided Rachel from the room and into the hallway.

"Quinn, what am I going to do?" Rachel asked. "She said she was going to have me expelled. Shelby is going to be so angry at me."

"You're not going to be expelled," Quinn tried to assure her. "You know Coach Sylvester lies and exaggerates all the time. And Shelby is going to be angry at both of us," she said in an attempt to help Rachel feel like not all of the weight was on her shoulders.

"But Miss Sylvester is normally acting crazy and throwing people around," Rachel countered. "You saw how serious she was just now. I'm so dead, Quinn. I'm not even done being grounded from Glee and I'm in trouble again. Oh my god, Glee. I'm never going to get to sing again." Rachel's tears started anew and Quinn rubbed her back. "I'm going to be expelled and Shelby's stuck with me and I've ruined the club's chances. I'm not going to get into Julliard or NYU and I'll never get to New York."

"Rachel, stop," Quinn said. "You have to calm down. You don't know anything that's going to happen." Rachel stopped talking and took a couple of deep breaths as they continued their slow walk to the principal's office.

Quinn may have been able to help calm Rachel somewhat, but she was currently having her own internal freak out. It was bound to come out that she was the one who escalated the whole fight. If she hadn't jumped up Rachel would have simply excused herself and left to clean up. But she just couldn't sit there and watch her friend get pushed around like that anymore. Even as she was pushing the boy away and subsequently throwing slushies and engaging in that fight, she could hear her mother in the back of her mind telling her that there was to be no more fighting or slushie throwing, no matter the circumstances. Oh god, her mother. Quinn could only pray the Principal Figgins only contacted Shelby and not her mother as well. Although, truth be told, she wasn't sure how much better she would fare with Shelby at this point.

"Maybe they won't call Shelby," Rachel said with false hope. "If it won't be as bad as you say then maybe she won't have to come in here."

"I'm pretty sure they're going to call her, Rachel," Quinn said. "Mr. Schue called our moms for two shoves. Figgins will call her for an all-out slushie fight."

"I can't believe I got everyone in trouble like that. I can't even imagine what Shelby is going to do." Rachel had a couple of ideas, but she didn't voice them. "She is definitely going to be wondering why she took me in in the first place. I can't seem to do anything right."

Quinn looked over at Rachel and said, "What? Rachel, I thought you were past all of that. Shelby does not-"

"Quiet," Sue ordered as they entered the office.

The girls sat in the two chairs opposite Figgins' desk and while Quinn tried to keep her head up, Rachel looked down at her hands which were folded in her lap. They noticed that somewhere along the way, Sue had been able to grab a towel and was using it to wipe her face and hands off. Figgins took his jacket off and brushed off some of the slushie before hanging it on the coat rack in the corner. Rachel became acutely aware of the slushies that still clung to her and Quinn's face and she shivered involuntarily as the cold hit liquid combined with the air conditioning in the small room to send chills through her.

Will rushed into the room at that moment and the girls could tell he had been running. He took in everyone in the room, his gaze lingering on Quinn and Rachel for a few seconds before he looked to Sue and then Figgins. Rachel could see the willingness to help them on his face, but she also noticed hints of anger and disappointment present as well.

"Finn filled me in as best he could on what happened," Will said. "He said it was an accid-"

"I will tell you what happened, William," Sue said cutting him off. "You're entire troupe of neanderthals started a fight in the cafeteria. And when we stepped in to break it up your self-proclaimed queen bee tossed a slushie in my face."

"Mr. Schuester, it was an accident," Rachel said. "I didn't know she was there."

"Rachel, why was there a fight in the first place?" Will asked.

"A boy from the hockey team slushied me and it kind of escalated from there," Rachel answered.

"I don't care about the rest of fight," Sue said. "I care that I am now covered in a horrible sticky goo in what can only be characterized as a purposeful assault against me and my good name and I will not stand for it. I want her expelled immediately. I have a few contacts at Gitmo. We can ship her off there as early as this evening."

"Sue, no one is getting thrown into a military prison," Principal Figgins said.

"I know people at San Quentin too," Sue offered.

"Be reasonable, Sue," Will said. "It was a fight. My Glee kids get slushied all the time. One of you Cheerios is sitting here and she's clearly been slushied. There is no need for talk of expulsion or prisons."

"I don't care what the Glee club goes through," Sue said. "They're in glee; they deserve it. And as for my Cheerios, I can't dictate who their friends will be, trust me, I've tried. But as long Q continues to associate with the bottom feeders and low-lifes, I can't help it if she gets grouped in with how they are treated. But I can control what happens to me and I refuse to stand by and watch this girl get away with assault. She is a plague on this school and we would all be better off if she were shown the door."

"Assault?" Rachel spoke up. "I've had a slushie thrown on me in this school more times than I can possibly count. I have to bring extra clothes to school with me everyday. And not once has anyone ever done anything about it," she looked from Figgins and then to Mr. Schue who at least had the decency to appear somewhat ashamed. "So while I'm sorry, Miss Sylvester, that you are experiencing what a slushie feels like, I hardly think it comes close to being assault."

Quinn smiled slightly at Rachel's defiance while Will nodded. Rachel's little speech did nothing to quell Sue's anger and she rose to her feet and geared up to start another rant, but was cut short when the phone rang. They all watched Figgins closely as he spoke, each of them trying to glean some meaning from the one-sided conversation. He turned his gaze to Quinn when he hung up the phone.

"Well, Miss Fabray, from what the vice principal has gathered, it was you who started the fight."

"That's not true," Rachel said, jumping to Quinn's defense. "Daniel Lockhart slushied me. That's what started the fight."

"Yes, but Miss Fabray then got up and shoved him and he retaliated and then everyone else joined in," Figgins said.

"I was trying to help Rachel," Quinn said.

"Be that as it may, you started a fight that resulted in Coach Sylvester here getting hit with a slushie. And you, Miss Berry, threw it. You both should have stepped away. You should have told someone about that boy instead of starting a brawl," Figgins said.

"A lot of good that would have done," Rachel muttered.

"You watch it, young lady," Sue jumped in. "The way I see it, you are to blame for this whole mess. If Quinn didn't feel the need to defend you for god knows what reason, you could have just gone about your merry, slushie filled way. But you have dragged her down and for reasons I can't possibly fathom or even care about, she feels sorry for you. Well that changes right now because on second thought, maybe I can dictate who my Cheerios are friends with. Q, you are no longer to associate with Rachel Berry or the Glee club. You will no longer be splitting your time and if you go to even one more rehearsal you will be cut from the Cheerios. And you can pass that word along to Santana and Brittany. And as for you," she pointed at Rachel, "you will be expelled. I will contact every other school in this area, private or otherwise, and see to it that you are not granted entry at any of them. Your family is going to have to move in order for you to go to school again."

"Sue," Will said. "Be reasonable. Rachel does not deserve to be expelled and you cannot force Quinn to choose Glee or the Cheerios."

"I quit, Mr. Schue," Quinn said softly.

Rachel hung her head once again and tears formed in her eyes. She knew Quinn enjoyed being in the Glee club, but she couldn't ask her to choose it over Cheerios.

Will shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Quinn."

"I'm quitting the Cheerios. I'll be at the next Glee rehearsal as usual," Quinn said, looking up at Will. Rachel's head shot up and she looked to Quinn who immediately shook off any argument the girl was about to make.

Sue's face hardened into a look of anger and she seethed at Quinn. "You are making a huge mistake. Although I imagine you'll come crawling back, begging for your old spot once your troublemaker of a friend is officially out of this school."

"Am I really going to be expelled?" Rachel asked, looking up at Mr. Schue.

Will shook his head no, but Sue offered an emphatic 'yes.'

"We will not discuss your punishment until your parents get here," Figgins said. "I want you two to wait outside in those chairs while I call them and get them in here."

"Can we at least go and get cleaned up while you call?" Quinn asked as they got to their feet.

"No, you may not," Sue answered.

"Just wait in the chairs, please," Figgins said.

The girls exited the office and Will took a seat in one of the vacated chairs. Sue left the office as well and boasted to the girls as she passed about heading off to change her clothes was the slushie off while they waited.

"You didn't have to do that," Rachel said as they took a seat in the outer office.

"Of course I did," Quinn answered. "I wasn't going to let her choose my friends and activities. She can't have that control over my life. Not anymore."

"Thank you," Rachel said. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this today. This whole thing is my fault."

"No, it's not. Figgins was right. I jumped in and shoved Daniel. I hate seeing you treated like that," Quinn said.

"But I'm used to it. I could have just cleaned up and it would have been over," Rachel said. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Quinn said.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said again. Quinn laughed and then took out her phone and began writing a text. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sending a message to Santana and Brittany to let them know what Coach Sylvester said and also to let them know that I quit," Quinn answered.

Rachel nodded and the girls fell into an uneasy silence as they looked through the large glass windows and watched as Principal Figgins talked on the phone. He soon ended his first call and then looked to his computer and dialed another number and started another conversation. Quinn had the sinking feeling that this call was to her mother and she didn't even want to think about what her mom was going to say to her. She had hoped that he would only call Shelby because her mother had left notice with the school before she left that Quinn was in Shelby's temporary care. Both girls sat back after a moment and waited in silence for Shelby to arrive.

It took Shelby thirty-five minutes to arrive at the school. As she walked towards the entrance carrying a sleeping Beth in her carrier, she noticed as other kids were leaving with their parents. She paused momentarily when she heard someone call out her name and she turned to see that Kurt Hummel was coming her way. She noticed the man she assumed was his father waiting near their car.

"Hello, Kurt."

"It wasn't her fault," Kurt said.

"What wasn't? And what is all over you?"

"Grape slushie. Maybe some cherry mixed in there as well," Kurt answered. "Sue took them away so we're not sure what happened to them, but it wasn't Rachel's fault. I just wanted you to know."

"Thanks," Shelby answered. She was now thoroughly confused and she tried to figure out what Kurt meant as she watched him walk back to his dad. All she had been told was that Rachel and Quinn had been involved in a fight and she needed to come and get them. There had been no mention of slushies or Rachel having done something that, if Kurt was to be believed, was not her fault. She returned Burt's slight wave and then turned and made her way into the school.

The girls stood up when Shelby entered the outer office where they were waiting. Both were still covered in the slushie mess and both looked like they were cold. She set the baby carrier down near their chairs and stopped Rachel before the girl could even start to speak.

"Are you two ok?" Shelby asked. "They told me there was a fight. Neither of you got hit or hurt or anything, right?" She was holding Quinn's chin in her hand and turning the girl's head as if she were looking for any evidence of a black eye.

"No, we're both fine," Quinn answered.

Shelby pulled her hand away and immediately wiped it on her jeans to get rid of the slushie that had gotten on it. "Why have you two not gone to clean up?"

"They wouldn't let us," Rachel said.

Shelby's eyes darkened and she looked towards Figgins' office. Sue was back inside and all three adults were watching her and the girls. "Watch Beth," was all Shelby said before she stepped over and opened the door and entered into the principal's office. The girls sat back down and both cast a glance at the sleeping baby before turning their attention back to watching Shelby.

"Ms. Corcoran, hello," Figgins said. "Please have a seat."

"Why were they not allowed to go and clean themselves off?" Shelby questioned, not taking a seat. "How long have they been sitting out there covered in that cold, sticky substance while you three sat in here doing nothing? I don't care what happened today but there is no reason that they were forced to sit there covered in that mess for this long."

"That mess, as you so aptly put it, is a mess of their creation," Sue said.

"How so?" Shelby questioned.

As Principal Figgins started filling Shelby in on what happened, the girls sat in their chairs in the outer office watching Shelby's every move.

"She looked pretty upset at them," Rachel said, hopeful.

"Yeah," Quinn agreed. Maybe all of this wouldn't turn out as bad as they had been anticipating.

That thought vanished when Shelby, having obviously just finished hearing the story, turned around to glare at the girls. Rachel shrank back in her chair and looked away, suddenly finding her fidgeting hands more interesting. Shelby's eyes bore into Quinn and she shook her head at the girl who found that she couldn't hold the angry stare very long either.

"I'm sorry for their actions," Shelby said. "I'll deal with them accordingly."

"As for their punishment from the school," Figgins said, "I've been considering a one day suspension for each."

"What?" Shelby and Sue both asked at the same time.

"I don't care what you do with Q, but I want Rachel Berry expelled," Sue said. "I will not stand for anything less. She is a menace to this school and I will not allow any student to have the gall to throw a slushie in my face and get away with it."

"Excuse me," Shelby said. "You won't stand for it? My child has been slushied in this school more times than even I know about. The policies regarding bullying at this school are a joke. If it had just been Rachel or Quinn or anyone else from the Glee club who had been hit with a slushie not even a single word would have been said about it. But for some reason you, a glorified gym teacher, feel that your worth is more important than that of the students you're supposed to be teaching."

"Your child and her friend created an unsafe environment today in which any number of people could have been seriously injured," Sue shot back. "What if slushies weren't the only things being thrown around? What is someone decided that it was ok to now throw a tray or a plate or full bottles of water? There could have been children with gashes to the head or poked out eyes. What if there had been a fire and the alarm had been pulled and all of a sudden two hundred kids are trying to leave the cafeteria only to find their path covered in slushie leading to broken ankles and people falling all over one another as they slipped in the mess. This is larger than a simple fight."

The girls watched as Sue and Shelby stood face-to-face yelling at each other. Will and Figgins seemed to content to watch as well, not wanting to jump in and perhaps have their heads bitten off.

"The only reason that incident was allowed to get to that point today is because this school is a complete and utter failure when it comes to holding students accountable," Shelby said. "That boy threw a slushie at Rachel because he knew there would be no punishment for it. The entire hockey team could have stood there and one-by-one hit her with a slushie and no one would have done a thing about it." Figgins tried to interject but she held a hand up and stopped him before focusing her attention back on Sue. "The only reason you care at all about any of this is because you ended up getting hit by one and you didn't like it. And what makes it worse is that you still don't care if another student gets hit with one. You don't care that those girls have been sitting out there for an hour freezing because they're not allowed to go and clean up. The only person you care about is yourself and that makes you to worst type of teacher there is."

Sue opened her mouth to say something, surprised even herself when she remained quiet after Shelby said, "I'm not finished yet."

Shelby looked to Figgins and said, "I'm not condoning Rachel and Quinn's actions and I will deal with both of them, but they will not be expelled and they will not be suspended unless you plan on bringing in the entire hockey team and Glee club and suspending them as well. How were the other students involved punished?"

"They all received a weeks worth of detention starting on Monday. And tomorrow all of the kids are staying after school to help clean the cafeteria," Figgins answered.

"That seems reasonable. I expect the same for Quinn and Rachel," Shelby said. "Who is running the detention?"

"I am for the Glee club," Will said. "It'll be for forty minutes every morning before school. The hockey coach is doing it for the team." Shelby nodded.

"Who is in charge here?" Sue asked. "You do not get to come in and make the decisions for the principal regarding punishments for his students."

"Furthermore," Shelby said, ignoring Sue. "I want the slushie machine removed from this school. And I want it done immediately. And if it's not, I will contact the school board and local and national media and tell them all about how McKinley High fosters an environment that not only supports bullies, but caters to them as well. Since the teachers and administrators of this school have refused to do something about it for so long, I am more than happy to force your hand. If it is not gone from this school by Monday morning when the girls report for detention, I will start making some calls."

"I will make the call to have it removed today," Figgins told her. "And I will annotate that the girls are to be included in the detention."

"This is ludicrous," Sue said. "Are you really going to let her come in here and make all of your decisions for you?"

"Sue, she has a point," Figgins said.

"This is not finished," Sue said stepping up close to Shelby and staring down at her.

Shelby met her gaze and offered a look of indifference and calm as she said, "You know, at one point in my life, I would have laughed at someone like you. But then I grew up. Perhaps you should do the same." It was the type of brush off that Sue normally gave people herself. Shelby was almost daring her to reply, but instead Sue moved past her and stormed out of the office. She didn't even acknowledge the girls as she passed. If she had she would have noticed the smile that Quinn and Rachel exchanged. They felt almost triumphant with the knowledge that Shelby was clearly on their side. Maybe the woman wasn't as angry as they thought.

Shelby emerged from the office a couple minutes later and stopped to pick up the carrier with the still sleeping Beth.

"Mom, that was-"

"Let's go," was all Shelby said as she walked out of the office and into the hallway. The girls exchanged a look that was not as happy as it was just a few moments ago as the got up to follow Shelby out.

The entire ride home was silent because Shelby said nothing and the girls didn't have the nerve to speak up. Rachel glanced at Shelby off and on trying to gain even a hint of what her mother had in mind for them, but she couldn't discern anything. She did know one thing for sure though; she wasn't going to pressure Shelby to talk to her the way she had after the party at Quinn's house. She had learned her lesson and knew to wait for Shelby to come to her.

"I want you two to go upstairs and get a shower and then go to your rooms," Shelby said once they were inside.

The girls were headed for the stairs when Shelby's phone rang. Rachel continued her way up but Quinn stopped and looked back when she heard Shelby say, "Hello, Judy." Quinn stood on the second step and listened to Shelby talking. When Shelby turned around and noticed her she pointed up the stairs and Quinn reluctantly turned and went.

"Are you alright?" Rachel asked when Quinn got there.

"That's my mom on the phone."

"Oh," was all Rachel knew to say.

"Yeah. You shower first," Quinn told her. "I'll wait."

Rachel agreed and both girls disappeared into their rooms.

Shelby poured herself a glass of water and sat at the table in the kitchen as she talked with Judy. She was thankful that Beth was staying asleep and affording her the opportunity to be on the phone.

"I can't believe she would do this," Judy said. "She and I have talked about this at length. I specifically told her no more fighting and no more slushies, no matter what the circumstances were."

"I've told Rachel the same about fighting, though she's been the victim of it for so long, I'm not surprised she fought back."

"Yes, but she wouldn't have if Quinn hadn't jumped in there. I understand her standing up for her friend, but I expect her to have more self-control than that," Judy said. "If she had taken a second to think she would have known that she could help Rachel more by turning in the culprits and working to get that damn slushie machine out of the school. Instead she started a brawl that got close to forty kids in trouble and has put an even bigger bulls eye on Rachel's back. She knows better than this. I wish I were there to take care of this."

"Don't worry about it," Shelby told her. "I can take care of it."

"I hate to put this on you, Shelby."

"It's no problem. I've already got it all worked out."

Shelby waited over an hour before she decided to go and talk to each of the girls. She wanted to be sure to give them enough time to get cleaned up and settled. She hated that they had to be covered in the slushies for so long so while she was headed up to punish them, she wanted them clean and warm and comfortable. Or as comfortable as could be.

Shelby carried Beth and went to Rachel's room first and knocked and waited until she was granted entry. She found the girl sitting cross-legged on her bed reading a book. Closing the book, Rachel got to her feet and gave Beth her hand when the baby held her arms out to Rachel.

"Mom, I'm really sorry."

"Not yet, Rachel," Shelby said. "I want you to watch Beth for me so I can go and talk to Quinn first."

"Oh. Ok. It wasn't her fault, Mom."

"I know what happened, honey. She's been warned about fighting. You both have."

"But I-"

"Later. Right now I'm going to talk to Quinn."

Shelby passed Beth to Rachel and the baby took no notice of Rachel's downcast spirit as she squealed with delight at being her in big sister's arms. "She doesn't want to talk to me yet, Beth. I know she's really angry though. I wonder what she's going to do. Did she give you any hints?" Beth reached up and tried to grab one of Rachel's earrings and smiled even though Rachel moved her hand away. "Of course not. Come on; let's see how you're doing."

Rachel set Beth down on the floor on her stomach and sat down in front of her. Beth wasn't quite at the stage where she could crawl, but she pushed herself up and liked to try. Rachel watched and encouraged Beth though her mind was on Shelby and Quinn.

Shelby knocked on the door to the guest room and waited until Quinn called for her to enter. Unlike Rachel, Quinn was sitting at the desk doing her homework. Shelby took up residence in the chair she had sat in the night before to help Quinn finish her homework and waited until the girl looked over at her. Quinn's pen hovered above her paper and she took a moment to gather her thoughts before dropping it and looking to Shelby.

"Your mom wasn't too happy about this," Shelby said.

"I didn't think she would be," Quinn said. "I know how she feels about fighting."

"Then why do it? If you know how she feels?"

"I wasn't thinking. I was trying to help Rachel."

"But that's the thing, Quinn, you didn't help Rachel," Shelby said. "If you had been thinking you would have thought about how upset your mother would be and how you would get into trouble. You would have thought about the fact that you were getting Rachel into trouble. You would have thought about the rest of your friends in Glee club who rushed to your defense who are also now in trouble. And now Sue Sylvester is angry at Rachel. Do you think that's going to make it any easier for her at school?" Shelby's voice was rising now in anger and she stood up. Quinn never moved from her spot though tears started to well in her eyes.

"There are a lot of kids in that school who look up to you, including the kid sitting in the next room."

"They shouldn't look up to me," Quinn said. "Look at what happened to me last year."

"But they do look up to you, Quinn. They watched you struggle and still come out on top and they follow your example. Is it ok for there to be fights everyday in the cafeteria? Or in the hallways? Is the best way to fight back to pick up a slushie and throw it at someone else?"

"No, of course not."

"You're right. But that's just what you did."

Quinn dropped her gaze to her hands as Shelby continued to lecture, unable to keep the angry woman's gaze.

Rachel glanced at her clock once more and found that fifteen minutes had passed since Shelby went into Quinn's room. For every minute that passed Rachel grew more and more anxious. If she was taking that long with Quinn, who wasn't even her own kid, then who knows what she was going to say or do to her. Rachel expected the worse and it looked like she was going to get it.

Beth had grown tired of being on her stomach and eventually rolled over and was growing bored with having nothing to do. She fussed at Rachel for not giving her undivided attention and soon let out a full cry to let Rachel know she was ready to be picked up. Rachel gave in to the baby's demands and soon held Beth who had successfully diverted her sister's attentions back to her. Beth smiled at Rachel couldn't help but return the sentiment, though it never reached her eyes.

Shelby stood with her arms crossed and looked down at Quinn while waiting for an answer to her question.

"I didn't show good judgment, Shelby. You're right," Quinn said. "I was just tired and having a terrible day and seeing Rachel getting picked on was the last straw." Her voice was shaking and she wiped at a tear that was making its way down her cheek.

Shelby softened a bit and sat back down in the chair. Thirty minutes of a lecture was probably more than enough for Quinn at this time.

"Listen to me, Quinn," Shelby said. She reached out and put a hand on Quinn's chin and turned the girl's head so she would look at her. "I know you were tired and I know that you did what you did for Rachel. I know that you were trying to protect her and for that I'm extremely grateful. But you have to learn that when you run headlong into something without sparing a thought for the outcome, you're eventually going to have to deal with the consequences. You cannot act on impulse simply because you don't like what's happening. Your mother told you no fighting or slushies under any circumstances. There was no amendment to that saying that fight was ok in case of a friend being slushied. You ignored and completely disregarded your mother's instructions. So you're grounded this weekend. There will be no going out, no phone, no computer, no TV, and no iPod. And you're going to serve morning detention at school every day next week."

"Morning detention? How early is that?" Quinn asked. She didn't deal well with the mornings as it was.

"Yes. But don't worry about it, Quinn. I'm going to make sure you're not tired by making sure you get to bed early every night. Is all of that understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Quinn said, wiping another tear away.

"Good." Shelby tucked a loose strand of hair by Quinn's ear and then got to her feet. She picked up Quinn's phone and turned it off and told the girl she would give it back to her Monday morning. Quinn nodded and watched as Shelby walked out of the room, waiting until the door was shut to let anymore tears fall.

Rachel was headed back to her room with Beth in tow when she saw Shelby emerge from Quinn's room. "She needed to be changed," Rachel said. "I didn't know if I was supposed to stay in my room or…"

"It's fine, Rachel," Shelby assured her. "Come on, let's have a quick talk."

Rachel did know if she considered Shelby spending over thirty minutes talking with Quinn quick, but she didn't say so as she walked into her room with her mother following.

"Honey, I understand why you did what you did today," Shelby said, her tone much gentler than that she had used with Quinn. "You've been attacked so many times and once you saw the other kids fighting back, you figured it was ok to do the same. And I know that you didn't mean to hit Sue Sylvester with that slushie, but you were throwing it at someone and you just can't do that, Rachel. It is not ok to participate in a fight like that. Did we have a talk about peer pressure after the party?"

"They all jumped in to help me, Mom. It was my fault. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."

"I know that. Like I said, I understand your position today. You've been put through a lot in that school and I want you to know that I am pleased that you know to stand up for yourself. But the way in which you went about it was wrong. So as punishment, your driving lessons will have to wait until after the weekend because I will not be taking you out as planned."

Shelby reached out and took Beth from Rachel and then turned to leave. Rachel was confused and uncertain and called out to her mom.

"But wait. I don't understand. This was all my fault."

"No it wasn't, honey. The blame goes to the boy from the hockey team and then to Quinn to escalating it," Shelby explained.

"And what about Quinn?"

"Quinn is grounded for the weekend. I expected better of her." With that Shelby and Beth left the room not five minutes after she had entered it.

Rachel simply stood in place for a few minutes trying to process all that had happened. She didn't understand why Shelby wasn't treating her in the same way she treated Quinn. Quinn got over thirty minutes and she got a three minute slap on the wrist. And what did Shelby mean when she said that she expected better of Quinn. Rachel wanted to know just what Shelby expected of her then. Did her mom see her as some kind of troublemaker who couldn't be relied on to make sound decisions? Of course she did. Look at all the trouble she had been in already. If there was one role Quinn knew how to play, it was the golden child and it seemed that she was even able to fill that role with Shelby.

Rachel thought back to that morning when Quinn had been so grumpy and how Shelby had made a point to sit her down for breakfast and check over her homework one more time before they left for school. The more she thought about it, the more she thought about the times that Shelby made it a point to interact with Quinn. Rachel felt her fear and anger welling inside of her as she moved to sit down on her bed. What if Shelby found someone she liked better to be a mom to? What If she truly did get to a point where she walked away and left Rachel? The thought was almost too much for Rachel and she tried to block it out, but she never quite could get the image of Shelby walking away from her out of her mind.

By dinner time, Quinn's face held no traces of the tears that had fallen earlier and she and Shelby were joking with each other as they set the table. Rachel watched from the doorway as Quinn sat down next to Shelby at the table and took Beth and held her. Shelby and Quinn were focused on the baby and they both laughed at the same time at something Beth was doing. Rachel noticed how Shelby looked from Beth's face and then to Quinn's, never losing that adoring look she always gave to the infant.

It was then that Rachel truly understood why Shelby thought so highly of Quinn. She felt so stupid for not figuring it out before. Beth and Quinn looked just like each other. In Quinn, Shelby could get a glimpse of who her daughter might become. Of course she expected better of Quinn because Shelby expected the best from Beth. Beth was the daughter she had truly wanted. And Quinn had been able to give that to her.

"Rachel, what are you doing? Come sit down," Shelby said when she looked up and saw Rachel just standing in the doorway.

Rachel took her seat, but stayed silent for most of the dinner, speaking up only to answer questions that were directed at her. She went back to her room after the meal and kept herself occupied on her computer. She didn't want to have to stay and be around the rest of them.

"What's the matter with her?" Quinn asked Shelby just before she was going to go to bed.

"I assume she's angry because I told her I wouldn't be taking her driving this weekend," Shelby said. "If she's still in a mood tomorrow, I'll talk to her about it. I'll let her have her space and be angry tonight."

Rachel had hoped that Shelby would come and see how she was doing or just look in and say hello, but she never came. Even after she heard Shelby saying goodnight to Quinn, earlier than normal, she noted, Shelby never came to her door. It wasn't until a little after ten when Rachel was getting into bed did Shelby poke her head in the room.

"Goodnight, Rachel. I love you."

"Goodnight, Mom." Shelby flipped the switch and Rachel lied awake in the dark for some time before the sleep finally came.

Rachel suddenly found herself sitting in a room all alone and no matter how many times she looked around; she couldn't quite make out any of the paintings on the wall or figure out why the light was so dim. She heard a noise behind her and looked back to see her mom walking towards her.

"Hi, Mom," Rachel called to her, but Shelby never stopped or even looked her way.

Shelby kept walking past her until Rachel found herself yelling at Shelby's back. She was telling her she loved her and that she needed her and was begging her to stay, but Shelby never stopped or looked back. Rachel tried talking to her until the woman had completely disappeared.

Rachel sat straight up in bed, gasping for breath and sweating; the nightmare having done a number on her. She looked at her clock and saw that it was two minutes after midnight and she took a moment to let her eyes adjust while she calmed her breathing. Making a quick decision, Rachel threw the covers back and got out of bed. She didn't want to wake her, but she just needed to see if she was still there. She needed her to be there.

Rachel walked as quietly as she could in the hallway to Shelby's room. She just needed to see. She had to be sure. She wasn't going to wake her. Rachel's mind was repeating over and over again that she just needed to see that Shelby was still there.

Rachel turned the door handle slowly and as steadily as she shaking hands would allow. Just a quick look and she could go back to bed. She opened the door just enough so she could look in and see Shelby's bed. Rachel knew that everything would be ok in a second when she could see her, but that feeling of reassurance vanished when she set eyes on the empty bed. Rachel's breathing sped up and her grip on the door handle tightened.

Shelby was not there.

**A/N – Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. Thanks!**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N – Thank you guys so much for all of the reviews and messages I've received. It really has been overwhelming this whole time. So thank you very much. I hope you all like this chapter. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Rachel stared into the empty room for another minute as she tried to work out where her mother was. Her mind was still cloudy with sleep and her heart was still racing from the nightmare and she couldn't work out the logical conclusion that Shelby was downstairs feeding Beth. As Rachel focused on the empty bed all of her fears about being left behind remained on the surface and wouldn't allow her to calm down. All she could think about was the image of her mother walking away from her without so much as a glance over her shoulder at the daughter she was leaving. Rachel was ready to give up and return to her room to be alone when a voice from behind her pulled her stare out of the darkness of the bedroom.

"Rachel?" Shelby asked when she got to the top of the stairs and noticed her daughter standing in her doorway.

Rachel jumped, startled at the voice, and spun around to see Shelby cradling a sleeping Beth.

"Honey?"

"Mom? I-I thought-" was all Rachel was able to get out before her eyes filled with tears and she started to cry.

"Rachel?" Shelby's tone was concerned as she quickly made her way over to the girl and wrapped her in a one-armed hug. She rubbed the girls back and whispered soothing words to her. "Shhh, honey. Don't wake up Beth. It's alright." Rachel continued to cry with her head buried on Shelby's shoulder.

Shelby stepped closer to the bedroom door and nudged it all the way open with her foot and then ushered Rachel inside. She sat Rachel down in the comfy, oversized chair that was in the corner and then shut the door and gently put Beth in her crib, hoping that the baby would stay asleep so she could focus on Rachel. The teenager in question was trying to control her crying while wiping at the tears on her face. Shelby watched as one cry turned into a yawn while Rachel used the back of her hand to wipe her eye, giving her the look of an overtired young child. It broke Shelby's heart to think of Rachel being this upset. Seeing Rachel appear so young gave her an idea that Shelby hoped might help to calm the little girl.

Shelby stepped over to Rachel and helped her to her feet. In her place, Shelby sat down in the chair and then sat Rachel on her lap. She pulled up the chair's matching ottoman and reclined with her daughter so they could both be comfortable. Rachel melted into Shelby's embrace and rested her head on her mother's shoulder and continued to cry. Shelby didn't try and stop her tears; she just offered what support she could by rubbing Rachel's back and holding her.

It took Rachel a couple minutes to quiet down to where her cries were just sniffles. She didn't look at Shelby and instead focused on the ring on Shelby's hand, playing with it until finally just settling on holding the woman's hand in her own.

Shelby wasn't sure what to say to Rachel, other than to ask what had happened, but she could sense that Rachel was getting more out of being held and so she was content to sit with her, hoping that Rachel would feel comfortable to open up. She knew that was a tall order because getting Rachel to open up was like pulling teeth, but she hoped they were getting closer.

A few minutes later as the sleep and sorrow wore off and Rachel fully woke up, her self-consciousness returned and she sat up and moved to get off of Shelby's lap.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, standing up. "I just… I'll go back to my room now."

"No, wait," Shelby said getting up and stopping her. "What happened?" It looked like Rachel wasn't going to say anything on her own.

"I'm fine."

"Rachel, you just spent five minutes sitting on my lap crying. You are clearly not fine."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "I won't do it again."

Shelby sighed and got herself down to Rachel's eye level and said, "That's not what I meant. Talk to me, honey. Tell me what's wrong so I can help you."

Rachel only held Shelby's look for a few seconds before she looked down and shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Can I have some water?" Rachel countered with her own question.

"Yes, of course," Shelby answered. She sighed and stood up to her full height and took Rachel's hand and led her over to the master bathroom. She gave Rachel a cup and the girl turned the sink on and began to fill it. Shelby stepped back over towards Beth's things and took two baby wipes from their case. She waited until Rachel had finished a long sip of her water before she started to clean the girl's face. Rachel didn't protest as her mom wiped at her cheeks and nose to clean away the traces of tears that had been left from her crying. Shelby even took the hand Rachel had so often used to wipe her face and cleaned that as well.

Rachel finished her water as Shelby threw the baby wipes away. They both stood for a few moments, just looking at each other in silence before Rachel spoke up.

"I had a nightmare."

Shelby nodded and moved them towards the bed. She put an arm around Rachel's waist indicated that she wanted her to get up into the bed and the girl did so with just a little hesitation. Shelby sat down next to her and held Rachel's hand.

"What was it about?"

"Ummm… I'm not really sure," Rachel fibbed. "You were leaving and I- You just wouldn't stop," Rachel looked shyly up at Shelby to try and gage her mother's reaction. "I don't remember all of it."

Shelby shifted her position on the bed so that she could lean up against the backboard. She took Rachel with her, wrapping an arm around the girl and letting her lean back into her chest and shoulder. Rachel rested the back of her head on Shelby's shoulder and once again began to play with the ring on her mother's right hand. Shelby pulled the blankets up around them so that Rachel's legs would be covered and the girl kept warm.

"Why did it scare you so badly?" Shelby asked.

Rachel wanted to say that she was afraid that Shelby was going to leave her. Even as they sat this close in a way that made Rachel feel safe, she couldn't shake the feeling that Shelby could one day give her away. One part of her mind was telling her it was completely impossible, but an even bigger part was telling her that it's already happened. All of her parents had walked out on her multiple times so Rachel knew that Shelby was capable of it again.

"Because you- I thought- I don't know," was the answer she finally settled on. "I was startled when I woke up and it was dark and I thought I would come and find you, but you weren't there."

"Oh honey, that was just bad timing. I was downstairs feeding Beth. I didn't go anywhere."

"I know. It was silly of me to look for you anyway after having a nightmare. I'm not a little kid."

"Rachel, it wasn't silly."

"Yes, it was," Rachel stated adamantly. "I wasn't even going to wake you up; I just wanted to see that you were there. I know better though. You're not supposed to bother anyone else when you have a nightmare. And I wasn't trying to bother you," Rachel said and Shelby could tell that she was starting to get worked up again. It also angered Shelby to hear Henry and Scott's voices in Rachel's declaration that you weren't supposed to bother anyone after a nightmare.

"Rachel, you didn't bother me," Shelby assured her. She turned Rachel's head so that the girl had no choice but to look at her. "You can come to me any time you have a nightmare, ok?"

Rachel nodded and they settled back down before Shelby asked, "How often did you have nightmares while still at your dads' house? It sounds like they've been going on a while."

Rachel mumbled something that Shelby didn't understand and let go of Shelby's hand and rested her hands together in her lap, drawing back into herself. Shelby wished she could get to the bottom of while Rachel always clammed up like this. She didn't know what to do in order to get the girl to talk to her so, for the time being, she settled for trying to comfort her right now. They sat for a few minutes in silence, save for Shelby's soft humming. Rachel's breathing started to even out and Shelby knew she was falling asleep.

"Are you feeling better now?" Shelby asked quietly.

"Yes," she said drowsily. She certainly felt better than what she felt when she had been standing at the doorway staring into nothing but darkness. "Thank you."

"That's what I'm here for, honey," Shelby said. "I want you to remember that."

Rachel nodded and then yawned, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. "Can I go back to bed now?"

Shelby glanced at her clock and saw that it was twenty minutes until one and agreed that Rachel needed to get back to sleep. She knew that she had gotten all out of Rachel that she was going to get tonight and she was not going to keep the tired girl awake trying to talk with her about it. She would talk with her again in the morning before school.

"Why don't you just stay here with me for the rest of the night?" Shelby said.

"I couldn't do that," Rachel mumbled on the verge of sleep. "I'm not allowed."

"Yes you are," Shelby whispered and then held her tighter.

It only took a couple more minutes before Shelby knew Rachel was out completely. She sat up straighter and maneuvered herself so she could support Rachel's head and then scooted the girl down until she was lying down with her cheek that was once on Shelby's shoulder, now resting on a pillow. Rachel curled herself into a ball and Shelby tucked the blankets around her.

Shelby leaned back against the headboard and stared down at her young daughter and watched her sleep. Her mind was racing with what Rachel had told her. The girl had clearly been having nightmares for a long time but had either been alone or not allowed to seek solace with her dads. She cried over Shelby being gone, but couldn't talk to her when she was there. It was frustrating to say the least, and Shelby wished she knew what had brought on this nightmare in the first place.

Shelby kept her vigil over the girl for another half an hour before finally lying down on the other side of the bed from Rachel and drifting off to sleep.

Rachel stretched her legs out and yawned before opening her eyes and realizing that she wasn't in her room like she thought. The events of the previous evening came flooding back to her and she rolled over and looked at Shelby. She was at once both self-conscious and grateful that her mother had allowed her to stay. She watched Shelby sleep for a few minutes and really started to wonder if she had been wrong yesterday. Maybe she had misunderstood her mother's attention for Quinn as compared with the time Shelby spent with her after they got home yesterday. But what she couldn't get out of her head was the fact that Shelby expected better out of Quinn than her. She couldn't pretend that Shelby hadn't said it. She knew her mother had resigned herself to the fact that her daughter was a troublemaker. She didn't even try and punish her like she did Quinn, because really, what was the point?

With a sigh, Rachel pulled the covers back and got out of bed as quietly as she could so she wouldn't wake up her mother or Beth and then made her way out of the room. It was about an hour before she normally woke up anyway and so Rachel decided to go for a run in an effort to clear her head. She thought back to the first time she had stayed at Shelby's house and how she hadn't left a note when she went out running and how Shelby had been worried. Ten minutes later when Rachel quietly left the house, she purposefully didn't leave a note. Maybe her mother would wonder where she was.

Rachel ran faster than she normally did as if she were somehow trying to outrun the wave of emotions that followed her. She couldn't outrun her fears about Shelby or her anger at Quinn. And try as she might, she couldn't help but feel guilty at the thought of Shelby looking for her in the house while she was out here because she hadn't left her word of where she was going. So much so, that she cut her run short and turned back to the house in an effort to get back before she was missed.

When she stepped back in the house, Rachel could hear the movement on the second story. Shelby was awake, but probably not Quinn. Rachel made her way up the stairs bracing herself for Shelby's anger at just leaving.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Shelby said as she came out of her room with Beth. "How long have you been up? Long enough for a run, I see."

Rachel only nodded and then muttered something about going to get a shower. At this point she wasn't sure which was worse; her guilt over possibly worrying her mother or the reality that Shelby hadn't noticed in the first place.

It was an unfair assessment, of course, but Rachel didn't realize that. Her confusion and assumptions kept her from truly appreciating the actions Shelby took for her the night before. Her view of her life was clouded by how she had been dealing with life so far.

Rachel entered the kitchen dressed and ready for school and found Shelby and Beth sitting at the table talking. Shelby had Beth sitting on the table in front of her and was rattling off silly rhymes, much to the baby's delight. Rachel poured herself some juice and grabbed a banana and sat down across from her mother.

"Are you feeling better this morning?" Shelby asked her, moving Beth so that the girl was sitting in her lap. Rachel nodded as she took a bite of her fruit. "I'd like to talk some more about it."

"Really?" Rachel asked, hopeful.

"Yes. Are you up for that?"

"Mayb-" Rachel was cut off when Quinn bounded into the room.

"Sorry I'm running late. It took a lot longer to pick out an outfit than it should have."

"You're not too late," Shelby said, turning around to look at Quinn. "And why did you have to pick out an outfit? Why aren't you wearing your Cheerio uniform?"

"I, uhhh, actually quit the Cheerios yesterday."

"Really? Why?" Shelby never took her eyes off of Quinn as the girl moved about the kitchen, making herself a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk.

Rachel continued to look at Shelby, her last cut-off reply still stuck on her lips. She missed it when Quinn looked her way, perhaps thinking that Rachel would jump in and start explaining.

"Coach Sylvester tried to force me to stop associating with Rachel and to quit the Glee club. So I quit Cheerios instead," Quinn answered.

"Quinn, I'm so sorry you were put in that position, but I'm proud of you for your decision. Your mother has told me how much you enjoyed being a cheerleader."

"But I like Glee more. And I wasn't about to let her tell me who I can and can't hang out with. Rachel is my friend and I would never choose Cheerios over her."

Rachel couldn't look at Quinn or Shelby as they looked to her as if they expected a response. Instead Rachel got to her feet and threw her half-eaten banana in the trash and poured the rest of her juice out in the sink. She heard Shelby saying, "Thank you, Quinn," as she left the kitchen and headed to her room to grab her school bag.

"I'm going to walk to school," Rachel announced a couple minutes later when she returned.

"I thought I'd just drive both of you in since you both have to stay after today to help clean the cafeteria and Quinn is grounded," Shelby said.

Quinn was still embarrassed to hear her punishment proclaimed out loud because she hated the idea of being on Shelby's bad side. She respected the woman so much and wanted to please her. It almost felt funny to think about, but Quinn felt closer to Shelby after last night's lecture than she ever had before. And they had gotten along so well the night before that it was upsetting to know that Shelby was still punishing her, even though she understood it logically.

"I'd rather walk," Rachel said. With that she was out the front door before Shelby had a chance to say anything else.

"Should I run and get her?" Quinn asked.

"No, let her walk if she wants," Shelby answered. She was just confused by the girl's behavior now as she had been last night before they all went to bed. "I'll talk to her this afternoon after school. Finish up your breakfast and we'll leave in a little while."

Rachel was three blocks from the school when Shelby's SUV pulled along beside her. She kept walking and only looked over once to acknowledge them.

"Do you want to ride the rest of the way, honey?" Shelby called out to her.

"No, thank you," Rachel responded. "I'm almost there."

"Ok. I'll see you later. Love you, kid," Shelby said before driving off. Rachel looked on at the car containing her mother, Quinn and Beth. Her bottom lip started to quiver, but she defiantly stopped any tears from falling. She wasn't going to do this today.

Shelby waited in the parking lot after she had dropped off Quinn to make sure she saw Rachel enter the building as well. She watched her daughter walk up to the main doors and enter them before backing out of her parking space and heading for home.

Rachel didn't stop by her locker as she normally would have first thing in the morning because she was certain Quinn would be there waiting for her. She didn't have anything she wanted to say to Quinn right now. Well, she took that back; she didn't have anything to say to Quinn that wouldn't make her feel lousy as well. The thing on the tip of her tongue was to tell Quinn to stop stealing her mother.

Rachel successfully avoided everyone until lunch. She didn't go to the cafeteria and she didn't go to the choir room. Quinn founding her sitting in one of the rows of seats instead of on or near the stage as she would have guessed. Rachel was eating a salad and stiffened when she noticed that Quinn was there.

"I've been looking around for you all day," Quinn said.

"I've been in class."

"How come you stormed out of the house this morning?" Quinn asked, taking a seat a few down the row from Rachel.

"I just wanted to walk. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Rachel, what's the matter? Why are you acting like this?

"Like what?"

"Rachel, come on. What's going on?"

"There's nothing going on, Quinn. I just wanted to be alone for lunch," Rachel said. "That's not a crime. I always sit in this seat. Its row 22, seat 64. The row represents Barbra Streisand's age when she stared in _Funny Girl_ on Broadway. And the seat is the year the show premiered. Sitting here reminds me to hold onto my dreams, even though I'm alone. I used to come here a lot before you decided to be my friend. I don't have to spend every moment of my day with you."

Quinn was taken aback, hurt and confused. "I know you don't. It had just kind of become a little tradition to eat lunch together."

"Maybe you could call my mom and have her come and eat with you," Rachel jabbed as she began packing up her lunch.

"What's that supposed to mean? What does your mom have to do with this?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter anyway because you'll get to spend lots of time with her this weekend since you're grounded. I don't get to spend time with her because she's not going to teach me how to drive."

"Rachel, what are you talking about?" Quinn asked. "That doesn't make any sense. Aren't you going to be home this weekend with us?"

"Even so…" Rachel said as she stood up and walked to the center aisle to make her exit. "Enjoy your lunch, Quinn."

Quinn didn't see Rachel again until that afternoon after school had let and they were all forced to help clean the cafeteria. Santana and Brittany were the last two to arrive and they were greeted with whistles and cat calls when they entered the room in regular clothes and not the Cheerio uniform. Brittany twirled for everyone to see her outfit and Santana took a bow.

"Coach Sylvester just gave us the same speech she gave Quinn yesterday and we quit as well," Santana explained.

The club, Rachel included, cheered their decision and offered them hugs. Rachel's reaction was not lost on Quinn who didn't understand why Rachel had been so cold about this same subject just this morning.

The festivities were broken up by the teachers who were there to supervise as the kids were instructed to get to work. They had to sweep and mop and wipe down all of the tables and counters thoroughly. Quinn made her way over to the table Rachel was working on so she could try and talk to her again.

"Why didn't you say anything this morning when I told Shelby that I had quit the Cheerios?"

"What did you need me to say, Quinn? I told you yesterday in the office that I was grateful," Rachel said. "I didn't know you needed me to make a big deal over it in front my mom too."

"God, why are you acting like this?" Quinn asked, annoyed.

"I'm not acting anyway," Rachel said. "I'm just trying to do what I'm told so we can get out of here."

"Just tell me now, are you going to be like this all weekend or can I look forward to a bit of a break at some point? Although it would be really nice to know what I did wrong in the first place."

"Oh you haven't done anything wrong, Quinn," Rachel said. "Trust me, you're doing everything right. Ask anyone. Ask Shelby, she'll tell you."

Quinn shook her head and started to turn away but stopped when Rachel called out to her.

"Just so you know, Quinn, I tried to explain to Shelby that the whole fight was my fault so that you wouldn't get into trouble."

"Rachel, that's not-"

"But she wasn't all that interested in me; she was more focused on you. You were more important to her."

"Rachel, you're being ridiculous," Quinn said. "I don't know what your problem is today." If Quinn had taken the time to process what Rachel was saying instead of lashing out, she would have realized that Rachel had just told her exactly what was wrong.

"I don't have a problem today," Rachel said. "I'm finally firm on where I stand and it's nice to know what people expect, or don't expect, of you. It's refreshing actually," Rachel lied. In truth, she was heartbroken at her conceived reality that Shelby liked Quinn better than her. "So if you'll excuse me, I think I can finish this up faster if I'm not talking to anyone."

Quinn angrily walked away from her friend, tossing her rag in a bucket and telling Mr. Schue she was going to the bathroom before she walked out of the cafeteria.

Shelby was waiting in parking lot when both girls walked out, Quinn lagging behind Rachel.

"I'm just going to walk home, Mom," Rachel announced when she got to the SUV.

"No, you're not," Shelby told her. "Part of your restriction from Glee was that I was picking you up everyday and today is the last day of that."

"But, Mom," Rachel whined.

"Get in the car, honey," Shelby told her.

Rachel opted for the back seat behind Shelby and angrily slammed her door, startling Beth and causing the baby to cry.

"Rachel," Shelby growled out as Quinn got in the front seat and turned around to see what was wrong with Beth. Rachel fished for her pacifier and eventually found it and gave it to Beth whose cries started to turn into whimpers.

The silent tension that filled the car was palpable and Shelby felt as if she was missing too many of the puzzle pieces to put this one together.

"So, did you two have a good day?" Shelby said when she couldn't take the silence anymore.

"No," Quinn answered.

"Not really," was Rachel's reply.

"No one bothered you, did they? Sue Sylvester didn't try and talk to either one of you, right?"

Both answers were short and both were negative again. Shelby gave up for the time being and flipped on the radio. Whatever fight the girls were having needed to be worked out soon because Shelby had not planned on spending her weekend with two sulking teenagers. But the car did not seem to be the best place to hash out whatever problem they were having.

"I want to talk to you two," Shelby said when they were all inside the house. This is how she had always solved major arguments between Vocal Adrenaline students; she sat them down and forced them to work out their problems. She expected to be able to do the same with Quinn and Rachel.

"I've got homework," Quinn said.

"I've got things I need to work on," Rachel said. They were both still headed for the stairs.

"You can do all of that later. Sit down, both of you." Rachel and Quinn simply turned and looked at her. "Now," Shelby added to get them moving.

The girls reluctantly sat side-by-side on the couch and waited for Shelby to begin. They looked everywhere but at each other or the woman standing before them and both appeared about an uninterested as a person could get.

"Quinn," Shelby started. Of course, Rachel thought. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't know," Quinn answered. "You'll have to ask Rachel about that."

"Rachel?"

"Nothing's wrong," Rachel said. "Everything is the same as it always was. I just understand it a little better now."

Shelby just stared at her. What did that even mean? "Understand what, honey? Does this have anything to do with last night?"

This caught Quinn's attention and she finally turned to look at the other two. What had happened last night?

"I barely remember last night," Rachel lied. "I'm just trying to do what is expected of me. But I wouldn't want to drag Quinn down with that. Not again."

"Rachel, what is bothering you? Talk to me, not around it."

"Are you sure you want to talk to me?"

"Why do you keep doing that?" Quinn cut it in. "You've been like that all day. What is your problem?"

Rachel collected her thoughts and kept herself from shouting out that Quinn was the problem. This whole house was the problem. Shelby was the problem. Beth was the problem. The fact that Rachel wasn't first one anyone's list and never had been was the problem. The fact that Quinn had successfully stolen away the one person that had started to make her feel better was the problem. But what could she have expected? If she were smarter she would have realized that Shelby cared more about Quinn long before now. The last school year, Shelby had been in the position to save both of them and Quinn was the only one who received a reprieve. Shelby had adopted her baby and saved Quinn from being a single teenage mother and had helped to protect Quinn from the heartache of not knowing what happened with Beth. Rachel on the other hand had been pushed to the side and made to wait. And even now that she had gotten her wish and had her mother, she found that Shelby still cared more about Quinn than her. Rachel was seeing green every time she so much as thought about Quinn and Shelby and it simply wasn't fair.

"I don't have a problem," Rachel answered, her show face going on. "I just wanted to be left alone today."

"Fine," Shelby said. "Go to your rooms, both of you. We can try and work this out again later. And I won't both of you to have a better attitude when we do." The girls did as they were told, leaving the confused Shelby behind.

Rachel dug through the one drawer she always kept locked and pulled out the tape Jesse had given her all those months before. She wanted to be able to listen to Shelby sing and remember when the idea of a mother was all she had and it could never be tainted by reality. She lowered the volume on her stereo so only she could hear it and laid her head on her crossed arms on the desk and listened.

Two hours later, Quinn poked her head out from the bedroom door and looked around. She stepped out and went to the stairs and went down until she could see Shelby sitting in the living room reading with Beth.

"Shelby," Quinn called out and waited for the woman to turn around and look at her. "Can I come out and get a drink?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Shelby said. "I didn't mean for you guys to be up there that long. I thought something would have been worked out by now."

"I don't know what's wrong," Quinn said when she got to the bottom of the stairs. "She barely talked to me all day long but when she did it was usually snarky or insulting. She kept saying I should talk to you about it."

"Well then she's got us both confused," Shelby said. "She had a nightmare last night and came to find me and we actually talked about it some, but this morning it was like it never happened and she's back to being angry and moody like she was yesterday. I'll go up and talk to her. You go on and get your drink."

They went their separate ways and Shelby knocked on Rachel's door when she reached the second story. "Rachel, you can come on out. Don't go too far though because I want to talk to you after I change Beth. Ok?"

"Ok," she heard Rachel say back.

Rachel left her room, having long since changed into some comfortable sweats, and made her way to the kitchen in search of a snack. Her shoulders sagged when she saw that Quinn was there as well, but she rose to her full height in anger and hurt when Quinn turned around to face her.

"What are you doing with that?" Rachel yelled.

"With what?" Quinn asked, confused.

"My glass. That's my star glass." Quinn had opened the cupboard just moments before and pulled out the first glass she saw. She had no idea the star glass had any meaning when she poured her milk into it and took a sip.

"I'm just using for a drink. What is the problem?" Quinn asked.

"It's mine," Rachel said. "That's the problem. You can't use it. And you definitely can't use it for milk." Rachel was near tears as she moved into the kitchen. "Dump it out."

"No," Quinn answered, just as defiantly.

"Give it to me," Rachel said.

Rachel grabbed for the cup and tried to pull it away and Quinn held on tightly and pulled as well. The tugging back and forth was sloshing the milk all over and in a moment that seemed to go in slow motion for Rachel, the glass slipped from their hands and fell to the floor. Rachel was crying before it even had a chance to shatter, sending milk everywhere.

"That was my star glass," Rachel sobbed out. She could see the piece of glass with the large broke gold star on it. "Why do you have to take everything and ruin it?"

Before Quinn could answer, Rachel turned and ran out of the room and then out of the house. Quinn heard the front door slam as she stood stunned in her spot. Her bare feet did not help the situation because she was wary about stepping anywhere and possibly getting glass in her foot.

"What happened?" Shelby said, running into the kitchen after finally getting Beth down for a nap. "I heard yelling."

"We broke her star glass," Quinn said pointing to the mess. "I used it. I didn't know it meant anything. She was so upset that I was using it. But then I wouldn't give it back when she tried to take it and we were spilling milk and the glass slipped out of our hands and broke. I didn't know," Quinn said again as the tears formed in her eyes.

"Oh, Quinn. Where did she go?"

"She ran out of the house. I don't know where she went."

"Can you get up on the counter?" Shelby asked when she noticed the girl's feet.

Quinn used her hands to push up onto the counter and sat there while Shelby got to work cleaning up the mess.

"Rachel told me a story when we first met about how when she was little and she was sad her fathers would bring her a glass of water," Shelby said as she started to explain to Quinn why the glass was so important to Rachel. "Well, when I told her that it would probably be best if we went our separate ways for the time being, I gave her that glass and asked her to get a drink of water from it the next time she felt sad. I told her that gold stars were my thing which, as I'm sure you know, are her thing as well. Rachel held onto the glass as a memento of our short time together and also as proof of our connection. I was stupid, of course, and didn't figure it all out until months later. But she's the only one who uses that glass and she only uses it for water."

Quinn was crying as she listened to Shelby describe Rachel's connection to the star glass. She understood the girl's hurt at losing something that she clung to so tightly. "I'm so sorry, Shelby. I didn't know. I shouldn't have argued with her about it, but she's made me so angry today. I don't understand why she's so mad at me. She kept telling me to not worry about anything because I was going to get to hang out with you this weekend and that I just needed to talk to you. And that she finally knew what was expected of her. She told me I would get to spend all weekend with you and she didn't get any time with you since you weren't going to take her driving. She said yesterday when we were on our way to Principal Figgins' office that you were probably going to give her back for sure this time. I thought she was over all of that though."

"She said that?" Shelby asked as she dumped the paper towels full of milk and glass into the trashcan. "Oh God," Shelby said when she saw Quinn nod. It was all starting to click for her. The nightmares, the sulking, the hesitance to say anything. She was even beginning to understand Rachel's confusion over the punishments and the time she had spent with Quinn. Rachel thought that Shelby didn't want her anymore and it broke the woman's heart.

Shelby left the room and returned a few moments later with a pair of Quinn's shoes.

"Here, put these on and then get down and mop the floor to make sure all of the glass is picked up. You stay here with Beth; I've got to go and find Rachel."

Rachel ran to a park that was six blocks away. Her tears had only just started to subside when she sat down at a picnic table and rested her head on her hands and caught her breath. She had no idea where she was supposed to go now. She desperately wanted to talk to someone who would understand and maybe even want to take her in. She thought about calling Judy Fabray, almost as a way to stick it to Quinn. You stole my mom so I'm going to steal yours. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Besides, Mrs. Fabray would undoubtedly be on Quinn's side.

She thought a few more minutes and realized she knew who to call. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and scrolled through her contacts until she found the number she wanted.

"Hello," the voice on the other end said.

"Grandpa," Rachel squeaked out. "It's Rachel."

"Hi, sweetheart. Are you ok?"

"Is Nana there?"

"No, she's out right now. Can I help you with something?" Paul was growing concerned with his granddaughter's tone.

Rachel had assumed she'd be able to talk to Rebecca, but she knew she could trust her grandfather as well. Shelby had told her how mad her parents had been when they found out about what she did to Rachel, and the way Rachel saw it, her grandparents were the only ones who had even been truly happy to know of her existence and the only ones who had ever truly wanted her.

"Grandpa, I don't think it's working out with Mom." Rachel's tears started anew and Paul's heart ached for her. "I don't think she wants me anymore."

**A/N – Please leave me a review. Thanks! **


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N – Hi guys! Thank you so much for all of the reviews. The feedback was so amazing and I loved getting to read all of your thoughts about what was happening and how Shelby should handle it. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. And seriously, I was in mourning for the star glass for like three days. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

"What did you say, Rachel?" Paul asked kindly, unsure if he had actually heard her correctly. "What do you mean?" He got up from his desk and walked away from his computer where he had been composing an email in order to give his full attention to Rachel. He stood in his kitchen and stared out into his back yard that was illuminated by the late afternoon sun.

"I don't think Mom wants me anymore," Rachel said. "I'm not the kind of daughter she wants."

"Rachel, that's not true. Your mother adores you," Paul said. "Where is this coming from?"

"I can just tell," Rachel said. She wiped at her eyes and rested her head in her hand at her spot at the picnic table.

"That's not an answer, Rachel," Paul said. "Your mother loves you very much."

"But sometimes that isn't enough. Sometimes that doesn't do any good," Rachel told him. "Can I come and live with you and Nana? I think you're the only ones who ever really wanted me."

The front door opened and Rebecca called out to her husband and then gave him a quizzical look when he shushed her as she stepped into the kitchen. He pointed to the phone in his hand and then to the other handheld that stayed in the kitchen indicating that she should pick it up and listen in. She did so in time to hear his response to their granddaughter.

"Rachel, if you needed to you could absolutely come and live with your grandmother and me." Rebecca's eyes grew wide and she gave Paul a questioning glance that he waved off for the time being. "We love you very much and from the moment we found out about you we have always wanted you in our lives. But your mother would miss you terribly. I don't think she knows how to live without you now. Your mom and Beth are your home."

"They're not my home, not anymore," Rachel said, her voice catching and her tears starting again. "And of course Mom can live without me. She's done it before."

"Honey, that was before you went to live with her. She could never be without you again." While he was speaking, Paul grabbed a notepad and scribbled out a quick note to Rebecca to let her know what was going on. Rebecca had to cover her mouth to hide her shock when she read 'she thinks Shelby doesn't want her anymore.'

"But she has Beth. And now she has Quinn."

"Quinn, your friend? From the mall?" Paul asked.

"Yeah. She's been staying with us because her mom is out of town and Shelby really likes her," Rachel said. "She likes her a lot better than she likes me. Between Quinn and Beth she doesn't need someone like me."

"Rachel, that's not true," Paul said. He and Rebecca looked at each other with sorrow in their eyes. The desperation and the hurt in Rachel's voice was heartbreaking.

"Did you know that Quinn is Beth's birth mother?" Rachel asked. "They look so much alike."

"No, I didn't know that," Paul answered. "But what does that have to do with anything, honey? You and Shelby look very much alike."

"But I'm not the daughter she wanted," Rachel said. The tears that were welling in Rebecca's eyes found their way down her cheeks and Paul turned away from his wife and stared out the window once again, his own eyes starting to well.

"She always wanted you, Rachel."

"No, she didn't," Rachel replied simply. "She gave me away. Twice. I'm not imaging that, Grandpa. That wasn't some dream that I can forget. She found me and I told her how much I needed her and then she walked away."

"Rachel…"

"But Beth. Beth is her perfect bundle of joy. Beth is the daughter she had to work to get. Beth is the one she wanted and changed her life around for. And Quinn is the one who gave her Beth. She was able to save Quinn even as she left me all alone," Rachel said.

"Honey, you have to understand-"

"Did you know that all of my parents have given me away at some point? My dads gave me to Shelby without so much as a second meeting. And I was really glad. It was probably one of the best days of my life; I was so happy. But they didn't even fight it. They didn't even try," Rachel said.

"Rachel, your mother is not going to give you away," Paul said.

"How do you know?"

"She was ready to fight tooth and nail to get you to come and live with her," Paul explained. "Whether you realize it or not, young lady, she has changed her whole life around for you as well."

"But how long is that going to last?" Rachel pulled the phone away from her ear at sound of yet another incoming call. This one was from Shelby. It wasn't the first. Shelby had been calling non-stop but Rachel wasn't answering them.

"It's going to last the rest of her life," Paul replied.

"You can't know that," Rachel told him. "My dads went through the task of finding a surrogate willing to give a baby to two gay men and then all of the adoption hassles in order to make us a real and legal family. And they only lasted twelve years. I guess it doesn't matter if Mom lasts that long because I only need three until I'll be on my own anyway. I wish I knew what was wrong with me and I'd change it."

"Rachel, there is nothing wrong with you."

"Then why do my parents keep walking away from me?" Rachel choked out, starting to cry again. "They're my parents. The people who are supposed to love you and want you no matter who and what you are. If my parents can't standing having me around then who will?"

"Rachel…" Paul was at a loss for what to say. The girl sounded so lost and so alone. "Your grandmother and I love you so much," he finally said when he couldn't come up with any words of wisdom.

"So I can come and live with you?" Rachel asked. "It'll just be three years and I promise I'll try and change and I won't be any trouble. I just need to run home and pack a couple of things. Maybe I can slip in and out without Shelby and Quinn noticing."

"Rachel, where are you?" Paul asked, just now realizing that the girl wasn't at home and could be anywhere.

"I'm at a park near Shelby's house."

"How long have you been there? Does she know where you are?"

"I've been here over an hour, an hour and a half maybe. Quinn and I had a fight earlier and I just kind of ran out," Rachel answered.

Paul and Rebecca exchanged a look as they both realized that Shelby was probably out there looking, worried to death. Rebecca hung up the other phone and grabbed her purse and headed for the living room so she could call her daughter.

"Rachel, I want you to know that your grandmother and I would let you live with us in a heartbeat. There would be no question. You are always welcome here," Paul continued his conversation after Rebecca had left. "But I know that it would break your mother's heart. I know it. I understand that you are having some terrible fears and I know that they are real and legitimate," he didn't want Rachel to think he was ignoring her worries. "Have you talked to your mother about this?"

"I can't," Rachel said. "She doesn't really want to talk to me. She'd rather spend time with Quinn." Paul sat down at the table ready to talk to his granddaughter all night if he had to in order to help her through this.

Shelby was walking around McKinley High School trying every door to see if she could gain entry, thinking that Rachel may have come here to hide out. At each entrance she was met with a locked door which only served to add to her frustration and anxiety. She stopped for a second and called Rachel's number again and listened to it ring over and over before finally getting the voice mail.

"Rachel, it's me again," Shelby said tearfully. "You need to answer your phone or call me back." She pressed the end button and continued on to the next door. When she had first left her house she thought she would find Rachel walking along the street or taking a run. But her panic started to set in when she never saw her. The school was the fourth place she had been, after stopping at the library, a local music store and a coffee shop she knew Rachel frequented. Her next stops were going to be Rachel's old house and then the Fabray house. She had checked in twice with Quinn to see if Rachel had come back or if she had heard from her. The answer each time was negative and Shelby's panic grew. She had never known she could feel like this until the moment she realized she had no idea where her daughter was.

Shelby tried the last door which was also locked and started to make her way back to her car. It was getting close to two hours since Rachel had run out and was very close to getting dark. The ringing of her phone startled her and she stopped to catch her breath as she looked at the screen to see her was calling. Her hope of it being Rachel was dashed when she saw that it was her mother calling. But still she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Mom," Shelby said unable to keep the tears from falling and her voice from shaking. "I can't find Rachel."

"Honey-"

"I've tried calling her, but she won't answer the phone and she won't return my calls," Shelby went on. "She was really upset and ran out of the house and I have no idea where she is. She could be anywhere. What if something happened to her?"

"Shelby, I know where she is," Rebecca said quickly in hopes that she could stop Shelby's rambling before it really got going.

"What? Where? How do you know? Is she ok?"

"She called your father and is talking to him. She said she was at a park near your house," Rebecca told her and Shelby took off running for her car. When she had left her house earlier she had gone the opposite way from the park and hadn't made it over there yet.

"She called and asked him if she could come and live with us," Rebecca went on. "What is going on, Shelby?"

Shelby got behind the wheel of her car and started the engine. "I think she's worried that I'll try and give her back. I'm just now trying to piece together all of the information. It's been a rough couple of days for all of us."

"She sounded so despondent and alone," Rebecca said. "She said that you liked Quinn better than her because of Beth since Beth is the daughter you really wanted. She thinks there is something wrong with her and that's why her parents keep walking away from her, you included."

Shelby was grateful she was at a red light, even if it meant a delay in getting to Rachel, because her tears were clouding her vision.

"That's not true," Shelby said. "I wish I could make her understand that."

Paul entered the room, his phone call with Rachel having ended, and Rebecca put her cell on speaker phone so he could hear as well.

"Shelbs?" Paul said.

"Daddy? Is Rachel still there?"

"I told her to stay put at the park. She figured that you would be on your way soon since I was sure to tell you where she was," Paul told her. "She's scared, honey."

"I know. I don't know how to get her to talk to me. Every time I try and get her to talk she clams up or she deflects or lashes out and then she retreats back into herself," Shelby said. "She's been having nightmares and she even came to my room last night to try and find me and still wouldn't really talk about it. But I want her more than anything, you know that right?"

"Of course we know that," Rebecca said. "It's Rachel who doesn't understand."

"She told me that she told you once that she was certain you were thinking of ways to give her back," Paul said.

"She did," Shelby confirmed. "I was shocked."

"I know. She said you threatened to spank her if she said something like that again," Paul said.

"Yeah. It was like a gut reaction," Shelby said. "I was trying to get through to her and make an impression. I thought it would help her understand that I was serious when I said I would never give her back."

"Honey, don't you think that it could have added to her reticence? She doesn't feel comfortable talking to you because of that threat hanging over her head," Paul said.

There was a silence on the line as Shelby thought about what he was saying.

"Shelby?" Rebecca prompted.

"I never thought about it like that," Shelby finally said. "Did she say that? I thought I was showing her how much I wanted her with me."

"No, she didn't say that," Paul answered. "I'm just trying to get inside her head. She clearly has a lot of things she needs to talk about and I'm not sure that anything that discourages her to talk is all that useful at this point."

"I wasn't trying to scare her," Shelby said. "This is all so much harder than I thought it would be." Her voice was shaky with emotion at the admittance, but Shelby was trying to keep her crying somewhat at bay, at least until she got to the park.

"I'm not saying you did scare her, honey," Paul said. "I'm just thinking out loud. We know you're doing the best you can. This is going to take some work, but you two will make it through this. And your mother and I will be here to help."

"Thank you, Daddy," Shelby said as she turned down the street to the park and finally saw her daughter sitting at a picnic table with her back to the road. "I'm here. I see her."

"Call us back later," Rebecca instructed.

"I will. Thank you so much for talking to her. And to me."

"Of course. We love you, Shelbs. Bye."

Paul put an arm around Rebecca and she leaned into him as he placed a kiss on her temple, both of them in tears for their daughter and granddaughter.

Rachel heard the SUV idling on the street behind her, but she made no move to turn around. Her phone was on the table in front of her and she had her head resting in her hands. Shelby turned the car off and got out and made her way over towards Rachel. It took everything she had to not run over and pull her up in a hug, but she wanted to make sure she thought through her words carefully.

But Shelby's words failed her when she took a seat next to Rachel at the table. Shelby looked over at her, but Rachel kept her gaze down and did her best to stop her chin from quivering though she wasn't successful. Shelby took in the sight of her daughter who appeared so small and fragile with a hint of defiance hiding the fear underneath; the girl she had driven around town like a crazy person trying to find, and started to cry. She matched Rachel's position by putting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands and let the tears come. They were tears of relief and love, of frustration and anger, and most of all, of joy at seeing her child.

Rachel was surprised when Shelby didn't say anything, but she felt her heart crack a bit at hearing her mother cry. Rachel turned her head and looked at Shelby who was staring down at the tabletop, tears streaming down her face. The sight was a foreign one to Rachel. She was used to seeing Shelby so together and calm, not distressed and sad. What made it all worse was that Rachel knew she was the cause of her mother's tears, and the guilt overwhelmed her. She didn't understand how she could feel so angry and hurt and alone while feeling as loved as she ever felt in her life.

"Mom," Rachel choked out, her tears starting again. "Mommy, please don't cry."

Rachel moved down the bench and tentatively leaned in and put her head on Shelby's shoulder. Rachel wrapped her arms around her mom's waist and held on as tightly as she could. Shelby only lasted a moment before she moved her arms to wrap them around Rachel and pulled her daughter close to her. They sat together crying, neither offering any explanations or words of encouragement. They just cried together.

After a few minutes Shelby's tears slowed and she sat up straighter and moved Rachel away from her and kept her hands gripped around Rachel's upper arms.

"Rachel, don't ever do that again," Shelby said sternly and seriously.

Rachel averted her eyes and started to hang her head but Shelby put a hand to her chin and forced Rachel to keep her head up and look at her.

"I mean it. You cannot run out of the house and disappear because you are hurt or upset," Shelby said, never taking her eyes off of Rachel's. "I have been so worried. I've been looking for you everywhere. You will not run out like that again, do you understand?" Rachel started to nod her head, but Shelby gave her a little shake and asked again, "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Rachel said softly.

"Good girl," Shelby said as she pulled her in for another hug.

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, neither wanting to break their hold on the other and neither wanting to put a stop to the moment they were sharing. But Shelby knew that they weren't solving anything by simply sitting there.

Shelby sat Rachel up once more and took a moment to wipe away some of the tears still left on her cheeks and, following her lead, Rachel did the same. Shelby picked up her phone and set it on silent mode and then picked up Rachel's phone and did the same. She set them off to the side so neither would be distracted by them and then turned her attention back to Rachel.

"Now you and I are going to have a talk," Shelby told the girl.

"Did Grandpa tell you what I said?"

"Yes he did. And you are not moving in with them."

"But they want me," Rachel whispered out.

"I want you," Shelby said. "I love you. Why can't you believe that?"

"I believe it for right now," Rachel said. She was looking at her hands in her lap, wringing them together. "But…"

"There are not buts, Rachel."

"Yes there are. There always are. You'll walk away eventually. People always walk away. They say they won't and then they do," Rachel told her. "I even think it's kind of easy for them, especially once they get to know me."

"I'm not going to be one of those people."

"You already have been," Rachel told her. "You looked for me and when you found me I wasn't what you were expecting and you walked away. Did you think I'd be really pretty or popular? Would you have stayed if I didn't like to wear my argyle skirts? Is it hard to have a kid who is an outcast and that nobody likes?"

"Rachel, that's not what happened," Shelby tried desperately to explain.

"Is that why you decided to adopt Quinn's baby? Beth is going to undoubtedly be beautiful. She looks just like Quinn after all," Rachel said. "And Quinn is a popular girl and dresses very nicely and has a pretty singing voice. It could be better with proper work, but she's fine. Beth might be really great one day if you help her. You helped Quinn out when she needed it the most, but you just left me standing there. It's no wonder you like Quinn more than me. She gave you the perfect daughter." Rachel's tears had started again and she had to look away. "But I love you so much and that's going to make it that much harder when you do leave. I don't know how I'll be able to handle it."

"Rachel, I'm not going to leave you," Shelby said. She turned Rachel's head so that she would look at her and said it again.

"You say that now-"

"I will say it everyday if I have to. You have to believe that."

"I'm trying," Rachel said.

"Now about Quinn," Shelby said. "Yes, I like Quinn a lot. In fact, I love Quinn." Rachel pulled away from Shelby and hung her head, shaking a bit and hoping Shelby would stop. "I love her in the same way Judy Fabray loves you."

"I know you love her."

"But that is nothing compared to how I feel about you," Shelby said and Rachel snuck a glance at her. "Whatever else you believe today Rachel, you and I are not getting up from this table until you understand this. You are my… everything," Shelby finally settled on when she could quite find the right word. "You and Beth are my hearts walking around outside of me." Shelby once again reached over and turned Rachel's head to make the girl look at her. "I love everything about you. I love your argyle and your voice. I love your personality and your ability to argue and stand up for yourself. I love the way you hold onto your quilt when you're sleeping. I love that you wake up at six in the morning on Saturdays and refuse to admit when you're tired. I love you, Rachel."

"Really?" the girl asked meekly, her tears flowing.

"If I loved you anymore the stars in the sky would sag from the weight of it."

Rachel threw her arms around Shelby's neck and let herself be held. "But Quinn is so-"

"But you're my daughter," Shelby cut her off before she could finish her thought.

"Do you love me even though I'm a troublemaker?" Rachel asked when she pulled away from her mother.

The depths of Rachel's fears and insecurities astounded Shelby. She'd just spent the last few minutes rattling off how much she loved her daughter and while Rachel accepted it one minute she turned around and questioned it in the next.

"You're not a troublemaker, honey," Shelby said. "Why do you think that?"

"You think that," Rachel told her. "You've accepted it. That's why you were so hard on Quinn and spent all that time talking with her after the fight at school even though the whole thing was my fault. If you didn't believe I was a troublemaker and hadn't already given up on me you would have punished me the same way you did Quinn. Or worse since getting the slushie thrown at me is what started it. You said you expected better of Quinn. But not of me."

Shelby was finally at the source of Rachel's anger and Quinn's confusion for the past day. Rachel was jealous, even to the point of wishing she had been punished more just so she would think that Shelby hadn't given up on her.

"Will you really listen and try and understand this if I explain it to you?" Shelby asked. She continued after Rachel nodded. "First of all, the fight was not your fault."

"But-"

"No. Listen. I'm explaining and you're understanding. So let me explain. That boy threw a slushie at you, right?"

"Right."

"And what do you do then?"

"Nothing. I was going to go and get cleaned up like I normally do, but Quinn showed up and pushed him and I couldn't leave her there, especially because he pushed her back," Rachel said.

"Exactly. Don't you see that you didn't do anything wrong?"

"But I'm the one who got slushied.

"Which is that boy's fault. Rachel, you were the victim here. You've been the victim of that kind of bullying for a long time," Shelby said. "Quinn fought back. Quinn escalated a fight. How many slushies did you throw?"

"Just one. The one that hit Coach Sylvester."

"How many did Quinn throw?"

"I don't know. A lot. But she got hit with them a lot too. We all did," Rachel said. "I've never been able to fight back against the slushies like that before."

"I'm glad you stood up for yourself, but involving yourself in a brawl like that is not the answer," Shelby told her. "And that's why I took your driving lessons away for the weekend. Because you deserved a punishment, but nothing all that serious."

"But Quinn-"

"But Quinn has been in situations like that before. Except that she was participating in throwing the slushies and causing the fighting," Shelby said. "Her mother told me that she has talked to Quinn and warned her about the fighting and the slushies. Quinn forced a lot of people into that situation yesterday. She was not in any way the victim. You were. That's why she was given a worse punishment than you. Do you understand that?"

"Yeah, I think so. You were just in there so long and I expected the worse and then you treated it as if it were nothing with me.

"Do you even remember what I said to you?"

"You said that you expected better of Quinn," Rachel answered.

"Next time, Rachel," Shelby said as she gave the girl a couple of taps on the nose with her finger, "listen to the lecture. It was for you to try and learn from. And when I say I expected better of Quinn, I mean that I expected her to be up to your level. You are the better I wanted her to be."

Rachel shook her head as tears formed in her eyes again. That was a statement she didn't think she could believe. "I'm not an example. I can't be. That's too hard. It's too hard to try and be better all the time. No one wants to be like me." She shook her head again and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Ok, Rachel," Shelby said pulling her into another hug, understanding that the girl's low level of self-confidence just wasn't going to buy into this one right now.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"Shhh, there's nothing to be sorry for," Shelby cooed. Rachel finally released her grip and sat back, furiously wiping at her eyes. "Honey, how would you feel about finding someone to talk to?"

"My dads had a therapist for me, but I didn't like him. I was only a paycheck to me and all it really did was to bring home the reality that my dads couldn't, or wouldn't, talk to me about any major problems."

"We can take our time and find someone you're comfortable with," Shelby said. "I'll come with you whenever you want. Or you can go alone if you need to. And you can always talk to me about anything. I just think that maybe we could find a doctor that would be really beneficial for you."

"You'll go with me?"

"Whenever you want."

"Yeah…ok. I have to find the right person though."

"I understand."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes as the darkness settled around them and the street lights were now illuminating their spot in the park. Rachel shivered against the early evening chill and Shelby knew that it was time to get Rachel home. But before Shelby could suggest they get up and go, Rachel spoke up.

"We broke my star glass."

"I know," Shelby told her. "I cleaned it up."

"I'm sorry. I was just… I couldn't believe she was using it. She had milk in it. She had my mom and then my glass and she wouldn't give them back. And then it broke and I just ran out," Rachel said.

"She didn't have me. And she didn't know the importance of that glass to you. Did you ever think that maybe you should have explained it to her instead of grabbing it?"

Rachel shrugged like a little kid and ducked her head. "I loved that glass," Rachel said sadly. "You gave it to me. My water glass."

"I know, honey," Shelby said, rubbing her back. "I'll try and find you another one."

"Ok," Rachel nodded, bringing her feet up to the bench which gave her the ability to rest her chin on her knees.

"Let's get going- Where are your shoes?" Shelby demanded when she looked down at Rachel's feet which were covered only in socks.

"I didn't have on any in the house and I didn't stop for any when I stormed out."

"No wonder you're cold. I can't believe you ran down here and have been sitting here all this time without any shoes on," Shelby said. She took Rachel's arm and turned her away from the tabletop and stood her up, placing a playful swat on the girl's backside as she did. "What am I going to do with you, Rachel?"

Shelby got to her feet as her threat was once again brought to the forefront of Rachel's mind. Shelby was picking up their phones when Rachel turned back to face her.

"Mom? You're not going to spank me now, are you? For telling Grandpa that I thought you didn't want me?"

Shelby took her in daughter's anxious expression and decided to answer with a couple of questions of her own. "Is that why I could never get you to talk to me? Because you were afraid you would be spanked?"

"No," Rachel answered honestly.

"Then what do you think I should do?" Shelby asked her.

"You should do what you think is best," Rachel said. "I don't want to be spanked, but I don't think it's my decision." Shelby was impressed at Rachel's understanding. "But can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Does it mean that I'll be spanked every time I think something like that? Because I'm still afraid," Rachel said. "I'm trying, but I'm afraid. And I know you may not think so, I do try and talk about it. But it takes me time. And I go about it all wrong. But I want to be able to talk to you."

"I'm not going to spank you, honey. Not for this," Shelby said. "Though I make no promises about regarding any type of trouble you may get yourself into," she said with a laugh, hoping to lighten the mood. "I don't know if I should have ever made that threat to you. I thought maybe you'd see it as me really meaning that I didn't want you to go anywhere. I don't have all of the answers, Rachel. And I am still learning. But I'm going to keep trying right alongside you. But you have to know that you can always come and talk to me, Rachel. Even when you feel you can't, you can."

"I'm trying, Mom. I'm scared to death, but I'm trying."

"That's all I can ask," Shelby said as she pulled Rachel to her side. "Now let's go home."

The drive home was mostly in silence, but it was a comfortable one and they both used the short trip in order to gather their thoughts.

"Rachel, take those socks off as soon as you get inside," Shelby instructed after the car was in the driveway and they were headed up the walk. "I don't want you to track dirt all over the house."

Rachel nodded and opened the door and they both stepped inside. She was leaning down taking off her socks when Quinn appeared with Beth at the doorway.

"Where have you been?" she asked, talking to Rachel. Shelby took Beth from Quinn's distracted arms and moved towards the kitchen. "I was so worried. How could you just run out of here like that?"

"I'm sorry, Quinn," Rachel said, standing on her toes and wrapping her arms around her friend's neck. She was grateful to feel Quinn hug her back, but felt terrible when she realized the blonde girl was crying.

"Your mom took my phone and I couldn't call to try and find you and no one was calling here and you've both been gone a while."

Shelby forgot all about Quinn not having a phone and being unable to reach anyone.

"And Beth cried for like an hour," Quinn continued on, still crying." Shelby looked at Beth who smiled back at her. "She didn't want to eat anything I tried to give her and she doesn't seem to like my singing and I couldn't find a pacifier and she made a huge mess and she threw up all over me. And you were gone," Quinn said pushing Rachel back some.

"Quinn, honey," Shelby said. "Calm down. Everything is ok. Beth is fine and Rachel is back, so please stop crying. There has been enough crying today."

Quinn started to calm down and Shelby ushered them off into the living room instructing Rachel to fill Quinn in. She went into the kitchen and groaned at the ten open jars of baby food on the table with only a few bites taken from each.

"Were you just playing with Quinn because you could, little missy?" Shelby asked. "That wasn't very nice." Beth kicked her feet and squealed when Shelby planted kiss after kiss on her cheek. Shelby then grabbed three bottles of water from the refrigerator and joined the girls in the living room, handing them each a bottle before they sat down.

"Rachel, I would never try and take your mom," Quinn said. "I know what it's like to think your mom doesn't want you, remember? I wouldn't do that to someone else."

Rachel hung her head at Quinn's words, ashamed. She hadn't even thought about how Quinn had been affected by her parents' actions the year before. Shelby sat down with Beth on the coffee table opposite from where the girls sat on the couch and reached out and took Rachel's hand with her free one. She moved their hands over to Quinn's hand and made a sandwich of Rachel's. When the three hands were together, Shelby spoke to them.

"We're going to get through this, girls. And I know you're mom feels the same way I do, Quinn. The four of us, along with Beth, will help each other out."

The sound of the doorbell pulled them from their moment and Rachel got up to answer it, followed by Shelby and then Quinn.

"Grandpa!" Rachel said when she opened the door to reveal her grandparents on the other side, bags in hand.

Paul stepped inside and bent down so Rachel could put her arms around his neck and then he stood up, holding her for the hug. Rebecca joined in and wrapped her arms around Rachel and her husband.

"Thank you," Rachel whispered to her grandfather as he held her.

"Anytime," he whispered before setting her down.

Rachel hugged Rebecca while Shelby stepped up to them.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We came to make sure everything was ok," Rebecca answered. "You didn't expect us to just sit around there and do nothing while you two were in so much pain."

"I'm sorry," Rachel mumbled.

"Stop it right there, young lady," Rebecca said. "I don't want to hear one more apology out of you."

Rachel nodded and then led the way into the living room with Shelby bringing up the rear.

"How long are you here for?" Shelby asked her parents.

"We came for the weekend."

"Great," Shelby enthused. The unexpected house guests would require some bed reshuffling, but Shelby was glad for their appearance. For even in just the few minutes they'd been there, she already had an idea in mind for something she could do for Rachel while they were there.

**A/N – I hope you guys enjoyed this. Please leave me a review.**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N – Thank you so much for reading and for all of the reviews and messages I received. You guys are really amazing. Thank you for sticking with me. I really appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. Yet. Muahahaha! Kidding. **

The formal dining room in Shelby's house was filled in a way Rachel had never seen it before. They usually only ate at the kitchen in the table, but with two extra people there, Shelby had set places in the bigger room so that they would all be comfortable. Rachel and Quinn had offered to help make dinner but had been shooed away by Rebecca, giving the woman a chance to speak with Shelby on her own. Shelby had taken the lead earlier on explaining to her parents what had happened, but it had been abridged version and Rebecca felt as if Shelby was leaving things out.

"I just didn't want to rehash everything with Rachel sitting right there," Shelby said as she mashed up the potatoes she was preparing. "It's going to take a while, but I know that she's going to truly understand one day."

"Of course she will," Rebecca agreed. "And we didn't mean to just barge in on you guys, but your father and I wanted to make sure that everything was ok. After we didn't hear back from you and you didn't answer our calls, we decided to just pack a couple of bags and get in the car and go." Rebecca put an arm around Shelby's waist and gave her daughter a squeeze and Shelby gave her a grateful smile.

"Speaking on packing a bag and going, I've got a question for you," Shelby said.

"What's that?"

"Having you guys here has presented an opportunity that wouldn't have come up otherwise," Shelby said. "But that's only if you and Dad agree to it. Well you two and Judy Fabray and Quinn. And it would only be for a little while."

"Is there a question in there somewhere?" Rebecca teased.

Shelby rolled her eyes, in the same way Rachel always did, and said, "Yes, Mother. I think it could be good for Rachel and me to spend a day or two where it's just us. We've never been able to do that. And with you and Dad here it seems like a perfect time. That is, if you two don't mind staying and watching Quinn and Beth."

"Of course we don't," Rebecca said.

"Thank you," Shelby smiled. "I've got to talk to Quinn's mom first to make sure she's ok with it and I want to talk to Quinn and make sure she is comfortable with it too."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be fine," Rebecca said. "They'll both probably agree that it's a great chance for you and Rachel."

"I hope so," Shelby said. "I think Rachel desperately needs a little bit of one-on-one time. But don't tell her about it, ok? I want to surprise her."

"My lips are sealed," Rebecca said. "Where do you plan on taking her?"

"To your house, actually," Shelby said. "In Columbus. I thought I would take her back to where I grew up and let her see some of those places first hand. I'm hoping it'll help her feel more connected, like we share certain things. I think she'll find out that she's a lot like I was when I was a kid."

"I think that's a great idea, honey," Rebecca said. "Make sure you tell her what a nerd you were."

Shelby gasped, scandalized. "I was not a nerd!"

"Shelby, you got detention for arguing with your teacher about whether or not memorizing Hamlet's soliloquy and presenting it to the class or writing a paper about the speech's importance to the play was the most advantageous way to learn Shakespeare."

"She wouldn't let me do both!"

The dinner was a jubilant affair and by the time it was over everyone sat contented and happy as Shelby poured her parents and herself some coffee while Rachel and Quinn ate some ice cream. Paul didn't quite know what to think of Vegan friendly ice cream and he stuck with having a couple of cookies. Rachel shared her ice cream with Beth who did not care about the Vegan label and happily enjoyed the cold treat. At one point Rachel was able to take Shelby's coffee unnoticed and drank most of the mug before Shelby realized and took it back. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was closer to nine than it was to eight and the last thing she needed was for Rachel to get worked up on the caffeine.

"Where should we put our bags?" Paul asked over dessert. "We can make due on the couch up on the third story."

"I'll take the couch," Quinn said. "You guys should stay in the bedroom."

"Nonsense," Rebecca said. "We'll only be here a couple of days and we're not going to put you out of a bed while we're here."

"It's perfectly fine," Quinn said. "There's no reason you two should sleep on couches. You probably need a bed at your-" Quinn's brain caught up with her mouth and she stopped herself from saying what she had been thinking. "I mean," she blushed furiously as she stammered over her explanation while all three adults stared at her. "You're a more important guest than I am and I can sleep anywhere. I just want you to be comfortable."

"I don't think Quinn was meaning to call you old," Rachel said bluntly and Quinn shot her a look. "I think she was just trying to be polite. But there's no need because you guys can have my room. I can sleep on the couch."

"No," Paul said.

"Yes," Shelby said. "Rachel can stay with me," she said before her parents' protests could be fully formed. "That way we all get a bed."

"Oh, I don't want to inconvenience you, Mom," Rachel said sincerely. "I can sleep on the couch."

"You will not be an inconvenience, honey," Shelby assured her. "I'd rather we all got a good night's sleep." An ulterior motive for Shelby was that it also gave her the chance to keep an eye on Rachel during the night. She still didn't know how the day's events were going to affect the girl's sleeping and she wanted to be able to prevent, or at least be close by, if Rachel had another nightmare.

Rachel was about to question her mother again to see if she was sure, but she consciously stopped herself and thought back to her mother's words during the day. She promised that she was going to try and she really thought she was recognizing this moment of insecurity for what it was. So instead of campaigning for the couch again, she simply nodded at her mom. She fed the last bite of ice cream to Beth and then quickly reached out and snagged her mother's coffee again and finished off the mug.

"Thanks, Mom!" she smiled brightly as she handed Shelby the empty mug. Shelby shook her head at the girl, but returned the smile.

"Good," Paul said. "I'm glad we got that all settled."

Rebecca started to gather some plates together, but Shelby stopped her. "We'll take care of it."

"Yes dear," Paul said. "Let them take care of it. We could help with the dishes, but I'm afraid we might be too old."

Everyone laughed except Quinn who turned a bright shade of red again.

It turned out that when Shelby told her mother that "we" would take care of it, she only meant Quinn and Rachel. Quinn was loading the dishwasher while Rachel prepared a pot to soak when Shelby walked into the kitchen carrying some more plates from the table.

"That's the last of it," she told them as she set them down in the sink. "And Rachel? No more coffee."

"Don't worry, Mom. I only like it when you make it."

That was a point Shelby was going to have to keep in mind. She exited the kitchen and found her parents playing with Beth in the living room. Well playing with Beth and checking the highlights on ESPN. Shelby told them she was going to run upstairs for a few minutes and they waved her off.

Taking a seat in the chair in her bedroom, Shelby placed a call to Judy Fabray. After an exchange of greetings and pleasantries, Shelby got down to the point of her call.

"I wanted to talk to you about Quinn."

"Oh no. What has she done now?" Judy asked causing Shelby to laugh.

"It's nothing like that," Shelby assured her. "Rachel, Quinn and I had a pretty rough day today, so much so that Rachel took off on us."

"What? Where is she? Did you find her? Is she ok?" Judy started a rapid-fire question session. "How was Quinn involved? Did they have another fight? I'm so sorry, Shelby."

"Whoa, whoa," Shelby said trying to get the woman's attention so she would stop talking. "It wasn't Quinn's fault. It wasn't anyone's fault, really. There were a lot of misunderstandings and Rachel's fears got the better of her."

Shelby took her time and told Judy the whole story so that she would understand just what it was Rachel was feeling. Judy kept her comments to a minimum and let Shelby talk, expressing her support and gratitude for her new friend.

"I'm sorry that you've had another kid to watch over while everything has been going on with Rachel," Judy said.

"Don't say that," Shelby said. "Quinn has been wonderful and we both love having her here. She's doing more to help than you could realize. But it's about her that I'm calling. I want to take Rachel out of town for the weekend since my parents are here. It's never been just Rachel and I since she moved in. I think a couple days of just her and me could help both of us. But I'm not going to just up and leave Quinn with my parents if you're not ok with that."

"Of course it's ok," Judy said. "This will do you and Rachel a world of good."

"Thank you. And I haven't talked to Quinn about it yet, but I'm going to make sure she's comfortable as well. And if she's not, we won't go. We'll plan another weekend," Shelby said.

"If she has any issues give me a call back and I will talk to her," Judy said. "You and Rachel deserve this. Besides, she's grounded. She's just going to sulk around all weekend anyway."

"I haven't really seen any sulking yet," Shelby said.

"Trust me, there will be sulking," Judy told her. Shelby laughed at the woman's knowing claim and they said their goodbyes.

Shelby made her way down the stairs and saw the girls sitting with her parents in the living room, Beth in Rebecca's arms. She rolled her eyes as the girls groaned good naturedly at one her dad's old and tired jokes. She could only imagine how happy he must be to have a new audience for them. She stopped about half down the steps and waited for a moment she could interrupt. As she waited for the next terrible punch line she glanced at her watch and saw that was after ten now. God, she was tried. It had been an exhausting day.

The tiny lull finally came and Shelby took the opportunity to speak up. "Quinn? Can you come up here please?" Everyone turned and looked at Shelby, Rachel and Quinn both giving her questioning glances.

Quinn got to her feet and followed Shelby up the stairs. Shelby waited in the hall for Quinn to go first into the guest bedroom and as Quinn did so she could feel her anxiousness rise. She wracked her brain trying to come up with what she had done wrong and then she remembered.

"Shelby, I'm so sorry I accidentally called your parents old. I didn't mean that they were old old, just that they are older than me and deserve a bed. Plus they're your parents so they should get to stay in the guest bedroom. Because they're guests. But not old guests," Quinn rattled that off as quickly as she could and Shelby simply let talk for as long as she wanted.

"Finished?" Shelby asked when Quinn stopped rambling. The blonde girl just nodded. "Good because that's not what I want to talk about."

"Oh. I can't think of anything else I've done wrong."

"Why do you automatically assume you've done something wrong?"

"Because you pulled me away like I'm in trouble," Quinn answered.

"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to give that impression," Shelby told her. It's a good tactic though, Shelby thought to herself. She wondered what other confessions she would hear if she simply waited long enough. "I need to talk to you about this weekend."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I was wondering how you would feel about Rachel and I going out of town tomorrow and coming back Sunday evening."

"Oh."

"I certainly wasn't expecting my parents to show up out of the blue like that, but it has presented an opportunity for me," Shelby said. "Rachel and I have never had a time since she moved in that it's been just the two of us. And after everything that happened today I think it could be good for both of us to have a day or two alone."

Quinn hung her head slightly and nodded, averting her eyes from Shelby. "Yeah, that's probably a really good idea." She waited a beat or two as if deciding on how she felt about it, biting her bottom lip in her nervousness. "I'm sorry if I've been in the way while I've been here."

Shelby shook her head at the girl and stooped down at bit to make Quinn focus on her. "You haven't been in the way, Quinn. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's been wonderful having you here. But with everything that happened today I need to take any opportunity I can to get through to Rachel. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, of course," Quinn said, letting her nervousness go. When she had moved back in with her mom it was just the two of them and they had plenty of opportunities to work things out. Circumstances were different with Shelby, of course, because Quinn had not had a younger sibling, much less a baby, vying for her mother's time. And Quinn had been more angry than afraid, or at least that's what she liked to tell herself, and so her situation was vastly different from Rachel's.

"So how do you feel about staying here with my parents and Beth?" Shelby asked her. "If you're uncomfortable, we won't go."

"No, it's fine," Quinn assured her. "I don't really know them all that well, but your parents seem really great. And I know Rachel will be excited to get you to herself."

"Thank you, Quinn." Shelby place a kiss on her forehead in gratitude before she said, "But don't tell Rachel. I want to surprise her with it."

"I won't tell her," Quinn said.

"Thanks, honey."

Quinn smiled and started to move past Shelby to leave the room and go back to the group, but was stopped by a hand on her arm.

"And where are you going?" Shelby asked.

"Back downstairs with everyone else," Quinn answered.

"I don't think so. You're going to bed. You're grounded, remember?"

Quinn opened her eyes wide with shock and then pouted. "But Shelby," she whined. "That's not fair."

"If my parents weren't here and I hadn't had to take care of some other things, you would have already been in bed by now, young lady," Shelby told her. "And why is it unfair?"

"Because there's all these people in the house and-"

"And it doesn't change the fact that you're being punished," Shelby said.

"But Shelby," Quinn tried again, crossing her arms across her chest.

Ahh, there was the sulking. "Into bed, Quinn," Shelby told her. Shelby turned to leave the petulant girl, but was stopped when Quinn softly called out to her. "What is it, honey?"

"Can I call my mom? I haven't talked to her since yesterday afternoon."

Shelby debated for a moment or two about whether she should agree, but in the end gave in and handed her phone to Quinn. "Not too long, ok? And then I want you to get to bed."

Quinn nodded her agreement and took the device and waited until Shelby was out of the room before dialing her mother's number.

Shelby made her way back downstairs and found her family sitting in the living room and quietly talking about Glee with Rachel. Beth was asleep in Rachel's arms, having retreated to the person in the room she knew the best, when she had grown tired. Rachel was talking to her grandparents about New Directions upcoming Sectionals competition and Rebecca told her that they would be there to see it. No one missed Rachel's smile at the thought of having her family in the audience watching her.

Shelby sat down next to Rachel, causing Beth to stir when she did. The infant opened her eyes and spotted Shelby and immediately started to fuss. Shelby took her and Beth settled contentedly in her arms and fell back asleep. Shelby smiled down at her sleeping daughter and sighed, relaxing for the first time in what felt like weeks. This had been an exceptionally long day.

The conversation returned to Glee and for the next few minutes all three adults simply listened to Rachel talk about her favorite subject. It was only when Beth started to stir again that Shelby got up and told them she was going to put Beth back to sleep and get her settled in her crib for the night. Shelby's soft lullaby could be heard until she disappeared into her room.

Quinn poked her head out of her room a few minutes later and looked into the hallway. Not seeing anyone, she left the room and made her way downstairs. That is where Shelby found her when she returned from laying Beth down. Quinn was sitting on the couch with her back to the stairs joining in the conversation about Glee. Shelby narrowed her eyes at the girl though she couldn't see it and then made her way across the room and tapped Quinn on the shoulder. Quinn stopped talking about Mr. Schue's vests and closed her eyes, knowing she'd been caught. She slowly turned her head and looked up and over her shoulder at Shelby, doing her best to appear innocent. Shelby raised an eyebrow, waiting on an explanation.

"There you are, Shelby," Quinn enthused. "I was looking for you to give you your phone back." Quinn quickly leaned forward and picked up Shelby's phone from the coffee table and handed it to the woman. Shelby took the phone but kept her glare trained on Quinn. Rachel looked away and pretended to be interested in something else even though she was definitely keeping a close eye on the entire exchange. Paul and Rebecca looked at each other and both answered the other's amused grin with one of their own. They both knew of Quinn's predicament from when Shelby had explained the day to them earlier.

"But I think I'm going to go to bed now," Quinn said. "I'm pretty tired." The girl got to her feet and headed for the stairs and, to her dismay, realized that Shelby was following close behind.

"I'm going," Quinn said when they got to the top of the stairs.

"I wouldn't want you to get lost," Shelby said sarcastically.

When Quinn got to her door and she turned around and looked earnestly at Shelby. "I really do hope you and Rachel have a good weekend."

"Thank you," Shelby answered.

"I know how hard it was when I moved back in with my mom and it'll be great for you guys to get some time with just the two of you," Quinn continued. "It'll mean so much to Rachel."

"I hope so," Shelby said as she motioned towards the room that she wanted Quinn to enter.

"I'm actually really anxious for her to get back so she can tell me all about it. Where do you think you guys will end up going?"

"Quinn?"

"Yes?"

"You're stalling."

"I'm not. I just-"

Shelby pointed to the room and gave Quinn a look. "Go."

"Fine," Quinn sulked.

"Goodnight," Shelby said and only got a muttered grunt in response as the bedroom door closed behind Quinn.

Rachel scooted closer to Paul on the couch and leaned her head on his shoulder and yawned. The day had been an exhausting one for her and the late hour was starting to catch up with her. Paul moved his arm so he could wrap it around her and he pulled her close, her head still on his shoulder.

"Grandpa?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

Shelby stopped at the bottom of the stairs behind the pair and listened. Rebecca glanced her way before looking back at her husband and granddaughter.

"You and Nana didn't have to drive all that way this afternoon," Rachel said. "I shouldn't have worried everyone. I'm sorry."

"We're glad to be here with you, Rachel," Paul told her. "I want you to understand that you have a family now that will do anything for you, including dropping everything and driving for hours to make sure you're ok. We all love you Rachel and none of us are going anywhere. Not me or your Nana or your mother. Or your aunt and uncle for that matter. They were really concerned when we told them what happened. They send their love to you, Rachel."

Shelby's eyes filled with tears as she listened to her father speaking. She hoped the words were truly getting through to Rachel.

"You told them about me?" Rachel asked, embarrassed. "I bet they think I'm crazy."

"They do not think you're crazy," Paul said firmly. "They wanted you to know how much they love you. Maggie said that Michael has been asking about you," he said, referring to her youngest cousin. "He wants to know when he's going to see you again. He liked your singing because he said it reminded him of his Aunt Shelby."

All three women in the room smiled and Rebecca and Shelby shared a look. Paul rubbed Rachel's arm comfortingly when her smiled turned into a yawn.

"Really?" Rachel asked, sleepily.

"Yes, really," Paul said.

"I'd like to see them again too. I didn't think the boys really liked me at first."

"They were just shy," Rebecca said. "They talked about you the whole ride home."

"Wow…" Rachel said before a comfortable silence set over the room. Paul could tell that Rachel was drifting off so he adjusted a bit to make sure he and Rachel were comfortable. Shelby motioned for Rebecca to join her and the two left Paul and Rachel to the quiet and made their way up the stairs.

"I've got to pack a bag for Rachel," Shelby told her as they entered Rachel's bedroom. "I want to have everything ready for the morning so we can just get on the road."

Shelby set out a small overnight bag and made quick work of picking out a few outfits and other necessities for Rachel. Rebecca gathered up some toiletries that would be needed for that night as well as for the trip. Lastly, Shelby pulled out a set of pajamas for Rachel to wear that night and then took Rachel's quilt from her bed.

"She'll want it," Shelby said when Rebecca questioned her. "She's had it since she was a baby. I'll grab you guys another blanket."

Rebecca went for the blanket and Shelby dropped Rachel's things off in her room before heading back downstairs to tell Rachel it was time for her to get to bed. She smiled when she found that Rachel had succumbed to the slumber while Paul read the paper with one hand because his other arm was wrapped around Rachel. Shelby grabbed her ever-present camera and snapped a couple of pictures of them, her father never looking up.

"Thank you, Daddy," Shelby said softly.

"Anytime, darling."

Shelby gently shook Rachel awake and told her it was time to go up and go to sleep. Rachel sat up from her spot on Paul's shoulder and gave Shelby a confused look.

"But I'm not tired. Grandpa and I are reading the paper," Rachel said with a look over at him.

"Sure you are. Come on, sweetie." Shelby snaked an arm around Rachel's back and helped her get to her feet.

It didn't take Rachel very long to get changed and ready for bed. She was looking down at Beth when Shelby joined her in the room after saying goodnight to her parents and double checking the lock on the front door.

"I thought you'd be in bed already," Shelby said. It was close to midnight and Shelby knew that Beth would be up in a few hours for a bottle and she was ready to get to sleep.

"She looks so peaceful when she sleeps," Rachel said.

Shelby came up beside her wrapped an arm around Rachel. "So do you, most of the time. And let's put that to the test by you getting into bed and going back to sleep."

"Thanks for letting me stay with you, Mom."

"Of course," Shelby said. She leaned over and placed a kiss to Rachel's temple and then led her over to the bed and pulled the blankets back for Rachel. "In you go."

Rachel complied and Shelby tucked the blankets snuggly around her. Shelby watched for a few moments as Rachel settled into her pillows and then made her way to the bathroom so she could get ready for bed as well. When she emerged ten minutes later, Shelby smiled at the sight of her sleeping daughters.

"Mom," Rachel said, half asleep, as Shelby got in on the other side of the bed.

"Yeah, Rach?"

"Thanks for getting my blanket for me."

"You're welcome, honey," Shelby said. "Ok, quiet now. Go to sleep."

Shelby turned off the lamp on her bedside table and relaxed into her pillow in the quiet darkness. Her eyes had just fluttered closed when Rachel spoke again.

"Mom."

Shelby sighed and rolled over on her side to look at her daughter. "What is it?"

"Are you going to teach Beth to sing?"

"Not tonight."

"Maybe one day Michael will say that Beth sounds like both you and me when she's singing."

Shelby studied her daughter and knew that Rachel was more asleep than awake and she wished she could figure out how to get her all the way there.

"Maybe," Shelby said softly. "Hush now. It's bedtime."

As if on cue, Beth started to stir in her crib and began to babble a bit as if she were talking in her sleep as well. Shelby closed her eyes and prayed that Beth did not wake up fully.

"I can't sing right now," Rachel mumbled.

Shelby couldn't help but smile at Rachel as she leaned down closer to Rachel and placed another kiss on her head, whispering 'shhh' as she did. Beth's babblings were increasing as well and Shelby did the only thing she could think of to try and quiet both girls at once. She sang to them. Softly and gently in hopes that they would be lulled back to sleep.

_Hush now, my baby_

_Be still love, don't cry_

_Sleep like you're rocked by the stream_

_Sleep and remember_

_My lullaby_

_And I'll be with you when you dream_

When Rachel woke up she realized that she was alone in the bed and the room. It took her a minute to get her bearings in the dark of the room she was not used to sleeping in, but she was soon able to make out the clock and could see that it was only 2:12 in the morning. Rachel's eyelids were heavy and she found herself lying back down to go back to sleep, but fought the urge in favor of finding her mom and Beth. They were sitting on the couch as predicted. Shelby had her head leaned back against the couch while Beth lounged in her arms drinking a bottle. Rachel yawned as she sat down beside her.

"What are you doing up?" Shelby whispered.

"I'm going to take Beth so you can get back to sleep," Rachel told her. "I told myself before I fell asleep that I would get up with Beth so you could sleep all the way through the night. I didn't even hear her crying." Even as she said this her eyes were fluttering closed.

Shelby looked on in amusement at her daughter. "That's ok, Rachel, I've got her. Why don't you go on up and get back to sleep."

"No. I can take her," Rachel said. "You must be tired." Rachel held her arms up in an attempt to get Shelby to hand Beth over, but Shelby made no move to do so. Probably because Rachel had given up on sitting up on her own and was now leaning her head against Shelby's shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing, Mom. I can handle it."

Rachel drifted back to sleep and Shelby shook her head at her. Beth finished up her bottle and Shelby put it on the table next to her. She lifted Beth to burp her and when that was done and Beth was sleeping once again, Shelby settled her back into one arm while wrapping the other tightly around Rachel.

"Rachel. We need to go back to bed. You've got to get up now."

"Ok, Mom," Rachel mumbled, but never moved. Shelby gave up for a second and rested her cheek to the top of Rachel's head and closed her eyes.

That was how Rebecca found them a few minutes later when she came downstairs in search of the three people who were supposed to be occupying Shelby's room. She was a light sleeper and had heard Beth crying and Shelby getting up with her. She also heard when Rachel left a few minutes after that. She had been waiting to hear them come back upstairs and decided to check on them when she didn't hear anything. She knew of some of Rachel's nightmares and hoped that hadn't been the case this time, but she wanted to check. The scene of Shelby holding Beth in one arm and the other holding onto Rachel while all of them slept was a far better scenario as far as she was concerned. Like Shelby had done earlier, Rebecca grabbed the camera and captured a few pictures of mother and daughters. It was the clicking of the camera that brought Shelby back to life.

"Mom? What are you doing down here? Oh, I hope I haven't been asleep very long." A glance at the cable box on the TV told her that it was only 2:34 and not that much time had passed.

"We're fine. And sometime before the night is over I may be able to keep Rachel in one place so she can get a decent amount of sleep. Will you take Beth?"

Rebecca returned the camera to its proper location and then took Beth from her daughter. Shelby then sat Rachel up and woke her up enough to stand so she could guide her to her bedroom. Shelby got Rachel back in bed and tucked in while Rebecca placed Beth in her crib and made sure the pacifier was securely in place.

"Thanks, Mom," Shelby said not even attempting to hide her exhaustion.

"My pleasure. Get some sleep, honey."

Rebecca placed a kiss on Shelby's cheek and left the room. Shelby took a last glance at Beth and then climbed into bed and looked over at Rachel and was glad when the girl stayed asleep this time and didn't start talking again. As Shelby settled into her pillow, her eyes closed on thoughts of the weekend she had planned for Rachel.

**A/N – Thanks for reading, guys! I hope you liked this one. Please leave me a review if you can.**

**The song Shelby sings is called River Lullaby from **_**The Prince of Egypt**_**. **


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of you who are continuing to read and to those who leave me a review. I really love getting to see what you guys think from chapter to chapter. It's been so very helpful. Also, a big thank you to the messages and alerts I've received. You guys are awesome.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. If I did there would be more showtunes. Guaranteed. **

Rachel stretched out her legs and opened her eyes, blinking against the early morning light that was making its way past the curtains. She sat up a little so she could look past her mother and at the clock on the bedside table. It was eleven minutes past six and Rachel's first thought was that she had slept in a little. She rested back on her pillow and contemplated getting up and going for a run, but she couldn't get into her room to change with her grandparents there. The thought of trying to get back to sleep crossed her mind, but Rachel was used to being up early every morning and once she was up, she normally stayed up. She had never been one to sleep in.

Rachel slipped out of bed as quietly as possible, taking care not to cause a lot of disruption to the blankets, and went into the bathroom where she could brush her teeth and wash her face. She was glad to see that her mom was still asleep when she came back out a few minutes later. Rachel yawned as she stepped towards the crib and was delighted to see that Beth was awake and smiling at her. The baby was holding her feet and squealed when Rachel reached down to hold her hand. Rachel quickly reached in and picked Beth up and then snagged her pacifier as well. Another look back at her mother told her that Shelby was still asleep and so Rachel crept out of the room as quietly as possible.

"Why don't we let Mom get some more sleep?" Rachel asked once she and Beth were in the nursery so Rachel could change her. "She looked pretty tired last night when she was giving you a bottle." If Beth had been able to talk she might have reminded Rachel that it was her who actually slept through most of that feeding and so how would she know if their mom had been tired or not. Instead, Beth blew bubbles. Rachel laughed lightly as she was closing the snaps on Beth's yellow sleeper with the giraffes on it. It was one of Rachel's favorites. "Come on, let's go find some breakfast."

Breakfast for Rachel was a bowl of fruit salad while Beth sat in her high chair and was fed some baby cereal and fruit of her own.

"How is it, Beth?" Rachel asked before opening her mouth wide at the same time the baby did to receive her bite.

"I think she likes it," Rebecca said from behind Rachel causing the girl to jump and turn around to look at her grandmother. Rebecca chuckled when Rachel put a hand her to heart dramatically. She placed a kiss on the older girl's head and then did the same for Beth. "What are you doing up this early?"

"I'm always up this early," Rachel told her. "Why are up so early?"

"Your grandfather and I are usually up this early as well. He'll be down in a minute," Rebecca said as she started to brew a pot of coffee. "I take it your mother is still sleeping?" Rachel gave her an affirmative nod. "She's never liked getting up early. I don't know how she made it to school on time most days, but she always managed. Sam used to complain all the time because he felt we were always waiting on Shelby before we could go anywhere," Rebecca said, talking about Shelby's older brother. "I think it's a sweet bit of karma that she's got two children who are early risers." There was a wicked glint in her eyes as she took Beth's spoon from Rachel and scooted her eldest grandchild out of the way so she could feed the baby. Rachel happily obliged and moved over a chair.

"I woke up and got Beth so that she would have the chance to sleep in," Rachel said. "I know she never gets to sleep through the night."

"You get used to not getting a lot of sleep when there's a baby in the house, but that was nice of you," Rebecca said.

"Good morning," Paul said when he stepped into the kitchen. The coffee was ready and he poured two cups and handed one to Rebecca. "So Rachel, what are your plans for the day?" Rebecca shot him a look because she had told him the night before that Shelby wanted to surprise Rachel with their trip. He ignored his wife and kept his focus on his granddaughter.

"I don't have anything in mind," Rachel said. "I think Mom could use a relaxing weekend so we'll probably just hang around here. Why?" Rachel added as an afterthought.

"No reason," Paul answered her. "Just curious. I think a low key weekend sounds perfect."

Rachel knew the truth in that. It had been a lousy couple of days to close out the week and the tension had been so palpable. It was nice to be able to feel like she could let her guard down somewhat. She didn't bring up the fact that Shelby had planned to take her out driving this weekend and Rachel half wondered if she could get her mom to change her mind and let her drive anyway. That might be something she would have to work on.

Shelby opened her eyes and blearily stared at the clock in front of her. She blinked a few times to make out the numbers and when she could finally focus on them she realized that it was after nine. She was shocked because she couldn't remember the last time she had slept in so late. And more importantly she couldn't remember when Rachel or Beth had ever slept so late. She smiled a bit at the thought of Rachel getting some extra rest until she rolled over to look at her and saw that her daughter wasn't there. Of course she wasn't. Shelby sat up and looked over to the crib and saw that Beth was gone as well. Ok, so she had been the only one to get some extra sleep. But she was glad for it.

Ten minutes later Shelby padded downstairs and found her parents and children still sitting in the kitchen. There were breakfast plates all around and Rachel and Paul were laughing while Rebecca sat up straight with a look of amusement being hidden by the offended face she was actually wearing. Only Beth, who sat in her arms, seemed sympathetic. The only one missing was Quinn who would sleep the morning away if left alone to do so.

"Morning," Shelby said causing them all to look in her direction.

"Mom," Rachel greeted, still laughing. "Grandpa was just telling me about the time Nana got kicked out of – I'm sorry, was asked to leave – a parent/teacher conference for yelling at a teacher for not even knowing how you were doing in the class."

"Oh my god," Shelby said, starting to laugh herself. "You should have seen her face when she realized that the poor lady wasn't even one of my teachers. And by the time she figured it out and tried to explain they were telling us we needed to leave." Shelby poured herself a mug from the new pot of coffee and sat down next to her mother after fixing it the way she liked. Beth reached her arms out to Shelby who took the baby and held her up so Beth could rest her head on her shoulder. Shelby rubbed her back lightly and Beth held onto the sleeve of Shelby's t-shirt as if it were a blanket.

"And you were no help," Rebecca accused Shelby. "You could have said something."

"Oh, don't blame me. I tried but you told me to be quiet," Shelby said. "School was awkward for the next couple of days to say the least."

Rachel was still laughing as she tried to picture her grandmother standing in the hallway yelling at a teacher on Shelby's behalf. It would look a lot, she realized, like her own mother yelling at Sue Sylvester.

"I did apologize," Rebecca said. "I made her cookies and took them to the school and explained the whole thing."

Rachel sobered a bit and stopped laughing. "You made her 'I'm sorry' cookies?"

"Yes. It was the least I could do," Rebecca said, not noticing Rachel's change in demeanor.

Rachel grinned, lost in her own thoughts and only Shelby noticed that the girl wasn't paying attention to them anymore. Rachel so enjoyed these moments when she found even the smallest connections with her new family. The moment passed when Quinn came into the room having clearly just woken up.

"Quinn, I didn't expect to see you up this early," Shelby said.

"Trust me, I didn't want to be up this early," Quinn said, getting herself some coffee. "But I kept hearing Rachel's voice admonishing me for wasting the day away."

"Quinn, you've already squandered most of the morning," Rachel said. "Beth and I were up a little after six." Quinn and Shelby both groaned.

"That's your own fault," Quinn said. "But speaking of that, I assumed you and your mom would be on the road by now."

The room fell silent and Shelby shot Quinn a look that clearly said that Rachel didn't know yet. Rachel's look was one of confusion as she looked from Quinn and then to her mom and then back to Quinn.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel finally asked.

"Oh shi-oot, Shelby," Quinn amended when she saw Shelby's raised eyebrow, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what? What's going on?" Rachel asked, growing concerned. From all of the looks, she knew that everyone else in the room knew what was going on except her and it made her uneasy. This was why she didn't like surprises. Her anxiousness continued to grow until she looked at Shelby and questioned, "Mom?"

"I have a surprise for you, Rachel."

"I don't like surprises," Rachel answered quickly.

"I know you don't, but I think you'll enjoy this." She hoped, Shelby added to herself. She shot Quinn another look who apologized once more with her eyes. "I thought you and I could take a trip this weekend. Just the two of us."

"You and me?" Rachel asked. "Where? But what about Beth? And Quinn? And your parents drove all this way? Is that rude to just up and leave them?" Rachel asked lowering her voice like maybe Paul, Rebecca and Quinn wouldn't hear her talking about them.

"It's all already worked out," Shelby assured her. "That's why you are the last to know. Grandpa and Nana are going to stay here with Beth and Quinn."

"Oh," Rachel said as she got up from her chair and took her bowl and glass to the sink and deposited them. Quinn quickly sat down in the chair Rachel vacated because all the rest were taken. Rachel rolled her eyes when she turned back around and realized her chair was gone. "And everyone is ok with that?" She was actually really excited about the idea of going off with Shelby, but was staying cautious. Something could always come up. She moved back to the table and stood next to Shelby who wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Everyone is ok with it," Shelby explained. "I thought it would be a good chance for you and I to spend some time where it was just us, but if you're not up for it, we can stay here. That'll be fine too." Shelby wasn't sure how she would feel if Rachel didn't want to go, but at this point she wanted the girl to decide.

Rachel couldn't hide her smile as she sat down on Shelby's lap. "No, I really want to go," Rachel said. The where didn't even matter anymore. The collective breath being held in the room was released and Shelby grinned and squeezed Rachel to her. Rachel picked up Shelby's cup of coffee and smelled it with a satisfied smile like Shelby so often did before she took a sip.

"How long will we be gone? I've got to pack a bag," Rachel said.

"It's already done. Everything is ready except us," Shelby told her.

"When do you want to leave?"

"In about an hour or so would probably be good," Shelby said.

Rachel finished off another sip of coffee before she said, "I'll go up and get in the shower and get ready." She tried to get up but Shelby's arm was wrapped securely around her waist.

"Take your time, ok? There's no need to rush." Shelby knew that Rachel was ready to practically run up the stairs so she could be ready in the next fifteen minutes and she wanted to make sure her excitable child also remembered to breathe while doing so.

"Ok," Rachel agreed and she felt Shelby's grip loosen. She was on her feet an instant later, taking Shelby's mug with her, and walked out of the kitchen.

"Rachel," Shelby called out when she reached for her coffee and found it gone. "Can I have my coffee back please?"

"Sorry, Mom," Rachel said when she popped back into the room a few seconds later. She put the mug back on the table and bounded out of the room again.

Shelby picked up the cup only to find that it was empty and shook her head as she set it back down. Shelby passed Beth back to Rebecca and stood up to get more coffee. But before making her way to the counter that housed the coffee pot she stood next to Quinn's chair and looked down at her.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said again, looking up at Shelby. Shelby gave her an unreadable look and took Quinn's face in her hands and gave the girl a few soft pats to her cheek.

"Thanks, Quinn," Shelby finally said, smiling. "I was trying to figure out how to bring it up to her."

"I was doing it all for you," Quinn said facetiously causing everyone to laugh.

An hour later the car was packed and Rachel and Quinn were talking with Paul and Rebecca in the driveway while they waited for Shelby to come out. Shelby, however, was not moving from her spot in the living where she held Beth in her arms and talked to her. She was really excited about the weekend with Rachel, but this was going to be the first time she had ever left Beth for any extended period of time, much less overnight. It was good practice for when they went to New York City and Beth would spend a week with her grandparents instead of just a couple of days, but that didn't make Shelby any less sad.

"Will you be a good girl, Beth?" Shelby said before kissing her daughter's head. "We'll be back tomorrow sometime, ok?" Shelby was trying to reassure herself as much as she was Beth. For her part, Beth smiled at her mom and started to babble at her. "I love you, honey," Shelby said, her bottom lip quivering.

"She's going to be fine," Rebecca said as she walked up beside her daughter. She had been sent inside to see what was taking Shelby so long.

"I know," Shelby said. "She's never spent a night without me though. Make sure she has her blanket when you put her to sleep. She likes to hold onto it," Shelby said. She often smiled at the fact that both of her daughters, though not related by blood, shared that trait. "And don't lose her pacifier because she will want it and she's not shy about telling you so."

"I know," Rebecca said. "Beth is going to be just fine."

"Ok," Shelby said, gathering herself. "OK. Oh, and don't forget that Quinn is grounded. And-"

"Shelby," Rebecca stopped her. "Why don't you get going now?"

"Fine," Shelby said, taking her mother's hint. She handed Beth to her grandmother and then took a moment to make sure any trace of sadness was gone from her face before she went outside and saw Rachel.

Once in the driveway, Shelby saw Rachel giving Quinn and then Paul a hug goodbye. She hugged Rebecca when she got there and gave Beth a quick kiss on her head before going over to the car and stealthily slipping into the driver's seat. Shelby gave Paul a hug and then stepped over to Quinn.

"You be good," she said softly and seriously.

"Yes, ma'am," Quinn said, somewhat embarrassed, but she smiled when Shelby placed a kiss on her forehead and then pulled her in for a hug.

Next Shelby hugged Rebecca and then gave Beth a few more kisses. "Bye, honey." Beth was smiling at her and reached her arms out to Shelby. Shelby took one of Beth's hands and kissed her palm before turning away so she didn't start to tear up again.

Shelby stood with her hands on her hips as she looked through the window of her SUV with Rachel sitting in the driver's seat. The girl wasn't looking at her, but Shelby could see that she was smiling. Shelby opened the door and Rachel snuck a glance at her.

"I think we'll get there faster if I drive," Shelby said.

"But it might be more fun if I drive," Rachel countered.

"Well let me know how you enjoy sitting in the driveway all weekend," Shelby said and she started to turn away.

"No, come on, Mom," Rachel said as she scrambled over the center console and settled herself in the passenger seat. Shelby laughed and got in the car and they both waved to the group in the driveway as they backed out and drove away.

Rachel and Shelby spent most of the drive listening to showtunes and singing along. Rachel put her Broadway playlist on shuffle and they weren't even a third of the way through it when Shelby exited the interstate and started to make her way through some neighborhoods. Rachel had resisted asking where they were going in an effort to let her mother keep some of the surprise she had planned. It had been tough, but Rachel had willed herself not to blurt out the question. She could tell how important this all was to Shelby. But driving through the neighborhoods was getting the best of her. She had expected that they would be headed to a hotel somewhere.

Shelby eventually pulled into the driveway in front of a pretty Victorian home. Rachel looked out the window at the house and the lawn. The house was big and old and had a gorgeous wrap-around porch. Rachel could hold back no longer.

"Is this where we're going? Where are we?"

"This is your grandparents' house; the house I grew up in," Shelby answered as she turned the car off.

"Really?" Rachel asked. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, we think so. They moved here with Sam when he was two and I was born a couple years later," Shelby told her. "It had been my father's grandparents' house and when they passed away, they left it to him."

"Wow," Rachel said. She had never felt such a sense of having a family history.

"Come on, let's get inside."

They had only been inside for a couple minutes when Shelby realized that she had left her purse in the car. Her phone was in it and she wanted to give her parents' a call to let them know they had made it there safely. Rachel offered to go and get it and was up and moving before Shelby even had a chance to respond.

Rachel was leaning into the back seat to grab the purse when she heard someone yelling and from the sounds of it was getting closer.

"Shelby, is that you?" a woman yelled out from across the street. She took a quick glance in each direction and then crossed the street at a brisk pace to get to the Corcoran's. "Shelby?" she yelled again.

Rachel stood up and spun around and found herself facing a kind looking older lady who did nothing to hide her shock at seeing Rachel. "No, I'm-"

"Rachel! Hi. I'm Alice Handley. I live just across the street with my husband. Jim," she yelled. "Jim, come and see who is here. You look so much like your mother. We just came outside to work in the yard and saw you out here."

"How do you know-"

"Oh honey, your grandparents talk about you all the time," Alice told her. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

Rachel was suddenly pulled in for a hug she wasn't prepared for and felt herself being squeezed. Alice rocked her back and forth and smoothed down Rachel's hair. Rachel stood with her arms pinned to her side and wondered when the awkward hug would end. Alice was doing her best impression of the Abominable Snowman and Rachel was her new pet rabbit.

Shelby was inside waiting for Rachel and couldn't imagine what was taking her so long. A quick glance out the window gave her the answer and Shelby muttered "oh no" as she quickly made her way outside to rescue her daughter. Shelby got there the same time Jim did and before she could say anything, the man was instructing his wife to let Rachel breathe. Alice let go and Rachel took an immediate step back so that she was standing partially behind her mother.

"Shelby, it's so good to see you," Alice said.

"Hi, Alice," Shelby said. She stepped forward to give the woman a hug and Rachel was about to warn her, but Alice gave Shelby a normal hug before Jim did the same.

Shelby stepped back and put her hand on Rachel's back and moved the girl forward a few steps. "Rachel, this is Jim and Alice Handley. They're my parents' best friends. They've lived in this neighborhood even longer than we have." Rachel nodded a brief hello and shook hands with Jim. "And this is my daughter Rachel," Shelby told the Handleys.

"She's just beautiful, Shelby," Alice said as though she were talking about an infant. "We have heard all about you. Your grandparents have been talking about you non-stop for about a month now. They told us about you a few months ago and you should have seen how excited they were when you moved in with your mom. They're so proud of you."

This is what broke Rachel's shell and caused her to smile. Her grandparents had really been talking about her like that? "But I haven't really done anything for them to be proud of," Rachel said after a moment. She was happy to hear of her grandparents' boasting, but the familiar feeling of why washed over her.

"Not with the way they talk about you," Jim said.

"But I can't think of anything," Rachel said. She had always assumed that a specific event must have taken place for someone to tell you they were proud. And what had she done recently except involve herself in a fight and throw a slushie at a teacher. That was all before she ran out and begged her grandparents to let her move in. What in that was there to be proud of?

Shelby shut her eyes for a second in frustration at Rachel's lack of understanding. She wasn't frustrated with Rachel but rather with the fact that Rachel simply didn't comprehend that someone had said they were proud of her. At this point she didn't know whether it would ever be a good idea for her to go and talk to the Berry men alone. She shot a pointed look at the Handleys and silently begged them to move on. And to their credit, the Handleys understood. They had heard much more about Rachel than how proud Paul and Rebecca were. True to Shelby's words, the Handleys were their best friends and had been for over forty years. Just as Rebecca had gone to Alice's and cried when she found out she had a five-year-old granddaughter she might never meet, she had cried again when she told Alice of the life Rachel had been living before moving in with Shelby. None of that diminished their excitement at meeting the girl before them.

Rachel saw the silent conversation going on around her and ducked her hear a little, silently telling herself to stop messing up.

"They told us what a great singer you are," Alice said. "Rebecca says you're the captain of your Glee club." Shelby mouthed 'thank you' to her.

Rachel perked up at that and smiled broadly. "I am. We've got a Sectionals competition coming up soon and I think we've got a really good shot at winning it. I love to sing. My dream is to be on Broadway."

"Now that sounds familiar," Jim said. "Your mother used to sing all the time. Right from the moment she started to talk, it seemed like. She used to stand on the front porch like it was her own personal stage and serenade the neighborhood. I remember when she went through an _Annie_ phase and used to sing the entire soundtrack, all of the parts mind you, while trying to act the whole thing out alone on the porch."

Shelby was blushing when Rachel looked up at her, but she smiled at her daughter nonetheless. "That sounds awesome, Mom. How did you stage it?" Shelby's smiled widened because she knew that Rachel was completely serious and not joking her as most people would have. Of course Rachel wanted to know the staging. She'd probably like to see any and all props that were used as well.

"Maybe I'll run you through it at some point," Shelby told her. "And it's been nice saying hello, but we just pulled up and I want to get Rachel settled." It was an easy excuse and Jim and Alice smiled good naturedly, understanding.

"Come over and see us before you leave," Alice said.

"We will," Shelby promised.

Both pairs went their separate ways and Rachel handed over Shelby's purse when they finally got back inside. Shelby took out her phone to call home and Rachel asked if she could look around. Shelby sent her on her way to do just that and then found her mother's number and placed the call.

Rachel wondered into a sitting room and was immediately drawn to the shelves of books that lined two walls. The shelving had actually been built into the walls and Rachel took her time looking over titles and admiring the pictures that were placed strategically along the shelves. She couldn't help but smile when she came across one of her. She didn't know her mother had sent all of those pictures of her to her grandparents. She picked up the frame and examined the picture. She was four and holding up a Dr. Seuss book, smiling. Her stuffed animals were placed around her, listening as she read. She remembered how they were always the best audience because their attention never wavered.

Shelby was on the phone with her mother and had just finished telling her about Alice and Jim when she heard Beth start crying in the background.

"What's the matter? Is she ok?" Shelby asked.

"She's fine," Rebecca said. "She just dropped her pacifier. Your father's got her." Sure enough the crying quieted down after a moment and Shelby let out a sigh of relief.

"And how's Quinn doing?"

"She's fine, I guess. We haven't seen her since you two left. She's been up in her room the whole time," Rebecca said.

Quinn sat on the floor in the bedroom and leaned back against the bed closed her eyes for a moment before looking at her watch and realizing it was barely noon. This was going to be a really long weekend. Shelby's parents were nice, but Quinn had retreated upstairs as soon as Rachel and Shelby had left. It's not that she didn't mind hanging out with them, she just didn't really know them. They were both so enamored with Beth that she made her escape and shut herself in the room. Shelby had stashed her phone and laptop somewhere and even her iPod wasn't appealing at the moment. She really did want to try and follow the guidelines of this grounding if only to prove to Shelby that she had learned something from the whole ordeal. She had taken Shelby's lecture to heart and she understood why she deserved this. But it would have been a lot easier to deal with if Shelby and Rachel were home.

Quinn wasn't sure why she found this occasion of being stuck with people she hardly knew awkward. After all, she had lived at four different houses, including her own, within the past year and all of the adults, save for her parents, were people she hardly knew. Maybe it was because she was technically in trouble this time and she respected Shelby so much and didn't want to let her down. Maybe it was because her own mother was trying so hard now and she knew she didn't want to let her down or upset her farther. And maybe it was simply because she didn't think she had anyone to talk to except for polite, meaningless conversation until tomorrow evening when Shelby and Rachel got home.

Realizing she had nothing better to do at the moment, Quinn got up from her spot on the floor and moved to the desk so she could finish up her homework that was due tomorrow. At least it would help to pass the time.

Shelby found Rachel peeking into bedrooms upstairs and called out to her so she wouldn't startle her.

"Which room was yours?" Rachel asked. She had been hoping she would have been able to tell, but the two spare bedrooms were decorated neutrally now as guest rooms.

"This one over here," Shelby said pointing to the one down from the room Rachel had just been looking in. "That one was Sam's."

Shelby led the way over to what had been her childhood bedroom and watched as Rachel took a closer look around. The girl didn't find it hard to imagine Shelby in this room with posters of 80's rockers and loud music. Or at least that's what she guessed. Shelby may have been much different and Rachel didn't even know it.

"How did it look?" Rachel asked.

"Well that depends on when you're asking about," Shelby said. "It changed a lot over the years. The bed is the same, except it's been given a new mattress a couple times since I moved out. The desk is the same too. I'll tell you all about it, but for now, how about we go out and get some lunch?"

"That sounds really good," Rachel said.

Shelby took her hand and led her out of the room and towards the stairs. Rachel let go when she saw another picture of herself that she hadn't noticed before. She walked over to the wall and had to look up at it because it had been hung above her line of sight. She was five in the picture and wearing a green t-shirt with a Peter Pan Logo on it. Kneeling down next to Rachel was the woman who had played Peter Pan in the production her fathers had taken her too. Peter was smiling brightly for the camera while little Rachel stared at the woman in awe.

"That was the first professional show I ever saw," Rachel said to Shelby when her mom came up beside her and looked at the picture. "I remember coming to Columbus to see it and I remember it being the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life. I begged my dads to buy me that t-shirt and I had to put it on right away. And then the cast came out and I got to meet Peter Pan. I told her that I knew that I had clapped the hardest to save Tinker Bell's life than anyone else in the audience and she said she believed me she thanked me for saving her friend."

Shelby looked at the picture and imagined the joy that Rachel must have felt that night. The look of wonder on Rachel's face in the photograph was one that Shelby hoped she could put there one day. She was so looking forward to their trip to New York City because she wanted to be able to give Rachel that same moment of awe and happiness.

"I tried to fly a couple days later," Rachel said, continuing her story. "I jumped off the dining room table with my arms out like Superman and only went a couple of feet. I probably could have gone farther if I'd gotten a running start. I broke my wrist when I hit the floor and ended up with a pink cast for four weeks."

"I didn't know you had ever broken anything," Shelby said. This was something that had been lingering in the back of Shelby's mind for a while now. She didn't know much about Rachel medically and kept meaning to rectify it. She needed to make an appointment with Rachel's pediatrician so she could sit down and get a medical history of her daughter. "Which wrist was it?"

"My right," Rachel said as they moved away from the picture and down the stairs. "I became quite adept at using my left hand there for a while."

"You know, I was in a production of Peter Pan once," Shelby said as they were leaving the house.

"Really?" Rachel asked excitedly. They both gave a wave to the Handleys who were still working in their yard before they got in Shelby's car. "What part did you play?"

"It was for my elementary school and I was in fourth grade. I played Wendy."

"Not Peter?"

"No, although I think I would have been better suited to the role. As it was, it was quite the coups that I ended up with Wendy. The main roles usually went to the fifth graders," Shelby told her.

"Who ended up playing Peter?"

"Some boy," Shelby said, disdain showing through.

"They let a boy play Peter? That's ridiculous!"

"I know!" Shelby said. "I tried to tell them that."

Fifteen minutes later Shelby was pulling into the parking lot of one of her favorite restaurants in Columbus. Rachel eyed the old fashioned looking diner warily.

"This used to be one of my favorite places to come as a teenager," Shelby said. "It was a hangout of sorts for all of us. And don't worry, they upgraded their menu a few years ago to include Vegan items so you're good. It's the best place to come for lunch because it's a local place for Columbus and the only one there is."

"It looks fun." Rachel tried to imagine Shelby hanging out there with all of her friends, but her mind kept wandering more towards a _Grease_ setting rather than the late 80's when Shelby was a teenager. The thought of her mother in a poodle skirt or a Pink Ladies jacket was a funny one, but not at all accurate.

They were walking towards the door to the restaurant when they heard someone calling out Shelby's name. Shelby stopped and looked around, but didn't see anyone and ignored it and turned back to Rachel.

"Shelby Corcoran!" the voice called again and both Rachel and Shelby turned to survey the parking lot.

This time they saw a tall man about Shelby's age jogging toward them. Rachel looked up and saw Shelby smile in recognition. Rachel back up a step behind Shelby as the man got close.

"Hi-"

Shelby's greeting was cut off when the man put his hands to Shelby's face and pulled her close and kissed her. Rachel's eyes went wide and she expected her mother to push him away at any second. She certainly did not expect to see her return the kiss. Not sure of what else to do, Rachel simply stood and waited.

**A/N – Please leave me a review. Thanks!**

**Also, if you don't get the Abominable Snowman and his pet rabbit reference, please go forth from here and watch some of classic Looney Tunes cartoons. Please. You won't be disappointed. **


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews for the last chapter. You guys are so great. And it was really interesting to read everyone's opinions on the boy situation for both Shelby and Rachel. We shall see where that will go. Anyways, thank you! And I hope you guys like this one.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

The kiss lingered for a few more seconds until Shelby pulled back and smiled up at the man. Rachel watched with a sense of trepidation and hurt though she tried not to let it show. Who was this guy? And why was her mother kissing him? Rachel felt an irrational sense of jealousy and anger overwhelm her because this guy was intruding on her time alone with her mother. And more importantly, Shelby was letting him do it. She ignored her mother's hand when Shelby reached it back in hopes that Rachel would hold it. Shelby was trying to let her know that she wasn't being left out. Instead, Rachel crossed her arms across her chest.

"It's been too long, Shelby," the man said.

"It certainly has," Shelby agreed. She finally dropped her hand when she realized Rachel wasn't going to take it.

"Excuse me," Rachel said stepping forward and in front of Shelby so that she could put some space between the man and her mother. "Don't you know that it is rude to grab a person and kiss them without their permission? I don't know how you know my mother, but nothing gives you the right to accost her in a parking lot." Shelby nudged her from behind, a warning.

"Your mother?" he asked in astonishment, his gaze travelling from Rachel's angry expression over her to where Shelby was nodding behind her.

"Yes, my mother," Rachel answered. "And if you don't mind we were just about to go in and have a private lunch. Alone. But if you hurry there's a woman getting out of her car over there and maybe you could go and give her your welcoming committee kisses as well."

"Rachel!" Shelby admonished while the man just started to laugh.

"God, Shelby, she's just like you."

"Surely I have better manners," Shelby said with a pointed look at Rachel who did not bother to look ashamed or contrite.

"I don't think I'm the one you should be talking to about manners," Rachel said. "I think a polite handshake would have been more in order even if he is some old boyfriend of yours."

This caused the man to start laughing again and this time Shelby couldn't help but laugh as well. Rachel stood up straighter and huffed out her annoyance at this whole situation. This lunch was not going as planned and it hadn't even had the chance to get started yet.

"Honey," Shelby said putting an arm around Rachel and rubbing her back. "This is Stephen Lewis. He's an old and dear friend of mine. But he was most definitely not ever a boyfriend. And Stephen, this is my wonderful daughter Rachel."

"It's nice to meet you, Rachel," Stephen said holding his hand out for that polite handshake.

Rachel eyed him skeptically for a few long moments until she received another poke from Shelby and finally reached her hand out to shake though she didn't return the sentiments of it being nice to meet him. She was going to reserve judgment on that for now.

"Is it customary to kiss people you've never dated?" Rachel questioned though it wasn't directed at either adult.

"For me it is if the woman is your mom," Stephen answered. "If my husband was here, he'd have done the same thing."

The realization of why they had never dated set in on Rachel and she let her guard down a little. She dropped her arms and looked up at Shelby and showed her confusion and hoped her mom would just explain.

"Stephen and I went to high school together," Shelby said. "And then we went to NYU together. That's where he met Richard, his husband."

"If you're married, and gay, why would you kiss a woman?" Rachel asked bluntly, her youth showing through. It was easier to see things in black and white and just not acknowledge the history and friendship her mom was trying to tell her about.

"Rachel!" Shelby admonished again.

"I guess it's a pretty fair question," Stephen said, a smile brightening his features. It was fun to see Shelby like this. "Tell her, Shelby."

Shelby rolled her eyes at her friend and then turned back to her daughter. "The kiss is a tradition. When we were freshman in high school we went to a school dance. Not together or anything. I didn't actually know him then. But I'd been watching him for a couple of months because I thought he was cute. So some friends and I went to the dance together because we didn't have dates and they noticed me watching him. So they started egging me on to go over and talk to him. I was so nervous as I started to cross the room to him. And I was planning out everything I wanted to say and how I would introduce myself. But when I got to him I forgot all of it and when he asked me what I wanted all I could think to do was grab his face and give him a kiss."

Rachel was smiling now as she listened to her mom tell the story. Her annoyance with Stephen was lessening the more she watched him watching her mom because it was clear how much he loved Shelby.

"And when it was over he just stared at me," Shelby continued. "I was so embarrassed that I turned around and ran out. I called Sam and made him come and pick me up, much to his chagrin, I might add. But the following Monday at school Stephen found me and still didn't say anything. He just returned the favor and kissed me back. And then said that he assumed that meant we were friends now and he turned around and walked off. I, of course, assumed it to mean that we were dating and started to plan out how we would spend our time together. This went on for three weeks until he informed me that no, he meant just friends."

"You kiss her and then tell her you just want to be friends?" Rachel asked. "That's not very nice." For better or for worse, Rachel knew exactly how she would react in that situation and she knew she'd have been heartbroken.

"She kissed me first. And then just ran away," Stephen defended himself. "At least I said something."

"This kisses became our tradition," Shelby said. "And Stephen's excellent at it, so it's not a bad hello."

"Your mom is a pretty great kisser herself."

Rachel scrunched up her face and shook off of the skeevies that passed through her at hearing about her mother's…abilities. "Stop, please." Both adults just laughed.

"Anyway," Shelby said, moving it along, "we were close all through high school and then were thrilled to get into the same college. I actually lived with him and Richard for a couple months when I moved back to New York City after having you."

"I was so glad she did," Stephen said. "It took about a month to get her to tell me why she was so upset all the time. She said you were the most beautiful baby she had ever seen. And now I can see why considering you look just like her."

Rachel only nodded and then looked down to the ground. "I didn't realize she had told anyone…about me, I mean." Shelby pulled Rachel close to her and put a kiss on her temple. She looked over to Stephen and her eyes spoke volumes. He knew about her past with Rachel, but he was not caught up with the present. He hadn't talked with her since she adopted Beth. Shelby was silently begging him not to say the wrong thing.

"Yeah, she did," Stephen said, unsure this time. "She told us she had helped out a couple who wanted to be parents. But I know she missed you. She would sing us some of the songs she used to sing for you while she was pregnant."

"You should hear Rachel sing, Stephen," Shelby said. "She has the most gorgeous voice." Everyone recognized what Shelby was doing and went with.

"It's not as good as yours, Mom," Rachel said, blushing.

"Oh don't encourage her, Rachel," Stephen said. "Your mother was never shy about telling people how well she could sing."

Shelby gasped, horrified. But Rachel took it differently.

"Why should she be shy about? If she had the best voice of the group, there's no shame in telling people so."

Stephen laughed again and Shelby just shook her head. She was determined to teach Rachel a little bit of humility when it came to her voice. Of course she didn't mind that Rachel was the best and that she knew it, but she knew from experience that it was harder to get ahead by announcing how great you are.

"So what brings you to town?" Shelby asked her friend after a moment. "Did Richard come with you?"

"I'm just in town visiting family," he answered. "And no, Richard couldn't come. He's finishing up a big project. Richard has the real job of the family," Stephen told Rachel laughing. "He's an architect. I went to school to be a writer and I supplement that by managing a bar. But I enjoy it. And what brings you out of the cornfields and back to the city?"

"Rachel and I decided to take a trip with just the two of us. She's never been to Columbus with me so I'm showing her around so I can show her more about my life and childhood," Shelby answered.

"Well then you are in luck, Rachel," Stephen said. "Because I am going to tell you all the stories your mother would probably leave out."

Shelby noticed the familiar smirk and glint in his eyes as he looped his arm around Rachel's and started to lead her towards the door to the restaurant, leaving Shelby standing there. Rachel smiled broadly at her mother's friend and was excited to hear his stories. She thought for a second about how it was just supposed to be her and her mother, but she couldn't help but be excited about getting to know one of her mother's friends. She wanted to learn about her mom and this was just another way to do it. And besides, she had decided that she really liked Stephen. Rachel looked over her shoulder and Shelby smiled at her before starting to follow them. She took a few quick steps to catch up and clasped onto Rachel's free hand when she noticed that her daughter had held it out for her.

Quinn finished the last of her homework and repacked her books and notebooks in her book bag. She was glad to have it completed and out of the way, but now she was back to not having anything to do. She decided that she was going to chance a trip out of her room and see if she could find something to pass the time.

Quinn heard Beth's cries peal through the house once again. The little girl hadn't been very happy since Shelby and Rachel had left. The cries grew louder and more insistent as Quinn made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. It was clear the baby missed her mother and was not at ease now that she realized neither Shelby nor Rachel were there. Sure, she liked hanging out with her grandparents and Quinn, but it was Shelby she wanted. Rachel would do as well, but it was Shelby the little girl was after.

Rebecca was rocking Beth from side to side and trying to give her the pacifier. Beth was too wound up to take it and her crying continued. Quinn reached out and took Beth's hand and tried to offer what comfort she could.

"Look who has emerged," Paul joked when Quinn came into the room. She offered him a half smile before turning her attention back to Beth.

"I just came to see what all the crying is about," Quinn said. "I'll be out of your hair in a second. I know you guys want to visit with Beth."

"I don't think she wants to visit with us," Rebecca said. As if on cue, Beth reached her arms out to Quinn. Quinn was not her first choice, but was also a familiar face since she'd been in the house all week. Quinn held Beth close to her and was surprised when Beth actually started to calm down. Just yesterday Beth had cried almost the entire she was watching her while Shelby looked for Rachel. She relished in it though, the fact that she was the one able to quiet the baby down.

Rebecca took the opportunity to sit down at the table across from her husband and closed her eyes for a moment. She had forgotten how exhausting infants can be. Beth now had her pacifier in her mouth and was content with her head resting against Quinn's chest and her watery eyes watching the room around her.

"I've never seen her cry like that," Paul said. "She's usually so cheerful."

"She just misses her mom," Quinn said. "I know how she feels," she added as an afterthought. Beth moved to get more comfortable and Quinn shifted the baby in her arms. "I can take her for a while if you want."

"Sure," Paul said quietly.

Quinn turned to leave the room but stopped and turned back to them after a few seconds. "Can I use the phone? To call my mom."

Rebecca thought for a moment before shaking her head and saying, "No. Shelby told me you're not allowed to use the phone."

"But it's my mom." She looked from Rebecca to Paul. "Shelby let me call her last night."

"I'm sorry, honey," Rebecca said.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Quinn said, raising her voice. "You know Shelby let me. She's the one punishing me, not you."

"Quinn, don't raise your voice," Rebecca reprimanded. "I said no."

"This is such crap!" Quinn said.

"Quinn," Rebecca said again. "That's enough!"

Quinn didn't say anything else, though her eyes blazed with how angry she was, as she turned and left the kitchen, Beth in arms. She hoped her mother would call to talk to her because surely they wouldn't say no to her. She was glad for Shelby and Rachel but she wished they wouldn't have left her alone. She didn't know the Corcorans well enough and she just felt stuck.

"Why did you say no?" Paul said after they had heard Quinn retreat back up the stairs.

"I'm trying to follow Shelby's rules. She did get in trouble for fighting."

"She's also stuck here with two people she doesn't know," Paul countered. "It would be completely different if Shelby were here. We'd actually probably see a lot more of her."

"I know," Rebecca conceded. "But should she get a free pass simply because plans change over the weekend?"

"No, of course not. I'm not saying this punishment should be dismissed; I'm just saying that the kid wanted to call her mom and there's no harm in that."

Quinn made her way up to the music room, stopping first to grab some of Beth's toys out of the nursery. She settled Beth on the floor with the toys and then glanced around the room hoping something to do would pop out at her. She made her way over to the cabinet that housed a bunch of board games and looked them over. She smiled when she saw a chess set and pulled it out. It only took a few minutes to set up both sides and set the box on the floor out of the way. Beth started to whine at her as soon as she sat down and Quinn quickly picked her up and sat her on her lap.

"This is chess," Quinn told the baby. "It's usually more fun to play someone else, but you can play alone too. You always start with the white pieces." She demonstrated by picking up one of the white pawns and moving it ahead two spaces. Beth contributed by taking the queen off the board and putting it in her mouth to chew on. "I'm going to need that piece in a little bit," Quinn said with a laugh as she reached across the board and moved one of the black pawns.

Thirty minutes later Paul made his way up to the music room to find them. Quinn was now sitting on the opposite side of the table as she contemplated a move for the black pieces. Beth was holding both kings, the white queen having since been rescued so she could be played. Quinn replaced each king with a pawn of the opposite color so she would know where they were on the board. Paul sat down at the table on the white side of the board and watched Quinn thinking about her move. He set the house phone down next to the board and then studied it so he could get caught up.

"Nice move," Paul said a couple minutes later when Quinn finally moved a black rook.

"Do you play chess?"

"I love it," Paul said as he studied the white pieces some more, thinking about his move.

"I do too. My mom taught me when I was younger. And I'm showing Beth," Quinn said. "I haven't had anyone to play with in a long time though. My dad hated it. He always said chess was too slow."

"My kids only showed mild interest in it when I tried to teach them," Paul said as he made a move. "I'm surprised Shelby even has a board."

Quinn looked over the board as she tried to weigh her best options for her next move. Even Beth seemed to be looking at it intently, but she was probably trying to figure out which piece she wanted to grab next. "Maybe she always meant to get better," Quinn said, making her move.

"That could be," Paul replied. He made a quick move and then sat back and watched her as she looked over the board. "I know this probably isn't the best weekend for you, Quinn. I realize you've been put in an awkward position."

Quinn only shrugged as she made her move, taking one of his knights in the process.

"This whole weekend was a surprise to everyone," he continued. "And I know that you didn't expect that it would be anyone but Shelby here with you and enforcing this grounding and it's weird for you. We're supposed to hold you accountable and we've only ever met once."

"It doesn't really seem fair," Quinn said, finally speaking up as Paul moved another piece, taking her queen and putting her king in check.

"You're absolutely right; it's not fair," Paul said as Quinn moved her pawn posing as a king away from danger. "But it is what we're stuck with. And I know how much you mean to Shelby and I think I can tell how much she means to you."

"I don't want to disappoint her or my mom," Quinn said. "I don't want Shelby to come home and hear that I broke all of her rules or that I was a pain to be around because I want her to think highly of me. But I also feel like I'm stuck here with you guys, no offense. I feel like I've been made to stand in the corner by someone I don't know for something I did two weeks ago. And you guys in turn got stuck with me when I know you just wanted to get to spend time with Rachel and make sure she was ok."

"We were hoping to spend time with Rachel, you're right," Paul agreed. "But Shelby needed this time with her more. And as I recall, the reason you're grounded did not happen two weeks ago. It was just a couple of days ago, so that excuse won't fly." Quinn gave him a sheepish smile. "As for us being strangers, I don't think so. I know Shelby considers you a part of her family and from what I've heard, your mother considers Rachel to be a part of yours. And you're my granddaughter's biological mother, so that makes us all a family."

Tears formed in Quinn's eyes as she met the man's gaze. "Thank you," she said softly. "I didn't mean to yell earlier. I just wanted to talk to my mom. I know it's only been a week, but I miss her. It can be hard to settle the pit in my stomach that sometimes says she's not going to come back for me."

"Then I suppose you had better call her," Paul said, making another move of his chess pieces.

"What?"

"Go on. Beth and I will give you some privacy." He stood up and took Beth from Quinn's arms and was pleased when the little girl didn't protest. She wasn't about to give up her kings though. She held her new toys firmly in each hand.

"Thank you," Quinn said as she reached for the phone.

"No problem," Paul said as he moved towards the door. He stopped just before leaving and turned back to the blonde. "Oh and Quinn?" He waited until she was looking his way, "Checkmate."

Her eyes darted back to the board as Paul walked out of the room laughing. She surveyed the pieces and found that her pawn king was indeed trapped. She was already plotting a rematch as she dialed her mother's number.

Shelby and Rachel were saying their goodbyes to Stephen after he had walked them to their car after lunch. Rachel had heard tons of stories from both her mother and Stephen and the lunch had been wonderful. She couldn't have asked for a better friend for her mother to run into.

"Goodbye, Stephen," Rachel said giving the man a hug. "Thanks for all of the information."

"Anytime, kiddo. If you have questions about your dear mom and she's not answering, just give me a call and I'll set the record straight," he gave Shelby a wink.

"And we'll see you when we get to New York City?"

"You bet. I'll make you a dinner to die for."

"As I recall, you used to live off of Ramen, macaroni and cheese, and hot dogs," Shelby said, doubting the dinner he would make for them.

"You're going to be pleasantly surprised," Stephen told her. "Bye, Shelby," he said pulling in her for a hug.

"Bye, Stephen. It was wonderful to see you."

"You can give her a kiss if you want to," Rachel interjected. "I don't mind."

"Well thank you," Stephen said and Shelby laughed. He placed a chaste kiss to her lips and then left them to head back to his own car.

Shelby was glad to listen to Rachel chatter the whole way back to her parents' house. It was moments like these where Shelby felt that Rachel really let go of some of her self-consciousness and relaxed. Once they got back to the house, both were content to go and sit on the couch in the living room for a few minutes and rest.

"Mom?" Rachel asked after a little while.

"Hmmm," was Shelby's response. She had her head leaned back and her eyes closed. Rachel had been leaning against her, but Shelby noticed that the girl had sat up and moved away before she started speaking.

"What did Stephen and Richard say when you told them you'd had a baby?"

Shelby opened her eyes and turned to look at Rachel and witnessed the curious, but guarded expression that graced her daughter's features. She could tell Rachel was bracing herself for the answer and was preparing to put on a show face if necessary.

"I told them about how much your dads had wanted a baby," Shelby said. "And Stephen and Richard were supportive of that. He's right though, I was upset for a long time and he saw right through every excuse I gave. But at the time I truly believed that I had done the right thing. I had to believe that. Your dads were so happy. It was that memory I was holding on to when I told you that you didn't need me. I thought I was going to be intruding on this wonderful life you must have with the happy men I remembered. I thought I was doing what was best for you. You have to believe that, Rachel."

"I do," Rachel said softly. "I lived with them and it was hard for me to understand that things were changing and why. Sometimes it feels like it happened all at once and sometimes it feels like they were gone in an instant. One day they were there and we were a happy family and the next they were leaving money on the counter and telling me to be good and they would be back in a few days."

"I'm so sorry, honey," Shelby said. "The only time I ever remember being upset with your fathers was just after you were born and I wasn't allowed to hold you. I can see your little face looking at me just as if it happened yesterday."

Rachel's tears started so suddenly that Shelby didn't even really realize she was crying until the girl started to speak. "You never held me? I didn't know that. I always just assumed." She wiped at her eyes and looked at her mother with such despair. "I wish you could have held me."

Shelby moved over on the couch and pulled Rachel into a hug. She held her as tightly as possible and rocked her back and forth, her own tears now falling. Rachel clung to her in return.

"When I used to ask about my mom when I was little, they would tell me a story about a magical queen who had brought me to them when I was just a tiny baby," Rachel said. "They said she held me wrapped in a pink blanket and gave me a star from the heavens to remind me how special I was. I always used to imagine that the beautiful queen was my mother. And before she handed me over, she would stop and look down at me in her arms and tell me how much she loved me but that she had to leave me. She would hold me close and kiss my head and then hand me to my dad. I can't believe you didn't get to hold me. How could they do that?"

"Rachel, please don't cry," Shelby said. "I can hold you now. I am holding you now."

"Not like you can hold Beth," Rachel said.

Shelby sat Rachel back and wiped some of the tears from her daughter's face. "You're right. I can't hold you like I can hold Beth. But we can't cry over that now because we're not going to get that moment back. I will always be upset about it, and you can be too, but it doesn't change anything about how I feel about you now. It didn't change how I felt about you then. I have loved you, Rachel, since before you were born. That has never stopped and has never changed. That moment where you turned your head and looked at me just after you were born is one of the most precious moments of my life. That moment got me through a lot while I lived in New York and eventually brought me back to Ohio."

"It's just not fair," Rachel said, her tears having subsided to the occasional hiccup.

"No, honey, it's not fair," Shelby agreed. "I think as we go along we're going to find a lot of things that aren't fair, but we can't let each of those things get us down. We need to talk about them like we're doing now and we're going to have to learn how to move forward. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," Rachel said, making one last wipe at her eyes. "But it's still not fair," her tone just a tad more playful than before.

The hours between lunch and dinner were filled with Shelby showing Rachel from room to room in the house and telling stories about growing up there. She told Rachel about all the pictures that were on the walls and tabletops and shelves. Rachel soaked up every bit of information that Shelby was giving her. While Shelby missed Beth, she could not deny the joy she felt at it just being her and Rachel. The memories they were creating that day were the kind that stuck with a person the rest of their lives.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Rachel asked while she watched Shelby prepare a vegetable stir fry for dinner.

"My parents. They both love to cook. Sam and I both picked it up," Shelby said.

"I've never been any good at it. We were pretty committed to take-out," Rachel said. "I think I've got most of the numbers to the places I like memorized."

"Come here," Shelby said, gesturing to her. "You can help. Start cutting up the peppers."

"Uhhh… ok," Rachel said as she stood at the counter and picked up a knife. She turned the pepper a few times trying to figure out the proper position in which to cut it. Shelby stood back and watched with an amused smile playing on her lips. Her baby girl was very good at many things, but cutting a pepper seemed to have her stumped.

"I know you are laughing back there, Mother," Rachel said, an air of fake annoyance prevalent in her tone.

"Sorry," Shelby said, biting back her laugh. "Like this." She took the knife and pepper from Rachel and demonstrated for her. It only took Rachel a couple of tries and one mutilated pepper before she started getting the hang of it.

"I'm going to have one meal under my belt after this," Rachel said. "Although there's no guarantee that I'll ever actually be able to duplicate this again."

"Sure you will," Shelby told her. "How about you pick out some of your favorite meals and we'll get all of the ingredients and cook them at home in the evenings. You can learn and we can hang out together. It'll give us a chance to really talk about our days. Or anything else," Shelby added. "How does that sound?"

"That sounds great," Rachel said with a bright smile.

Shelby returned her smile and went back to cutting her own vegetables. She was glad to find an activity besides music that Rachel seemed truly interested in. She loved their time at the piano and helping Rachel with her singing, but it wasn't something that allowed them to do a lot of talking the way cooking would. Music, of course, was the safe topic that Rachel could depend on. It allowed her to be with her mother and share with her without having to give up any information. Shelby thought it was a positive sign that Rachel was now showing other interests, especially one that opened the doors of communication.

When dinner was over and the dishes were all cleaned and put away, Rachel and Shelby found themselves in Shelby's old bedroom discussing its many looks over the years. Rachel was amused by the talk of the Duran Duran and David Bowie posters.

"I had a Barbra Streisand poster next to a Madonna poster at one point," Shelby said. "Things got a little crazy in here. I had an Annie poster up for a while that I got from New York after my parents took me there to see it. I wanted to stay and audition, but my mom said no."

"You would have been a great Annie," Rachel said.

"I think so," Shelby agreed. "I could already see it all happening in my head."

"I know what you mean," Rachel said. "Do you still have any of those posters?"

"Oh, I doubt it. I'm sure they were all thrown away after I graduated from college and moved out for good."

"Oh," Rachel said. "That's too bad. It might be fun to have one of those old posters."

"We'll check some stores and see if we can't find some for you."

As the evening wore on Shelby and Rachel changed into their pajamas and settled in on the bed in Shelby's old room and started watching _Funny Girl_, a favorite for both. As the movie wore on, Shelby had to smile as she noticed Rachel doing her best to keep her eyes open. It was already after midnight when Shelby put an around her and let Rachel rest her head on her chest. It was only a few more minutes before Rachel was asleep and Shelby enjoyed the sensation of being as close as she would ever get to what it would have been like to be able to hold Rachel as an infant. She turned the volume down on the TV so that Barbra's song would sound more like a lullaby for her daughter and simply held her.

Rachel awoke a couple hours later to find that she was tucked into the bed in her mother's old room. The TV was off and Shelby was gone. The last thing Rachel remembered was nearing the end of the movie, but a look at the clock told her it was after two in the morning and she knew that it had been over for a while. Rachel rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but it alluded her. Her sleeping was off and, for the time being, she found herself wide awake.

Rachel got out of bed and flipped on the light and took a glance around the room, wondering if there was something she missed earlier that she could check out now. Her eyes landed on the closest that they hadn't bothered with and Rachel made her way over to it to explore. The closet was a good size walk-in and she moved some old jackets out of the way and saw some boxes in the back. Pulling one forward, Rachel sat down next to it and began her search.

It was after three when Shelby woke up, not because she wasn't tired, but because she was used to only sleeping a couple hours and then having to get up with Beth. She got up out of bed and left the other guest room where she was sleeping so she could head to the restroom in the hall. She noticed the light coming from Rachel's room and changed directions so she could check on her.

Shelby opened the door slowly so as not to startle Rachel and poked her head in. Rachel was nowhere in sight, but Shelby knew where she was from the open closet door. When she got over there she found Rachel sitting on the floor and wearing a sweater she swore she hadn't seen since 1987. There were open boxes and pictures and notebooks and posters spread all over the floor. Shelby knocked lightly on the door frame and Rachel jumped, but smiled when she saw that it was Shelby who was standing there.

"Mom, look at all this stuff. Look at this sweater! I love it! Can I keep it?"

"Ummm, yeah," Shelby said drowsily. Why, oh why, couldn't she have children who liked to sleep? "Where did you find all of this?"

"From these boxes that were in the back of the closest," Rachel answered. "You do have some of your old posters. And there a lots of pictures of you from high school. Although, I'm not sure how I feel about the big haired, perm look, Mom." She held up the picture for Shelby to see.

"It was the 80's, Rachel. You can't judge me for it now."

"But look, Mom, you're wearing this sweater in that picture. It's amazing that you've got a picture where you're wearing it and now I've got it," Rachel said excitedly.

"That is pretty cool," Shelby agreed. "But for now, why don't you leave all of this stuff where it is and finish looking at it in the morning? We've got plenty of time tomorrow and I'll tell you about all the stuff, but right now we need to get some sleep."

"Aw, Mom, just a few more minutes, please," Rachel whined. "I'm almost done with this box."

"Rachel…"

"Please, Mom."

Shelby tried to resist the pout that was on Rachel's face, but she couldn't help but give in to her child. "Fine. Thirty more minutes and then I want you back in bed." She leaned down and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "And don't get up at six, ok?"

"Thanks, Mom!" Rachel made no promises about when she would get up.

Shelby turned and left her to it, making a quick stop at the nightstand where she sneakily turned the alarm off on Rachel's phone and then left the room.

Rachel didn't know what time it was, but she could tell the sun was already up when she poked her head out of the closest and looked around. She just had a little bit more she wanted to look at before she went back to sleep.

Shelby was up a little after eight and groaned when she saw the light on in Rachel's room. That kid was going to wear herself out. Shelby entered the bedroom and found the bed empty and the closet door still open and the light still on. Shelby had to stop and smile when she saw what was waiting in the closet. Rachel was still in the sweater and Shelby knew that she had never gone back to bed. The girl was leaning back against the wall with her head resting to the side against the door frame, fast asleep. The contents of four boxes were spread all over the floor and in her lap and one picture still in her hand.

Shelby made quick and quiet work of retrieving her camera and snapping a few pictures to show Rachel later. Shelby's next dilemma was actually getting Rachel into the bed. She half wondered if she should leave her there because she didn't know how long she'd actually been asleep. If Rachel woke up now she would fight going back to sleep, but Shelby also didn't want to leave her on the floor because that position would be uncomfortable after a while.

Shelby crouched down in front of Rachel after moving some stuff out of the way so she wouldn't step on it. She removed the picture from Rachel's hand and set it off to the side and then slid her arms under Rachel's and around her back.

"Up we go, honey," Shelby said as she got them to their feet.

"Mom…" Rachel muttered.

"We're going to bed now," Shelby whispered. "It's time to get some sleep." She set Rachel on the bed and leaned her against her while she took the sweater off the girl.

"I'm not tired," Rachel said blearily. "The sun already came up." Shelby shook her head at Rachel's admission of just how long she had stayed up after Shelby had told her to go to bed. "I want to show you something."

"Later. Go back to sleep now."

Rachel was back into a deep sleep before she was even settled properly into her pillow and the blankets were pulled up to her neck. As Shelby left the room she hoped that Rachel would sleep the morning away. It was thrilling to get to watch her daughter's excitement at learning about her and though she wanted to rest, she couldn't wait to see more of the discoveries that Rachel had made that night.

**A/N – I hope you guys liked it. Please leave me a review if you can. Thanks!**


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews and notes and alerts I've received. And thanks to those who are continuing to read. I really do appreciate it and you guys are the best. And I swear that some of you can read my mind when it comes to things I've got planned for upcoming chapters. I hope you all enjoy. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Shelby did nothing to hide her smile when Rachel appeared in the living room later that morning, still in her pajamas and sporting and nice case of bed head. She had clearly just woken up and was still rubbing her at her eyes.

"Well hello, sleepyhead," Shelby greeted when Rachel plopped down next to her on the couch. She took a moment to try and smooth down some of Rachel's hair and placed a kiss on her temple before Rachel rested her head against Shelby's shoulder.

"Ugh, I'm so tired," Rachel whined. "How could you let me stay up all night?"

"Oh, I let you stay up all night? Don't blame me, little lady. I told you to get back in bed."

"But there was just so much to look at," Rachel said.

"Which could have waited until today," Shelby reminded her and Rachel just shrugged.

"What do you think Nana is planning to do with all of the stuff that was in the boxes?" Rachel asked.

It was Shelby's turn to shrug and she said, "I didn't even know any of it was there. I bet you she wouldn't remember it was there either."

"Do you think she'll let me keep some of it?"

"Considering that most of it is mine, I say you can have pretty much all of it," Shelby said. "We can go through it a little bit later and you can keep what you want."

"Thanks, Mom."

"So what would you like to do today before we have to head back home?" Shelby asked.

"Maybe we can just hang out," Rachel responded. "Or you could show me around to where you went to school and stuff like that. Maybe I could drive there."

Shelby couldn't help but laugh. "Aren't you cute?"

Rachel huffed out her annoyance and lifted her head from her mother's shoulder. "You're going to have to teach me at some point, you know."

"Then you're going to have to figure out how to stay out of trouble for a couple of days at a time," Shelby said, tapping her daughter on the nose. Rachel pouted in return. "We'll go tomorrow when we're back in Lima, Ok?"

Rachel held onto the last bit of her pout, but nodded in response. "Ok."

Shelby ruffled her hair as she got up from the couch. "Good. Come on, I'll make you some of my coffee."

"I think I'd rather just have some water," Rachel said as she followed Shelby to the kitchen. "My throat is feeling a little bit sore this morning and I don't want to take any chances on losing my voice like I did last year."

"Are you alright?" Shelby asked, directing Rachel to sit at the table. She put her hand to Rachel's forehead and thought she could feel a slight fever.

"I'm fine, Mom," Rachel said shrugging her off.

Shelby grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and then sat down next to Rachel at the table. "But you lost your voice last year? What was wrong?"

"I didn't really lose my voice in that I couldn't talk, but I wasn't able to sing and that's even worse," Rachel said. "The doctor said it was tonsillitis and that my tonsils might need to b removed. But I took the antibiotics and rested my voice and everything cleared up."

"Have you had a follow up for your tonsils since then?" Shelby asked.

Rachel shook her head as she took a sip of her water and was glad to have the soothing cool liquid on her throat.

"Why not? Your doctor didn't want to do a follow-up appointment to make sure it cleared up?" Shelby asked. "If they suggested some type of surgery they should have made sure everything was ok after you finished the antibiotics."

"I, uhhh, didn't actually see my regular doctor," Rachel said looking away from her mom.

Shelby's eyes widened as she waited for Rachel to go on. "Who did you see?" she finally asked when Rachel stayed silent.

"I went to a clinic and saw a doctor there," Rachel said.

"But how-"

"I told the nurse at the check-in desk that I was older than I was when she asked about a parent. And then I told the doctor that my dad was waiting outside," Rachel said.

"You lied so you could go and see a doctor all alone?"

"I wasn't alone. I took Finn with me."

"Finn." Shelby was angry.

"I wanted someone there with me in case they gave me really bad news," Rachel said. "And I had to go as soon as possible because I thought I was losing my voice. I didn't want to wait for one of my dads to get home. It was just easier to go and get checked out so I would know what was going on. And I just couldn't have my tonsils out because that could hurt my ability to sing. And the antibiotics worked so everything was fine."

"Except now you have a sore throat."

"But it's not like that. It's fine now," Rachel insisted.

"When's the last time you saw your regular pediatrician?"

"Umm," Rachel said looking away again, "over two years ago. Maybe close to three. I never get sick though. The sore throat was an anomaly. Besides, I'm too old to see a pediatrician anyway."

"No you're not," Shelby told her. "I'm going to call them tomorrow morning and make an appointment for you."

"What? Why?"

"Because you should have at least had a check-up in that time, if nothing else. And you can have your tonsils looked at again," Shelby said.

"But they're fine. Mom, I don't need an appointment," Rachel argued.

"There's more than just looking at your tonsils, honey," Shelby told her. "Are you up to date with all of your vaccinations?"

"I don't know," Rachel mumbled.

"What's the matter, honey? Do you not like going to the doctor? Are you afraid of something?"

"I'm not afraid," Rachel said quietly. "You're mad."

"Not at you," Shelby told her. "I don't like that you lied your way into seeing a doctor, but I understand why you felt you needed to." It really brought home to Shelby just how much Rachel had been doing on her own these past few years. She knew that was the case, but it was different to hear it spoken out loud. And it angered her so much that her kid had to take a boy with her to see a doctor just so she wouldn't be alone. How had it ever come to that?

"But what if I go back and see a doctor and they tell me I need my tonsils out?" Rachel said. "I can't do that. I won't do that. If they messed up and I lost my ability to sing, I don't know what I would do." The same fears she had that day at the clinic with Finn were coming back. She had been taught the lesson that there was more to her than her singing voice, but she wanted it so badly and there was nothing wrong with that.

"That's a bridge we'd have to cross if we came to it, honey. Please don't worry about it now."

"But you're going to make me go and get them checked out," Rachel said getting even more worked up. "From a pediatrician that knows more about kids than someone my age."

"Rachel, calm down for a second, ok? First of all, yes, I am going to go and make you get them checked out," Shelby told her. "Because if there is something wrong with them, you need to be on some medicine at the very least. And secondly, you are not too old for a pediatrician. They specialize in kids from infants through adolescence. But," she cut off Rachel before she could get going, "if, after this next appointment, you are uncomfortable, we can find you a new doctor that is not a pediatrician." She wanted to make sure she felt like she was giving Rachel some of the control in this situation. Rachel needed to know that all of the decisions were not being made for her without her consent. To an extent.

"Ok," Rachel finally agreed. "But please don't make it for after school. I don't want to miss glee again. Please, Mom."

"Not after school. Got it," Shelby said.

"Thanks. And, though I hate to miss class, if you wanted to set up an appointment that would cause me to miss a biology class, I could probably deal with that," Rachel joked.

Shelby only laughed as she got to her feet and motioned for Rachel to follow her. Rachel was confused by the time they reached the bathroom upstairs. Shelby reached into the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of aspirin and shook out a couple of the pills for Rachel.

"Here, take these," Shelby instructed. "It felt like you have a bit of a fever and this will help."

"I don't have a fever," Rachel said. "I don't get sick."

"Humor me, honey."

"But your hand was probably warm or something, not my head. I can always tell if I feel different and I feel fine," Rachel insisted. "I don't have a fever."

"Rachel, it's just aspirin. Take it." This was so much easier with Beth.

"But Mom," Rachel whined again. As Rachel started talking once again about not getting sick and perfect health, Shelby got fed up and opened the medicine cabinet once again. She removed the thermometer from its protective case and checked to make sure the temperature was normal and then closed the cabinet door and turned back to Rachel who immediately clamped her mouth shut when she saw what her mom had.

"Open up," Shelby said. Rachel eyed the thermometer and then her mom. "Come on, Rach, prove me wrong. Let's just settle it right now."

Rachel reluctantly opened her mouth and let her mom place the tip of the thermometer under her tongue. "Mom-" Rachel tried to say it but Shelby cut her off.

"Not a word."

They spent an awkward three minutes in silence as they waited for the temperature to register until finally Shelby checked her watch again and reached out and took the thermometer from Rachel's mouth.

"Look at that," Shelby said, reading the temperature. "One hundred point two." She held it out so Rachel could see it as well. "Take the aspirin."

Rachel did as she was told without argument this time while Shelby cleaned the thermometer and replaced it in its case.

"Now," Shelby said when she turned back to her daughter. "Why don't you get a shower and I will pull all of that stuff out of the closet and then we can figure out what you want to keep. Does that sound good?"

"Yes," Rachel answered.

"Or do you think we should argue first about whether or not you should take a shower?"

"No," Rachel answered, blushing.

"Good girl," Shelby said. She gave Rachel a playful swat to her backside as she stepped past her to leave the room.

"You know, you'd think some people would be more sympathetic to a kid with a fever," Rachel called out, matching Shelby's sarcastic tone from a moment ago. She heard Shelby's laugh from down the hall and smiled before she stepped over to the tub to turn the water on.

Quinn stared intently at the chess board as she waited for Paul to make his next move. She was pretty certain she had him on the ropes this time. The game had long since made its way down from the music room and was now taking up residence on the table in the kitchen. Quinn was losing by four games in the overall count and she and Paul had made it a tournament of sorts.

After her phone call with her mother the day before, including reassurance from Judy that she would be home by the following weekend, Quinn relaxed a bit and had joined the Corcorans downstairs. They talked some and she found that she was very much enjoying their company. It made her all the more grateful that this was the family that Beth would have and grow up with.

The only other problem they had was when Quinn, as per Shelby's rules, was sent to bed early in compliance with her grounding. She had mumbled to Beth to be careful because she was never going to get away with anything before she stomped up the stairs and off to bed.

"Check," Paul said.

"What? There's no way," Quinn responded. "I thought I had everything covered." She moved a bishop in order to protect her king.

"At least you have plenty of pieces left willing to fight for him," Paul said.

Rebecca came to a stop in the doorway of the kitchen, hoping to take Paul for a few minutes so he could help her with something. But she didn't want to interrupt their conversation so she stood and waited.

"Yeah, but they'll end up being the ones who get sacrificed for standing up for him," Quinn replied.

"Or, if they lose this fight, they take their licks but live to fight another day. And if they're smart, they change their strategy so they're not the ones who end up punished in the end," Paul said.

Quinn looked up from the board and to Paul's face. "But why don't their intentions count for anything?"

"Because sometimes you have to pay the price for the past before you're allowed to make up for it," Paul answered.

"But how do you know when the price has been paid?" Quinn asked, her eyes filling. "When do you stop getting judged for what you've done instead of what you're doing?"

"When you can demonstrate to others that you've learned from the past. But more importantly, Quinn, when you can demonstrate to yourself that you've learned from it," Paul said. He took a second to make another move in the game.

"I've been trying so hard," Quinn said as a few tears spilled over. "I wish I had never slushied that boy and started that fight. But you don't know what it's like to see Rachel covered in the mess and being laughed at. I know that all too well because I used to be the one doing it," she said, looking down ashamed. "But I realize now that as soon as I jumped in there thinking I was standing up for her, it stopped being about Rachel all together. This whole time I've been making it about myself and not her. As soon as the Glee club got involved it was about how the school viewed them and the fact that they think it's funny when some of the members are picked on. If I'd have stood up and just been her friend and helped her get cleaned up it would have been about being there for her. The others might have followed and she might understand how much they all really like her because I'm still not sure she truly gets that. Instead she thought the whole thing was her fault and that they might be mad at her for getting everyone in trouble." Quinn wiped at some the tears that were coming faster now as the lecture Shelby gave her two days ago really started to sink in and she knew she was understanding what the woman had been trying to say.

Rebecca crossed the room and put an arm around Quinn's shoulders and pulled the girl to her. Quinn's guilt was finally realized and she finally recognized the need for her punishment. It couldn't only be about not wanting her mother or Shelby to be disappointed, it also had to be about paying a price for her misdeeds and learning from them at the same time. Both Paul and Rebecca knew that Quinn had reached that point of acceptance and would not fight them on it anymore.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said when she stopped crying and pulled away from Rebecca.

"Don't be," Paul said. "Sometimes you've got to take a moment to really look over the whole situation before you can see any of it clearly. It has taken many people a lot longer than you to finally understand the reasons for their punishments and how to move forward from them. I'd say you're probably ahead of the game."

"Thank you," Quinn said sincerely.

"Anytime. Remember what I said. You're a part of this family."

Quinn nodded and Rebecca rubbed her back a few times before finally asking Paul for his help like she wanted to do when she first came into the kitchen.

"One second, it's Quinn's move. I want to see what she does."

Quinn took her time looking over the board and really studying where the pieces were and how they related to each other. And that's when she saw it; the opening she needed. She picked up her rook and moved him forward and stopped him on the same row as Paul's king, trapping it. Quinn looked up at the man and grinned.

"Checkmate."

It had taken longer to pack the car this time because of all of the things Rachel wanted to bring home. Shelby was returning with two boxes of things she probably hadn't seen in twenty years. But Rachel wanted it and so she was happy to bring it home. They had said their obligatory goodbyes to the Handleys and Rachel had promised to visit with them the next time she was in town, but Shelby could have sworn she noticed Rachel's fingers crossed behind her back.

It was only about fifteen minutes into their drive and Rachel had already fallen asleep. There was a part of Shelby that wanted to keep Rachel up so that she wouldn't be wide awake later that evening, but a bigger part didn't have the heart to do it. Rachel's all night treasure hunt and the slight fever had been taking its toll and she'd been tired all day. And now the afternoon sun was warming the car and Rachel had been rocked to sleep.

While stopped at a red light, Shelby smiled over at her daughter and gently brushed some of the hair out of her face. The weekend had been great and she was sorry to see it end so soon. But by the same token she was excited for them to move forward from here. Not because she believed one weekend would magically fix everything, but because she truly believed some progress had been made and she wanted to continue to help Rachel in any way she could. She felt like Rachel tried to be relaxed at home most of the time, but there were still times of awkward tension and Rachel still feeling like she had to earn her spot in the house. Shelby hoped that Rachel's blow up and their talk the other day combined with this weekend would help the girl feel like she could be relaxed and at home all the time.

The drive home from Columbus was delayed by traffic caused by an earlier accident and it was entering the early evening when Shelby finally turned into their neighborhood. Rachel had only been awake for about twenty minutes and still felt the need to ask when they'd be there even though she'd slept through the rest of the drive.

"How are you feeling?" Shelby asked her.

"Fine," Rachel responded automatically.

"It's ok to not feel good, you know." Shelby told her. "Everyone gets sick once in a while."

"I feel fine. I'd bet the fever is probably gone," Rachel said. "It was probably just some weird reaction to my sleep being weird the night before."

"We can check it again when we get home," Shelby said, glancing sideways at Rachel. She didn't quite believe her daughter right now.

Rachel didn't respond and instead turned to look out the window and watch as the houses went by. There was no need to check. She knew she still didn't feel well. But she was not about to be sick when she was finally going to get to go back to glee and learn to drive. She certainly didn't mind Shelby wanting to take care of her, she wanted that too, but she did not want to seem like she was needy or desperate. She and Shelby were taking a couple steps forward and she didn't want to press her luck. She knew how tough it could be on a parent to have to watch a sick kid.

"Do you know whose car that is?" Shelby asked, pulling Rachel from her thoughts. They had reached the house and there was a car Shelby didn't recognize was parked on the street.

"Umm, I don't know," Rachel lied. She knew full and well whose car that was and she couldn't imagine why Santana was there.

Shelby glanced at her and frowned. She had worked with teenagers for too many years to not know when one was lying to her. Rachel avoided her mother's gaze until the SUV came to a stop in the driveway and then she got out as quickly as possible and practically ran up to the house. Shelby followed after her, but at a slower pace. She had an idea of what was going on.

Rachel burst into Quinn's room startling both the blonde and Santana who were sitting at the desk working on their homework. A laptop was open and running and Quinn looked like she was searching for something on it.

"God! Are you trying to give us a heart attack?" Santana said.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel said hastily. "Shelby's going to be really angry."

"It's ok," Quinn said.

"I don't think it is," Shelby said when she appeared in the doorway.

"Shelby, hi," Quinn said.

"Hi, Shelby," Santana said and then immediately changed it to "Coach Corcoran" when she saw the look the woman gave her.

"We didn't expect you back so soon," Quinn said. "Your parents are out for a walk with Beth. They said-"

"Come with me," Shelby said, cutting her off. "I'd like to have a word with you."

Santana and Rachel both turned to look at Quinn who suddenly looked really unsure and upset. She slowly got to her feet and made her way towards Shelby and out of the room.

"Santana, pack up your stuff and get ready to go," Shelby said once Quinn was out in the hallway.

"Yes, Coach Corcoran," Santana said.

"What's going on?" Shelby heard Rachel asking as she closed the bedroom door and looked to Quinn.

"Shelby, I-"

"Downstairs," Shelby said, once again cutting her off.

The pair made their way down to the first floor and Quinn sat down on the couch when Shelby told her to. She took a quick look at the front door, praying it would open and the Corcorans would come in, before giving her full attention to the angry woman in front of her.

"You know, Quinn," Shelby began. "I thought I was letting you off pretty easy when I grounded you for just the weekend. But I thought some of what I had said had maybe gotten through to you and that the lecture combined with this little weekend reminder would do the trick. But you just don't seem to care what the rules are, do you?"

"I do care," Quinn said. "It's not what you're thinking."

"It's not? Because what I'm thinking is that you deliberately disregarded all of my rules and decided that you would just do whatever you wanted to anyway. What did you tell my parents to get them to agree to your having friends over? Did you lie to them about the fight and what really happened?"

"No," Quinn defended herself. "I wouldn't do that." The front door opened, but it didn't register for either occupant of the living room. "I don't want to disappoint you."

"Well, it's too late for that, Quinn," Shelby said. "I am disappointed in you."

Quinn's eyes filled with tears and she was about to try her explanation again, but she didn't get the chance because Rebecca stepped in.

"Shelby, I need to speak with you. Quinn, will you go upstairs and wait please."

"Quinn, stay put," Shelby said. "Mom, did you know she had a friend over?"

"Yes, I did," Rebecca said. "Quinn, go upstairs."

Shelby turned toward her mother and gave her an incredulous look and then motioned for Quinn to go on. Quinn got to her feet and left the living room and made her way up the stairs. She rounded the corner at the top so she couldn't be seen by anyone downstairs and then sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. She wiped at her eyes as she tried to listen to the conversation taking place downstairs but found that it was muffled.

"Why would you let her have someone over when you know that she is grounded?" Shelby said. Paul entered the room now pushing a stroller with a sleeping Beth in it and handed his wife a bottle of water. Shelby's features softened when she looked on her sleeping daughter, but she didn't linger there long as she waited for an explanation.

"Because she has learned her lesson. And then some," Paul whispered so as not to wake Beth.

"How do you know?" Shelby whispered back.

"This was a hard weekend on her, Shelbs," Paul said. "She misses her mother and she was embarrassed about being in trouble and she was stuck with us instead of having you and Rachel like it was supposed to be. Her first instinct was to lash out and fight us on everything, but she tempered that out of respect for you. For as much as she wanted to blow all of us off and leave, she stayed and accepted her punishment even though she didn't really understand it at first. She didn't want to disappoint you or her mom."

"That's the point of something like this," Shelby reminded them. "So that she can learn to understand it. Not so she can sweet talk you guys into letting her have her friends over."

"She didn't sweet talk us into anything," Rebecca said. "Do I need to remind you that your father and I know how to handle sulky and sullen teenagers who are grounded? You should certainly know that." Shelby rolled her eyes.

"She turned her friend away when the girl showed up asking for help with her homework," Paul said. "Something about a girl named Brittany not being able to do calculus. But Quinn told her she was grounded and that she would have to leave. We let her in. And even then Quinn resisted because she said she knew you wouldn't allow it."

"She's right," Shelby said.

"And usually I'd agree with you," Rebecca said. "But you should have seen her this afternoon before her friend got here. She had your father were playing chess and she opened up some more and let us know what she was thinking. She really does understand why that fight was wrong. She expressed all of the implications it had for Rachel and for herself and she knew what you were trying to tell her. She felt so guilty and so sorry."

Paul told the story of the chess game and Shelby's features softened as she listened to it. Quinn had been paying attention and she had been letting Shelby try and guide her.

"This weekend was not a normal weekend for any of us," Rebecca said. "She earned and was granted a reprieve. I know you're brand new to this and I know you were always really tough on your students, but this is completely different. In ninety-nine percent of cases, you want to stick to your guns and follow through until the deadline has passed. But there are times, like this one, when they best way to enforce the meaning of your words is to know when they've grasped their meaning and then let it go. I think Quinn truly needed to know that this whole weekend was not about the fact that she was in trouble but about the fact that she's also been forgiven."

All of Shelby's anger dissipated and she nodded. "Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad. I'm going to go and talk to her."

"That'd probably be wise."

Shelby made her way up the stairs and stopped when she saw Quinn sitting against the wall. Quinn looked up at her once but then looked away. Shelby crouched down in front of her, but Quinn wouldn't meet her eye.

"What you just got was a bit of Coach Corcoran at her finest," Shelby said. "I expected my students to follow my every instruction. And they did for the most part. Because they trusted me. And they knew that I trusted them. So I was always really tough on them when they got in trouble because they had broken that trust. But the thing is, Quinn, that you aren't one of my students." Quinn looked down and her chin began to tremble. "You're so much more than that." Quinn's head shot up and she met Shelby's gaze and she let the woman reach forward and wipe away the tears that had escaped.

"I apologize for jumping to conclusions," Shelby said.

"Anyone would have done the same," Quinn conceded. "Your parents thought they would be home from their walk before you and Rachel got home and that they would be able to explain it to you."

"They did explain," Shelby said. "And they told me what you said. I'm proud of you, honey."

"Thank you," Quinn said softly.

"You're a wonderful friend for Rachel and I will be thankful every day that she has you," Shelby said.

"I wish I would have had a place like this to come to when my parents kicked me out," Quinn said. "Rachel is so lucky. One day she may even realize how much."

Shelby's eyes filled with tears and she nodded her thanks at Quinn. She stood and then reached out a hand to Quinn and helped the girl to her feet and pulled her in for a hug.

"I suppose you realize this, but consider your grounding over," Shelby said.

"Thanks," Quinn said smiling.

"Let's just see how long you and Rachel can stay out of trouble."

"This moment doesn't come with a Get Out of Jail Free card for the next time?" Quinn asked.

"You wish," Shelby said as she let the girl go.

"I better go tell Rachel and Santana to stop worrying," Quinn said.

"Can I at least scare Santana a little bit first?" Shelby asked.

"I'm all for it."

"Eyes down, Quinn," Shelby instructed when she got to the girl's bedroom door. She waited until Quinn cast her eyes to the floor and stopped smiling. She wrapped her hand around the girl's upper arm and then flung the door open and led Quinn into the room. Rachel and Santana jumped at the sudden entrance and Santana got to her feet and quickly starting gathering up her things like she'd been told to do a little while ago.

"Don't move," Shelby said to Quinn as she stood her by the bed. She then made her way slowly and menacingly towards Santana. Rachel stood up and got out of the way.

"Coach Corcoran, I was trying to explain to Rachel what had happened," Santana said.

"And what did you tell her? Because from what I heard you basically barged your way in here and didn't care about any instructions I left for Quinn. You told her to ignore me and because my rules were stupid," Shelby said.

"No, I- I mean, I didn't. It wasn't like-"

"That's not what she told me," Rachel piped up thinking she was helping Santana.

"So you just lied to my daughter on top of everything?" Shelby said, using it her advantage. "Do you think that is something that I would tolerate?"

"I'm not lying. I didn't," Santana was trying to find the right thing to say. She was not used to being intimidated by anyone like this. Sue Sylvester was crazy, but not this scary.

"Didn't what?"

"Umm…" Santana was turning pale as she tried to step back away from Shelby.

Quinn couldn't help it and let out a small laugh that she covered by coughing. She shouldn't be laughing considering Shelby had just done this to her and it hadn't been a joke, but she couldn't help it. There was just something about seeing Santana squirm.

"Do you have something to say, Quinn?" Shelby said turning around to look at her.

"No, ma'am," Quinn answered quickly, her face going back to be contrite and she lowered her eyes again so no one could see the laughter in them.

"I do," Rachel said. "You are not even giving her a chance to explain, _Coach Corcoran_," she said pointedly. Shelby raised an eyebrow at her. "Your version of events does not match anything that Santana told me and it is wholly unfair for you to not even allow her to speak on her behalf." Santana only nodded her agreement.

Shelby couldn't keep the smile off of her face and she started to laugh and soon Quinn joined her. Santana and Rachel just looked to each other, confused.

"Santana, I'm just playing around with you," Shelby finally explained. "I know what happened and no one is in trouble."

Santana straightened her posture and gave Shelby a defiant look. "I wasn't intimidated." This only caused Shelby and Quinn to laugh harder.

"You were ready to climb out the window if you had to," Quinn said.

"I'll get you back for this, Q. At least I know I've got the munchkin on my side." Rachel looked proud at Santana's acknowledgment of her.

"Ok, ok," Shelby said, bringing the ribbing down before it could really get going. "Santana, I apologize. I was just having a little bit of fun with you." Santana smiled at her. She wasn't going to admit it to anyone, but she really liked Rachel's mom and was glad to get to interact with her, even as the butt of the joke.

"That's ok," Santana said. "We were just finishing up with the homework anyway. Quinn's better at calculus than all of us and I needed some help."

"Well good. If you guys are done, why don't the three of you go out and get some dinner. I think Quinn would love to get out of the house."

"Yes, I would," Quinn said.

"Perfect. You two get ready." Santana set her book bag down and started to gather her stuff once again. Shelby stepped over to her daughter. "Rachel, Coach Corcoran would like a word with you." Rachel sighed and Shelby couldn't help but smile when she heard the other two girls' 'oohhhhh' when they left the room.

"Are you feeling up for going out?" Shelby asked once they were out in the hallway.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Rachel said as she ducked out of the way of her mom reaching to gage her temperature with a hand to her forehead. "I'm going to go and change into something else before we go." She left Shelby standing there as she went off to her room.

Letting it go for now, Shelby went back downstairs and told her parents that everything was fine and they got it all worked out. Beth looked up from her spot on Paul's lap at the sound of her mother's voice. She started to cry when she saw Shelby and reached her arms out to her. Shelby picked her up and held her close and kissed her head while Beth spent a couple minutes crying, almost as if she were scolding her mother for leaving her for the weekend.

"I know, honey. I missed you too," Shelby said to the baby. Beth eventually calmed down and her cries turned to smiles for Shelby and she sat contently in her mother's arms.

Hours later, long after the girls had returned and the house had gone to bed, Shelby was awakened by the sounds of Rachel coughing. The girl was lying next to her in bed because her parents had decided to stay until Monday morning. Rachel covered her mouth and fought back another cough. Shelby slipped out of bed and went into her bathroom and poured a glass of water and got some more aspirin and brought them back out to Rachel.

"Sit up some," Shelby softly instructed.

"I'm fine," Rachel said, still half asleep and still fighting the cough.

Shelby helped her sit up and brought the cup to her mouth so Rachel would drink some. "Take a couple more sips," Shelby said. The water helped with the coughs and Shelby took a moment to feel Rachel's head and found that the girl was burning up.

"Rachel, I've got some aspirin for you," Shelby said trying to wake her up a little more. Rachel put one pill in her mouth and held her hand over Shelby's on the glass of water and brought it to her mouth. She repeated the process with the second pill but then coughed when a third sip of water caught in her throat. Shelby set the glass down on the bedside table and kept Rachel sitting up. Some of the water had spilled and she wiped it from the girl's chin and held her until the coughing stopped.

After a couple of minutes, Shelby had Rachel lie back down and then she went and refilled the cup and left it on the table in case Rachel needed it again. Shelby brushed some hair away from Rachel's face and noticed that there was sweat along her brow. She found the edge of Rachel's quilt and pulled it back and off of her so that Rachel was covered only by a sheet.

"No, I'm cold," Rachel said as she rolled over onto her side away from Shelby and the side of the bed and grabbed her quilt back. "I want it." Rachel pulled her legs up and so that she was lying in a little ball and tucked her arms back under the blanket. Shelby watched as her breathing evened out and Rachel drifted back into a deep sleep.

Shelby made a quick check on Beth and was glad to see that the baby hadn't been disturbed by any of the noise. She then moved to the other side of the bed and got back in and hoped that Rachel would be able to sleep soundly for the rest of the night because the girl was going to need her rest. As she was falling back asleep, Shelby was making plans for the following day, the first of which would be to call the school in the morning and tell them Rachel wouldn't be there because she was sick.

**A/N – Thanks so much for reading. Please leave me a review!**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages I've been receiving. And for all of those who continue to read. You guys are great! I loved all of the comments about wanting Rachel to get in trouble. I thought she'd been in a fair amount of trouble for the short time she'd been living with Shelby, but I've certainly go more planned. Stick with me. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Shelby hit the alarm button on her clock as fast as she could the following morning to stop the sudden beeping. It was a bit earlier than she normally awoke because she wanted to make sure Quinn got up and got off to school in time to serve the first day of their morning detention. Shelby looked at the crib and then at Rachel and was pleased to find that neither of her girls were stirring. Rachel had been restless most of the night, tossing and turning, but had seemed to settle down for the last couple of hours.

Shelby leaned on her elbow and faced Rachel and smiled at the momentary peacefulness of her face. She reached a hand out and lightly placed it on Rachel's head and felt the heat from the fever. Rachel was still sweating, but her tight grip on her blankets didn't allow Shelby the chance to move them to try and cool her off. Besides, Rachel seemed comfortable right now and Shelby wanted to keep her that way. Granted, she had never been around her daughter when she was sick, but Shelby felt pretty certain that Rachel was going to insist on going to school. And to Glee. If she could keep Rachel asleep for a couple more hours until after the school day had started, Shelby figured there would be less of an argument. Though she really did feel for the girl. This was her day to go back to her glee club and Shelby knew she was looking forward to it.

Rachel sat up slowly when she woke up and put a hand to her pounding head. Why did she have to feel so awful when she was going to get to go back to Glee? She could hear her mother moving around in the bathroom and a glance over at Beth told her the baby was still sleeping. Though not for long, Rachel knew. She took a moment to sip at the water that had been left on the bedside table before she threw back the blankets and got out of bed.

Rachel could hear her mother in the bathroom and knew she would have to wait her turn since her grandparents were still in her bedroom. She loved having them here to visit, but Rachel couldn't wait to be back in her own bed. She even still found that she missed the bed at her fathers' house. There were times she had thought about asking if she could get it, but she never actually brought it up out of deference to Shelby.

Rachel took the few steps over to the crib and peered down at her baby sister who hadn't yet shaken off her slumber. The steady rise and fall of Beth's chest could be mesmerizing and Rachel found that a couple minutes had passed before she looked away. Her attention went back to the bathroom door and she hoped Shelby would be finished soon. She needed to start getting ready herself since she and Quinn had to be there early.

When the bathroom door didn't suddenly open as she wished, Rachel went back to the bed and flopped down face first horizontally across the middle with her feet dangling over the side. That's how Shelby found her a few minutes later when she did emerge from the bathroom. She frowned when she saw that Rachel was obviously awake and even more so when she saw that Rachel was rubbing at her right ear. It reminded Shelby of Beth's actions when she had an ear infection and she wondered if Rachel could be afflicted with the same.

"What are you doing?" Shelby asked kindly as she climbed up on the bed and sat down next to her daughter. She gently rubbed Rachel's back until the girl rolled over and used Shelby's leg as a pillow to rest her head.

"Waiting for you," was Rachel's answer.

"What do you need?"

"I need to get in the bathroom so I can get ready for school," Rachel said. "I was just waiting for you to be finished in there."

"Oh, no honey, I think you should stay home today," Shelby said as she put her hand to Rachel's forehead and felt the fever. "Your fever is still high and I know you didn't sleep well."

"I can't stay home today," Rachel said. "I'm not that bad. And I'm not tired." She tried to sit up only to find that her progress was impeded by Shelby.

"Rachel, you coughed half the night and tossed and turned the other half," Shelby said. "You have a fever. You're exhausted. I'll call the school and tell them you won't be there. And then I'll call the doctor and make an appointment for you for later on."

"No, Mom, I'm fine." Rachel moved Shelby's hand from her shoulder and sat up. "It's not fair if I miss the detention and I can't miss Glee. Not anymore."

Rachel slid off the bed and started towards the bathroom, but Shelby was quicker than she was and Rachel soon found an arm encircling her waist and turning her around.

"You, young lady, aren't going anywhere but back to bed," Shelby said.

"But, Mom," Rachel whined, nearly on the verge of tears.

"No buts. Except yours back in the bed." Shelby waited while Rachel reluctantly climbed back into the bed and lay back down.

"I'm fine," Rachel tried again.

Shelby only smiled as she tucked the blankets back around her daughter. "I'll come back and check on you in a little while." Rachel's only response was to roll away from her mother and stare at the wall on the other side of the room.

Shelby moved over to the crib and looked down at Beth whose eyes were just starting to flutter open. It was perfect timing so that she could take the baby with her instead of her crying and waking Rachel up later. Shelby was quite proud of herself as she and Beth left the room. It had been much easier than she thought to make Rachel understand that she was not going to be in school that day. Shelby had expected a fight or a tantrum of some sort so she was pleasantly surprised at how easily she had been able to convince Rachel to go back to bed.

Rachel waited a few minutes until she was sure Shelby was downstairs before getting out of bed once more and heading into the bathroom so she could take a shower and get ready for the day. She was not going to miss school or Glee for something as stupid as a fever.

Quinn had just sat down at the kitchen table with a bowl of oatmeal when Shelby and Beth came into the kitchen. Quinn rested her elbow on the table and then her head in her hand and clanged her spoon in the bowl.

"There's no way this is right," Quinn said. "No one should have to be anywhere this early."

"And yet, here we are," Shelby said. She stepped up behind Quinn and caught the girl by surprise when she put a hand to her forehead. There was no trace of a fever and Quinn was giving Shelby a quizzical look when the woman sat down next to her at the table.

"What? I'm just making sure you're not getting sick too," Shelby said. "Rachel is running a fever and she's going to be staying home today."

"If I said I didn't feel good, could I stay home as well?" Quinn asked.

"Nice try, kiddo," Shelby said. "Eat up."

Paul and Rebecca were the next two downstairs and they entered the kitchen just as Quinn was rinsing out her bowl in the sink and sitting back at the table with a glass of milk. Paul was carrying their overnight bags and Rebecca took a moment to fill up both of their travel mugs with coffee.

"You're leaving this early?" Shelby asked.

"We both called and said we'd only be a couple hours late for work so we need to get on the road," Paul said.

"Thank you so much for coming and staying for the weekend," Shelby said as she hugged her mother. "I can't tell you what it means to me."

"It was our pleasure, dear. We got to spend some time with Beth and get to know Quinn a little bit," Rebecca said. "And we found both to be delightful."

Quinn ducked her head as she stood up to hug Paul and then Rebecca. She had a terrible start to her weekend, but it had turned out to be really good in the end. "Thank you," she said to both of them.

"We'll have Rachel tell you next time we'll be in town," Paul said to Quinn. "We'd love to see you again. And maybe meet that mother of yours."

"And you and Rachel are always welcome to come and stay at our house," Rebecca added.

"Thanks," Quinn said. "I'll probably take you up on both accounts at some point. Knowing Rachel."

"And speaking of Rachel," Shelby said. "I'm sorry she's not down here to say goodbye. She seemed to get sicker overnight and she's in bed."

"No I'm not," Rachel said as she walked into the room, dressed and ready for school. "I'm perfectly fine." Rachel purposefully didn't look at Shelby because she was pretty certain of the look she was being given. Shelby's eyes darkened and she crossed her arms. She should have known it was just too easier earlier.

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better," Paul said, though he didn't believe it, as he gave the girl a hug, lifting her off the ground as he did so.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Rachel said. "I can't wait to see you again."

Rebecca was next to get a hug. "Bye, Nana."

"Goodbye, sweetheart." Rebecca placed a kiss on Rachel's forehead and let her lips linger there for a second, using a tried and true method to gauge a fever. "Be a good girl," she said, hoping Rachel would get the hint to listen to her mother.

"I will," Rachel responded, oblivious to Rebecca. She just assumed that was one of those things that grandmothers said.

"Ok," Rebecca said as she pulled her back in for another hug, tighter this time. She rubbed Rachel's back and then patted the girl's backside a few times the way Shelby always did. Rachel soaked in the intimacy of what was obviously a learned behavior. She liked the implication that it meant she really was part of their family and that Rebecca was truly comfortable in her role as Rachel's grandmother. That had never been in doubt for Rebecca, but it made Rachel feel better all the same.

"She's burning up," Rebecca said quietly to Shelby as she hugged her daughter once again.

"I know," Shelby said. "She's not going anywhere."

The private conversation was missed on the two girls and Paul who was taking a moment to kiss Beth on her head. Rebecca did the same and the two said a final goodbye before they left the house. Rachel sat at the table with a fresh bottle of water from the refrigerator and rested her head in her hand. She rubbed the cold bottle across her forehead a couple times, closing her eyes and trying to stop the pounding of her headache.

"Rachel," Shelby started, but her daughter cut her off.

"We'd better get going, Quinn. We don't want to be late." Quinn glanced from Rachel to Shelby and back again, unsure of what to do.

"Rachel," Shelby tried again.

"Come on," Rachel said, still ignoring Shelby. She got to her feet and picked up Quinn's empty glass and set it in the sink.

Quinn stood up as well and picked up her book bag and slung it over her shoulder. Rachel followed suit and tried to leave the kitchen but stopped when she felt a hand grasp around her upper arm. She sighed in frustration and took a step forward, hoping to be released but only found herself being pulled back.

"Quinn, you go on," Shelby said. "Rachel is sick and is staying home from school today."

"I'm fine," Rachel growled out and tried to pull away from Shelby again. She knew she wasn't fine. She knew she felt terrible, but if she could just get the day started, Rachel was convinced she would start to feel better later and then she wouldn't have to miss glee.

"Have a good day, Quinn," Shelby said when Quinn didn't move. The girl gave an apologetic glance to Rachel and then turned and left the house.

When the front door closed, Shelby led Rachel out of the kitchen and to the stairs. She spun the girl around to face her causing Rachel to put a hand to her head again. She coughed once, but then stopped herself because she was doing everything she could to prove that her mother was wrong.

"I seem to recall telling you that you weren't going to school today," Shelby said. "I think I was pretty clear about that."

Rachel didn't say anything because the need to cough was still caught in her throat and instead she glared at Shelby. She wasn't able to hold out for very long though and another cough escaped her lips.

"I will be fine," Rachel told her. "You're keeping me home for no reason."

"Rachel, you're sick," Shelby said, softening. "That's not no reason."

"It is," Rachel insisted. "I know how I feel. I will be fine at school and at glee. You're making too much out of this. It's not fair for you to judge how I'm feeling when you couldn't possibly know. And there's no need to make an appointment to see a doctor because I'm going to school." With that Rachel tried to sidestep Shelby and move towards the front door.

Shelby once again clamped onto Rachel's arm and stopped her in her tracks. She made her way up the stairs with Rachel in tow and took the girl into the master bedroom and sat her down on the bed. "Don't move," she growled out and then made her way to the bathroom. Rachel rolled her eyes when she saw that Shelby had a thermometer in her hand again. Shelby put it in Rachel's mouth and her look was warning enough for Rachel not to say anything.

"You have a fever," Shelby said. "And I'm willing to bet that it's even higher than it was yesterday when I checked." She was taking a moment to lecture while Rachel couldn't talk back. "I'm not sending you off to school with a high fever; I don't care how you did it in the past. It is fair for me to judge how you're feeling because I was with you last night and all day yesterday. I've seen how you act when you're not sick and I've seen how you're acting now. Why on earth would you want to continue to be sick when you could take a couple days to get better?"

Rachel started to say something at Shelby's mention of a couple days, but Shelby held her hand up and silenced her daughter.

"Furthermore, you will be going to see your doctor today," Shelby continued. "You will not be going to school. Period. And I don't want to hear one more peep out of you about it." Rachel glared at her and it took everything she had not to make a peep sound.

Shelby removed the thermometer from Rachel's mouth and read it. "One hundred and two point one. I believe that settles it. There's one thing I want to make clear, Rachel. I am your mother. It is my job to look out for your best interests whether you like it or not. So if I say you are too sick to go to school then that is that. It is my decision, not yours. So stop with the arguing. And stop with the attitude. Now I want you to go to your room and I want you to change out of those clothes and into some sweats so you'll be comfortable and I want you back in bed. And since I am the mother here what I want is all that matters right now. Are we clear?"

Rachel wordlessly got up from the bed and made her way to the door, but was stopped by Shelby before she got there.

"Rachel. Are we clear?"

"Yes…Mother," Rachel said bitingly. She punctuated it by slamming the door on her way out and then slamming the door to her bedroom a few steps later.

Shelby counted to ten three times before she left her bedroom and made her way back downstairs to get Beth who was still sitting comfortably in her high chair playing with a couple of her toys. Didn't kids normally jump at the chance to miss a day of school? If Rachel would give her the chance, Shelby was ready to spoil her all day.

A couple minutes later Beth and Shelby sat at Shelby's desk while the woman searched through some papers for the numbers she needed. Beth helped by grabbing at everything that was in reach and dropping the objects on the floor. Shelby soon found what she was looking for and picked up the phone to make her calls to the school and then to Rachel's pediatrician's office to make an appointment.

Rachel paced her room angrily for a few minutes before giving in and sitting on the bed where she rested her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She hated to admit that Shelby was right though she knew it to be true. Of all the times she had to end up getting sick, it was when she was about to go back to her glee club. And on what was supposed to be her first day driving, Rachel suddenly realized. Rachel swore under her breath and kicked one of her flats off and across the room. There was no way this was fair! She kicked off the other shoe just for good measure.

A few minutes later Rachel sighed and got to her feet and picked up her shoes and put them in their proper place in the her closet. She then changed her clothes and looked to her bed and she couldn't deny that it certainly seemed inviting. But her streak of defiance was not over and Rachel gathered up her laptop and iPod and left the room. She made a quick stop in her mother's room to pick up her quilt and then made her way up to the music room and made herself comfortable on the couch after plugging in her computer. Rachel surfed through the channels for a while before realizing that there was nothing on and just left it on an old episode of Little House on the Prairie and then turned on her laptop figuring that surfing the internet had to provide more options of things to do than surfing through the channels on the TV.

Shelby had heard Rachel up on the third story and left her to her own devices for the time being so the girl could calm down. It wasn't until she needed to tell her to get ready to go for her appointment that Shelby made her way up the stairs to find Rachel. She smiled when she saw that Rachel was sleeping with her open laptop resting on her stomach. Shelby moved it to the coffee table and then gently shook Rachel's shoulders.

"Wake up, honey."

"Why?" Rachel mumbled, not really awake.

"Come on, Rach. Wake up," Shelby said.

Rachel stretched out and opened her eyes to find Shelby standing over her. "Mom."

"That's me," Shelby said as she pulled the quilt off her daughter. "Let's get up now. You've got an appointment."

"Right now?"

Shelby couldn't help but laugh and answered that the appointment was in an hour. She and Rachel headed down the stairs and Rachel changed into something she felt more appropriate than sweats though Shelby insisted that it wasn't necessary. They waited until the sitter arrived to stay with Beth and then left for Rachel's pediatrician's office.

"Hopefully this won't take very long," Rachel said as they waited in the waiting room. "You'd be stuck sitting out here with these other sick kids." Rachel looked around with some resentment at the much smaller children in the room. She felt she was too old to be there with them.

"That's no problem," Shelby said. "I'm going to go back there with you."

"What? There's no need for that," Rachel said. "I'm perfectly capable of-"

"Rachel," Shelby cut her off. "I know what you're perfectly capable of. But this is important."

"But-"

Rachel was cut off again when her name was called by the nurse indicating that they were ready for her. Shelby got to her feet and then helped the sulking Rachel to hers and they followed as they were led to the exam room. The nurse did a preliminary check of vitals and then they found themselves waiting again, this time with Rachel perched on the exam table and Shelby seated in one of the chairs. They sat in silence until the door opened ten minutes later to reveal a woman in her fifties who smiled brightly at Rachel.

"Rachel! It's been ages since I've seen you."

"Hi, Dr. Harris," Rachel said politely.

"And you must be Mom," Dr. Harris continued. "It's nice to put a name with a face after speaking with you on the phone."

Rachel snapped her head around to look at Shelby and narrowed her eyes. She just assumed her mother had spoken to the people at the front desk to set up the appointment and not with the doctor. Shelby gave Rachel the quickest of glances before standing up to shake the doctor's hand.

"It's nice to meet you," Shelby said.

Dr. Harris looked at Rachel's chart and gave the information a once over before looking up at her young patient. She would stick to the particulars of this visit, but she knew from speaking to Shelby that there was more going on there.

"It seems you are running quite the fever, young lady. Are you feeling achy?"

"No," Rachel answered.

"Ok." The doctor stepped forward to check Rachel, starting with feeling the glands on her neck. "Have you had any significant sickness in the past year?"

"No," Rachel said again, determined not to be forthcoming. The shorter her answers, the quicker they could get out of there.

"She had tonsillitis earlier this year," Shelby supplied the correct answer as she shot a look at Rachel. Rachel shot her a look right back.

"Well let's have a look."

"There's nothing wrong with my tonsils," Rachel said as she sat farther back on the table.

"How about you let me look and see?" Dr. Harris asked.

"No," Rachel said, shaking her head. She couldn't take the chance of opening her mouth and having the woman tell her she needed surgery to have her tonsils out. Everything could be ruined.

"Rachel," Shelby warned. Rachel shook her head again. It was better not to know. Shelby took a couple of steps toward the exam table, but Dr. Harris intervened.

"Alright. Let me look at your ears then." The doctor took her time checking Rachel's ears and eyes and asking questions that didn't touch on the issue of the girl's tonsils. Rachel thought maybe they had been forgotten when the exam was winding down and Dr. Harris brought up the issue of vaccinations. She had missed four of them.

"I don't think I really need them," Rachel said.

"I think you really do," Dr. Harris said. "And you should have gotten two of them a couple years ago. Now, we can either do them all today or wait until you're feeling better."

"No, let's do it today," Rachel said before Shelby could say anything. She didn't want to have to come back. Dr. Harris looked to Shelby who nodded her consent.

"Ok, I'll have them brought in right away. But only after you let me look at your throat," Dr. Harris said to Rachel.

Rachel's eyes welled with tears and she shook her head. Why wouldn't they let this go? "No. Please. I'd really rather you didn't."

"Why?"

"Because I have to be able to sing again," Rachel told the doctor.

"One look will not affect your singing voice," Dr. Harris told her. "The ear infection you have might more than anything at this point."

"Ear infection?"

"Yes. Your right ear is infected. If you let me get this exam over with, I can get you the proper medication to clear it up. But not until I look at your throat," Dr. Harris said.

"Now, Rachel," Shelby said using a tone indicating she didn't want to hear an argument.

Rachel's chin quivered and she glared over at Shelby, but finally opened her mouth for the doctor to look. Her tears spilled down her cheeks causing her nose to run while the doctor did her exam. She was miserable and scared.

Rachel sat back and sniffled when Dr. Harris let her go. She looked at the woman expectantly as she dreaded the thought of hearing once again that she would need surgery.

"Your tonsils look fine. They may be a little swollen, but that's just because of the flu bug you've picked up. I'll prescribe some antibiotics and everything should be back to normal in a couple days," Dr. Harris said.

"When can I go back to school?" Rachel asked, relief evident in her voice.

"Tomorrow if your fever goes down." Rachel smiled though there were still tears on her cheeks. "I'll send in a nurse with your shots. And after that I'd like to speak with your mom for a moment, ok?"

"Why?"

"Mom stuff. It was nice to see you again, Rachel," Dr. Harris said.

"Thank you," Shelby said before the woman left the room. She looked back to Rachel who had grown somber again and whose tears were starting once more. Shelby grabbed a couple of tissues and moved next Rachel and wiped her nose much like she did for Beth.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I don't need surgery."

"Is that what all this was about?" Shelby asked. "Do you think that if you just ignore a problem it'll go away? It's just not true, Rachel. And it's especially not true when it comes to your health."

"I just need to be able to sing."

"No, you want to be able to sing. You need to be healthy," Shelby corrected her.

"Please stop being mad at me," Rachel said as she leaned down to rest her head against Shelby's shoulder. "I don't feel good."

"Oh now you don't feel good?" Shelby asked with a laugh. "One of these days, Rachel. One of these days."

A nurse came in carrying a tray with four needles on it and Rachel tensed up immediately. Shelby assumed getting shots would be easier with Rachel than it was with Beth, but now she wasn't so sure. Rachel looked at her with a pout similar to the one Beth always gave her at her appointments and Shelby tried to give her an encouraging smile. She kissed Rachel's head and rubbed her back while the nurse explained that Rachel's arms would likely be sore for a few hours and that the shots would probably make her drowsy.

Rachel winced as each needle poked its way into her arms; two in each. She ended up with a Band-Aid on each arm because she bled, but within a couple minutes it was all over and Rachel was caught up with her vaccinations. Shelby helped her down from the table once the nurse had left and instructed her to wait in the waiting room while she spoke with the doctor.

Half an hour later when Shelby emerged she found that Rachel was nowhere to be seen. A quick glance at the bathroom door told her the room was empty and Shelby hastily made her way out of the office and out of the building. She had her phone ready to call her daughter when she noticed Rachel sitting on a nearby bench.

"This doesn't look like the waiting room to me," Shelby said when she approached her.

"I needed some air," was Rachel's reply. "Did you tell the doctor all about my recent problems with my dads? Did you learn all about me?"

Shelby sat down next to her and put an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "I didn't tell her why you were now in my custody. I kind of skirted around it. I didn't get any indication that she ever suspected that your fathers weren't at home with you."

"How could she? I stopped showing up and they eventually stopped calling and trying to make appointments," Rachel said.

"As for learning all about you, there wasn't much to tell. You broke your arm when you were five and had chicken pox in the fourth grade," Shelby said. "Everything else was normal kid stuff. Ear infections, the stitches once in your forehead. There wasn't anything you couldn't have told me."

"Most of it never came up," Rachel said.

"You're right. But I'm glad I know. It's important that I know," Shelby said.

"Why?"

"Everything about you is important to me," Shelby said. "Your medical history is vital information. But I want to know everything. I'd love to see old report cards and talk to old babysitters. Everything. It helps me know you at a time when I couldn't."

"I think I could probably find you some old report cards, but they all say the same thing."

"And what's that?"

"The same thing my old babysitter would tell you. That I've always been a perfect angel."

Shelby laughed and stood up from the bench. "I'll believe that when I see it. Come on, let's get you home."

After a quick stop by the pharmacy, Shelby and Rachel returned home in time for lunch though Rachel didn't feel like eating. The drowsiness from the vaccines was kicking in and she was ready to lie down.

"Who is this extra medicine for?" Rachel asked. She was sitting at the table in the kitchen and Shelby had just returned from laying Beth down for her nap.

"I told Dr. Harris that I had two other kids in the house and she said it's a good idea for them to take a smaller dosage of the medicine you're on to help prevent them from getting sick. So one is for Beth and the other is for Quinn.

"Oh," Rachel said and then took a dosage of the medicine prescribed to her. "I've got ear drops too."

"Come on, I'll help you with those." Shelby led her to the living room and then sat on the couch and had Rachel lie down with her head resting in Shelby's lap so she had access to the girl's infected ear. She used the plunger to drip a few drops into the ear and then made sure to keep Rachel still for five minutes.

"Can I go to school tomorrow?"

"If your fever is down," Shelby answered just like the doctor had.

"But glee," Rachel said sleepily.

"Glee is not going anywhere," Shelby assured her tired girl. It wasn't long before Rachel drifted off to sleep and then Shelby did the same.

Quinn watched the clock during Spanish class hoping the time would hurry up. She liked Mr. Schue and his class, but this day was dragging by. She had made plans with Santana and Brittany for that evening and she was ready for the school day to be over so they could get on with them. She knew she needed to call Shelby, but she was certain the woman wouldn't mind since she had her hands full at the moment. Plus Quinn needed some time to go out.

The bell finally rang and Quinn was trying to get out the door but found herself stopped by Mr. Schue.

"Tell me again why Rachel isn't here today," he said. "She was supposed to be back to glee today."

"I told you this morning, Mr. Schue, she's sick," Quinn answered. They had had this conversation during detention that morning. "Rachel wanted to come but Shelby said she wasn't allowed."

"Will she be back tomorrow?"

"I don't know," Quinn shrugged. "If her mom says no, then don't count on it."

Will watched as Quinn left his classroom and he grew ever more suspicious of Rachel's absence. Rachel had never missed glee before and now with that so called punishment and this sickness he found it every strange that his star singer was missing so much time when they only had a little over a month to go before Sectionals. And it didn't help that her mother was the former coach of their rivals and he knew she, no doubt, had her hands still very much in the Vocal Adrenaline pot. He did not like this one bit.

Will worked himself up during his walk back to his office. He was going to find out once and for all just what exactly Shelby was up to.

Shelby jumped when her phone started to ring and she grabbed it just as Rachel was starting to stir. The girl was still sleeping with her head in Shelby's lap and Shelby rubbed Rachel's side and back in an effort to keep her asleep.

"Hello," Shelby answered, annoyed at the interruption.

"Miss Corcoran," Will opted to be formal. "This is Will Schuester. Just what do you think you are doing with Rachel?"

**A/N – Please leave me a review. I love hearing from you guys. **


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N – Guys, I had such big plans for getting this chapter out during the week, but you know what they say about the best laid plans. I really did try though! And thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages. You really don't know how much they all mean to me. And I see all of your calls to get Rachel into more trouble. I'm working up to stuff that I hope won't disappoint anyone so please stick with me.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. Unless you count the blu-ray set, in which case, yes, I do own Glee.**

"Excuse me?" Shelby asked, her tone already taking on an edge.

"I mean it, Shelby," Will said. "I want to know what's going on. What game are you trying to play?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shelby asked harshly. Rachel stirred and started to try and sit up, but Shelby put a hand on her arm to stop her.

"Ow," Rachel mumbled when her mother started pushing down right on the spot where she had received two of her shots.

"Sorry," Shelby whispered to the girl. "Hang on," she said into the phone and then set it on the end table next to the couch. Shelby sat Rachel up enough so that she could get up. She grabbed a pillow and put it in the spot she had just left and then laid Rachel back down. She picked up a blanket and draped it across her daughter and waited until it looked like Rachel had drifted back to sleep. She then picked up her phone and left the room.

"What is going on, Will?" Shelby asked when she entered the kitchen.

"You're keeping Rachel from attending glee," Will answered. "That's what's going on."

"If it makes you feel any better I kept her from attending any of her classes today as well," Shelby said, still not understanding what he was getting at. "She's sick. I told Quinn to tell you that."

"Quinn told me. And she also told me that Rachel wanted to come today and that you made her stay home. She must not be that sick if she still wanted to go to school today."

"You really don't know Rachel at all, do you?" Shelby asked.

"I do know her," Will insisted. "And I'm trying to protect her. I know she'd never miss a glee rehearsal without good reason."

"Protect her? From what? What are you trying to say, Mr. Schuester?" Shelby asked.

"I'm saying that Rachel has said numerous times that she loves being a part of glee and that she wouldn't change that," Will said. "So without good reason, I have to wonder just where she is."

"The good reason you so desperately crave is that right now she is sleeping on the couch because she's running a fever that is caused by the flu and ear infection she currently has," Shelby snapped back. This was ridiculous and Shelby was angry. "Is there something specific you wanted to say to me? Stop beating around the bush and say it."

"Ok. I know she hasn't been sick for the past two weeks," Will said. "I've heard talk from the other kids and they say that you were keeping her from rehearsals."

"She was grounded."

"Was she? That's a handy excuse," Will accused. "None of the other kids seemed to have been punished for that little party."

"None of the other kids got caught."

"You know how much we need Rachel and you also know that Sectionals is coming up. I know you still have a lot of pull with Vocal Adrenaline," Will said. "It all just seems so convenient that Rachel is missing right now while we try to prepare for the competition."

Shelby was seething. If it wasn't for the fact that Rachel was in the next room and could possibly wake up at any moment, she would have started to cuss Will Schuester out.

"Screw you, Will." It wasn't the word she wanted, but it would have to do. "I'm sorry if my trying to be a parent is getting in the way of your precious club. I am not plotting to keep Rachel away from New Directions. I'm not filling her head with stories of Vocal Adrenaline. I'm not using her to help Carmel in any way. And despite what you may think you know of the past, I was never doing that to begin with," Shelby said. "And if you were in any way a halfway decent instructor you would have already had a set list for Sectionals prepared and in the books. Your kids would already know it inside and out and you would be prepared for any contingencies, including sickness. All of the stories you heard about what a hardcore, run the children ragged coach I was, are just that. They're stories. I never once let a child rehearse sick. You know what else I never did? I never called a parent and accused them putting their interests before their kid's."

Shelby only heard silence when she paused for a moment to gather her thoughts because she certainly wasn't finished.

"I do know some people who would really love to talk to you about Sectionals though," Shelby continued. "Maybe you should ask those kids of yours about it. They have some great ideas and are ready to jump at the chance to perfect a routine they can be proud of. Rachel will return to school and the glee club as soon as she's feeling better and I say she can."

"Shelby," Will tried to cut in.

"Though, after what you just said to me, she's going back only because I know how badly it would hurt her not to return," Shelby said. "Because otherwise I would pull her out of New Directions and that school so fast your head would spin. And then I would enroll her at Carmel and you'd really have something to worry about because she would be a part of Vocal Adrenaline."

"Shelby," Will made another attempt.

"And Will. Save your questions and advice for someone who actually cares what you think. Don't ever question my motives or methods with Rachel again."

Shelby hung up the phone before he even had a chance to say anything. She tossed the phone down on the table and was satisfied by its angry clatter. She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves and dissipate her anger. How dare he!

Rachel peeked around the corner of the doorway to the kitchen once more and saw her mother moving towards the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water. She ducked back when she thought the woman might be looking her way. The ringing of the phone had woken her up earlier and after the start of the conversation she'd been too curious to go back to sleep even though she knew that's what Shelby was trying to do. She'd only waited a few seconds before following after and listening to the call.

Rachel stepped away from the kitchen so she wouldn't be caught eavesdropping and headed for the stairs. She wasn't going to go back to the couch and pretend to be asleep once more. She certainly had an idea of what Mr. Schue had said, but she wished she could have heard his side of the conversation as well. She did not like that her mother had felt strongly enough to threaten to pull her out of McKinley and New Directions. There had been a time when the idea of joining Vocal Adrenaline may have appealed to her, but now she felt like she was really starting to come into her own with New Directions. And she felt that they had a really good chance to win not only Sectionals this year, but Regionals too. Making it to Nationals was so important to her and it put a pit in her stomach to think that something, or someone, could get in the way of that.

Rachel thought back to the beginning of the school year and how she had talked to Mr. Schue about how he treated her compared to the rest of the group. She thought they had come to an understanding, but now she wasn't so sure. She wanted to know what had been said. Why was he accusing her mother of anything? Worst of all, Rachel wasn't sure who she could talk to about it. Would Mr. Schue give her a straight answer if she talked to him? Would her mother? Was Mr. Schue blaming her for being gone so long? Would the rest of the club? She didn't think they would anymore, but her two weeks was up and she still wasn't there. What if they started to work around her absence?

Rachel needed some answers. She needed to get to the school so she could talk to everyone, but that seemed impossible right now. God, she hated being sick. Maybe if she could make herself appear to be better by the time glee started her mother would let her go. No, that didn't seem likely because Shelby was so stubborn! Rachel had a fleeting thought about a pot and a kettle but she dismissed it. There was no way she was as stubborn as her mother was.

Rachel picked up her phone to call Quinn. Maybe she could find out some information and report back. If that wouldn't work, Rachel felt that she could sneak her way down there. It wouldn't take that long to talk to Mr. Schue…

Rachel was about to hit the call button on her phone when she heard a knock and her door opened and Shelby peeked her head in.

"Hey," Shelby said. "When did you get up?"

"Just a couple of minutes ago," Rachel fibbed. She cancelled the call she was about to place and set the phone down. "I'm feeling much better now."

Shelby eyed her suspiciously as she stepped over to her and put a hand to Rachel's forehead. She had to concede that the girl didn't feel as hot as she did earlier, but she was still quite warm.

"I thought you'd still be asleep," Shelby said. "The nurse said the shots would make you drowsy."

"I'm tired of resting," Rachel told her. "You look like you could use a nap though. You're going to end up sick like me. And then Beth might get it."

She had to admit that she was tired, but she was used to it. She wanted to be able to take care of Rachel and be there for the girl right now. "Beth and I both had flu shots already so I hope we don't get sick. How about we put on a movie and that way we can both relax for a little while."

"Actually, I was thinking of going for a walk," Rachel said. "Just a short one," she added hastily when she saw Shelby about to protest. "Just to get some air."

"No," Shelby said, shaking her head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Mom," Rachel said, desperation creeping into her voice. "Why not?"

"You're sick," Shelby answered.

"So. It's not like I've never been places while being sick before. It's not like I never want to school sick," Rachel said.

"I thought we were past this argument," Shelby said.

"We are. It's just…I- You-"

"What?" Shelby asked.

"Nothing," Rachel answered. "I just hate being sick." There was no point in trying to get to glee. Shelby wasn't going to let her go.

"I know you do, honey," Shelby said. "Come on; let's go put on a movie."

Will waited patiently for the glee kids to start piling into the choir room for practice. He needed to talk to them. He couldn't get what Shelby had said about Sectionals out of his head. She said if he would just talk to his kids they would tell them their inputs for the competition. She said they had great ideas. How would she know?

He realized his mistake about half way through his call with Shelby and he knew he should call the woman and apologize, but that would have to happen later. Because right now he couldn't get past the fact that she felt she knew anything about what the kids, his kids, wanted for Sectionals. He reasoned that it could be Rachel who was telling Shelby about what they were working on, but Rachel hadn't been there in two weeks. He knew Quinn was staying with Shelby, but Quinn just didn't seem the type to talk about it for very long. And why would any of the other kids be talking to her? Something wasn't adding up for Will and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

The door swinging open brought him out of his thoughts and he smiled at the kids as they filed in and took their places on the risers. Only a couple of them smiled back and most didn't bother to stop the conversations they were holding prior to entering the room.

"Guys," Will said to get their attention. When the room was quiet, he continued. "Let's talk about Sectionals." He noticed that all of their faces lit up and he tried to downplay the thought that Shelby was right. "I've been thinking and I have some ideas for some songs. Quinn, I have a duet in mind for you and Sam."

"Really?" Sam asked. There was a buzz about the room and everyone looked genuinely surprised.

"Yes. And Kurt, I think you would be perfect for the solo," Will said.

"Oh my god, thank you, Mr. Schue," Kurt said as he and Mercedes high-fived. "Do you have a song in mind or should I start thinking about one?"

"We'll work on it together," Will said. "So start formulating ideas and we'll see what we can come up with. That goes for the group number as well. I want it to be a collaborative effort."

"We actually already have a group number in mind," Finn said, speaking for the group. "We've been working on it."

"Oh really? When have you guys done that?"

The room shot daggers at Finn and it was Santana who supplied an answer.

"Oh, just here and there. It's been mostly talking about songs."

"What about Rachel?" Quinn asked.

"What about her?" Will said.

"Umm, just that she'll want to help with song selections and all that since we're making this a group effort," Quinn answered.

"Rachel hasn't been here in over two weeks," Will said. "She doesn't' get to dictate what we do."

"It's not her fault she hasn't been here," Puck said.

"And offering suggestions isn't dictating," Quinn said.

"Yes, I talked to her mother today and I know that she's been keeping Rachel from glee," Will said.

"She's not exactly keeping her from glee," Santana said. "Not to be mean."

"Well, when Rachel does return she might be able to help," Will said. "Until then we'll have to wait until Coach Corcoran decides she can come back."

"I'm sure she'll come back with some good ideas," Artie said. "Her mom did win four national titles as a glee coach."

"And then she quit," Will said. "I'm not sure what Coach Corcoran could help with."

"She would be able to help a lot," Quinn said. She was getting defensive and she didn't understand why Mr. Schue was calling Shelby out like that.

"Maybe we can ask her," Finn said.

"Absolutely not," Will told them. "We don't need any help to win. So everyone think about your songs." Will was determined to do this without Rachel. To prove a point. Let's see how high on her horse Shelby Corcoran got when she realized that she didn't know anything about his group or how to win Sectionals with them. He was bound and determined to prove her wrong, with or without Rachel.

The kids all exchanged looks at Mr. Schue's complete dismissal of any help Shelby could give them. They had been working up to telling him about their practices and seeking out his input, but now everyone knew nothing would be said.

Rachel was lying on the couch with her feet resting in Shelby's lap while she flipped through the channels of the TV. Shelby held Beth in a sitting position on Rachel's legs and the little girl took great delight in grabbing at her big sister's toes and watching them flick out of the way when it started to tickle. Rachel wasn't sure how much more she could take of it.

"Pick something," Shelby said. "I'm pretty sure you've been through all of the channels at least three times."

"There's nothing on," Rachel complained.

"Then put on another movie," Shelby said.

"I don't want to watch a movie," Rachel replied.

"Well, you could read something," Shelby suggested.

"I don't want to read," Rachel said.

"What would you like to do?" Shelby asked.

"Nothing," was Rachel's reply.

Shelby let out a frustrated sigh and turned her attention back to Beth when the baby let out another squeal as Rachel's ticklish toes tried to get out of her reach.

"Mom, seriously, can you make her stop?" Rachel said.

"Beth," Shelby said as she picked the baby up off of Rachel's legs and held her. "You need to stop now because your sister is grumpy and doesn't want to play anymore."

"I am not grumpy!" Rachel said. With that she turned the TV off and dropped the remote to the floor.

Shelby forced Rachel to move her feet when she started to get up. She moved to the swing and placed Beth in it and smiled when the girl did not whine or cry about being put down. "At least one of you isn't fussy," Shelby remarked.

"I'm not fussy!" Rachel defended as she sat up.

"Of course you're not," Shelby said when she sat back down next to Rachel.

Rachel huffed and cross her arms over her chest and leaned her head back against the couch. Where was the sympathy? Shelby brought a hand to Rachel's cheek and looked at her affectionately until Rachel finally moved her eyes to look at her mother and gave a small smile.

Shelby leaned over and placed a kiss on Rachel's forehead before sitting up and declaring that, "It's time for some more medicine."

"I don't want to take anymore medicine," Rachel grumped out, her mood shining through again.

"Tough," Shelby said, rolling her eyes as she headed towards the kitchen.

While waiting for her mother to return from the kitchen, Rachel looked over at Beth who was watching her big sister and smiling widely. "You're getting a kick out of this, aren't you?" Rachel asked her. She reached out and grabbed Beth's foot and held her for a few seconds before letting go and watching the baby swing back higher than the setting Shelby had set for the automatic swing. Beth squealed with delight and held her feet up on her way forward so that Rachel would do it again. Rachel complied and couldn't hide her smile at the little girl's joy. They played the game for a few more passes of the swing before Rachel started to cough. She turned away from Beth and brought the crook of her elbow to her face to catch the cough. When she turned she found herself looking right at her smiling mother who had sat down on the couch and watched the scene without being noticed.

"Awww," Shelby teased.

"What? I told you I wasn't grumpy," Rachel said.

Shelby just smiled at her as she handed Rachel the pills and a glass of water.

"I miss my star glass," Rachel remarked.

"I can find you another one."

"No, don't worry about. It was just a cup, right?"

"Not to you it wasn't," Shelby said. "It's perfectly ok to have loved and miss an object like that."

Rachel nodded and let her mind wander to things she missed and wondered if she could get them back. Was it also ok to miss people? Even if they hadn't always-

Her thoughts were cut off when her mother tapped her hand that held the pills indicating that she wanted Rachel to take them now.

"How long do I have to take these?" Rachel asked after swallowing the last one down.

"Until they're done," Shelby told her. "It's not that long and you'll start to feel better before you know it."

"I know I will," Rachel asserted. If sheer determination was enough, she would already be fever-free and completely mended. "Because it's important that I get back to glee as soon as possible."

Shelby stood up from the couch and instructed Rachel to lie down so she could put the drops in her ears. While Rachel complied, Shelby sat on her knees on the floor in front of her daughter. "I know how much you miss it."

"It's not just that I miss it. It's… Ummm…"

"What?"

"You wouldn't ever really pull me out of McKinley and put me in Carmel and Vocal Adrenaline, would you?" Rachel rattled off quickly.

Shelby paused her hands that had been brushing Rachel's hair back from her ear and focused her eyes on the girl's. The looks worry and anxiety in Rachel's eyes was not lost on Shelby.

"How much of that conversation did you hear?" Shelby asked as she once again started moving Rachel's hair.

"All of it," Rachel answered.

Shelby picked up the drops and measured the right amount into the plunger and hovered it above Rachel's ear. "You weren't quite as asleep as I thought."

"I heard the phone ring. I couldn't just ignore it after the way it started. And especially not once I realized it was Mr. Schue who was calling and that you guys were talking about me," Rachel said.

Shelby released the prescribed amount of drops into Rachel's ear and then returned the plunger to the bottle. She sat down fully on the floor so that she was at eye level with her daughter.

"Mr. Schuester wanted to know why you hadn't been to glee rehearsal in so long," Shelby said. "He thinks I have deliberately kept you away in order to help Vocal Adrenaline in some way." She told the girl the truth because she deserved to know it.

"I thought he understood that you weren't playing me," Rachel said. "I told them that."

"I was angry at his accusation and that's when I said what I did about sending you to Carmel," Shelby explained. "That's not something I would do without your knowledge though, Rachel. And it's certainly not something I would do without your consent unless there was an extreme reason for it."

"Are you sure that's what he meant?" Rachel asked. "Did you misunderstand?"

"No, honey, I didn't misunderstand," Shelby told her.

"But maybe you did," Rachel insisted. "If Quinn told him I was sick maybe he just called to check up on me. He understood when I told I wouldn't be in Glee for two weeks. So maybe he was making sure I was ok. He and I have been better and maybe after what I told him at the beginning of the year he felt like he was protecting me. Maybe he was trying to help me."

"Maybe he was," Shelby relented as she tried to placate Rachel. She wasn't going to talk badly about Mr. Schue in front of her kid. "He did say that you were their star and that they needed you." Shelby knew this would make Rachel smile and she wasn't wrong. The phone call wasn't something that Rachel needed to worry about and she was fine with letting the girl believe what she needed to believe.

"I hope we can start talking about Sectionals soon," Rachel said. "We've all been trying to come up with a good time to bring up our idea for the group number. I bet he'll really like it and agree to it once he hears it. And then he'll know how much you've been able to help us."

"I can't wait," Shelby said. She leaned forward and placed another kiss on Rachel's head and rubbed the girl's back as she got to her feet. Rachel started to get up as well but Shelby made her lie back down until the allotted five minutes had passed for the ear drops. She promised to bring her a notebook and pencil so Rachel could write down more of her brainstorms for Sectionals. Shelby was glad to see Rachel's grumpy mood disappear and reasoned that Rachel overhearing the conversation may not have been such a bad thing after all.

While Rachel was busy working out her ideas for Sectionals, her eleven team members were trying to figure out what to do about their sessions with Coach Corcoran.

"Who is going to tell Rachel?" Artie asked.

"Quinn," multiple people answered.

"I wonder what flew up his ass this afternoon," Santana said. "I wonder why he's so against the idea of Coach Corcoran helping us."

"Well she was the coach of the rival team last year," Finn said.

"So who better to help than someone who knows how the other team works," Puck said. "Mr. Schue is missing a golden opportunity."

"The group number we have is perfect," Sam said. "Maybe if we can perform it for him he'll agree to use it. And once he agrees he'll be more understanding of Rachel's mom."

There were nods all around as the kids decided that their Shelby Corcoran secret weapon needed to stay secret just a little while longer.

"We'll meet you in a couple hours, Q," Santana said as they were headed to their cars.

"Yep, I'll see you then." Quinn, Santana, and Brittany were headed out to dinner later on with a few of the girls from the Cheerios squad.

"Make sure you tell Coach Corcoran so that she knows and doesn't end up stalking into some restaurant later on to pull us all out," Santana said.

"I'll tell her. But only because I know you're afraid of her," Quinn said.

"I am not afraid of her," Santana said.

Quinn laughed. "Whatever you say." She turned to head to her car when Santana stopped her.

"Quinn. Tell the munchkin to hurry up and get her ass back to glee."

"I'll tell her you said you hope she feels better," Quinn said and Santana smiled. She knew Quinn would understand what she meant. The moment only lasted a moment before Santana put her usual scowl on and turned and headed towards her car.

That message would have to wait, however, because Quinn did not go to Shelby's. She went to her house instead and flopped down in her own bed and relaxed. She missed it here. After a few minutes Quinn called Shelby to let the woman know her plans.

"Hi, Shelby."

"Hey, Quinn. Are you on your way home?"

"No, actually, I needed to talk to you about that," Quinn said. "Santana, Brittany, and I are meeting up with some friends tonight for dinner. It was kind of a last minute thing."

"Oh. Are you sure?" Shelby asked. "I don't want you to get sick. I've actually got some medicine for you to take so you don't get what Rachel's got."

"Shelby, I'm not sick," Quinn reminded her. "I just want to hang out with some friends tonight. We're going to eat and then maybe wander around the mall."

"I don't know, Quinn. It's only Monday and I'm sure you've got homework and I don't want a repeat of the last time you didn't get your homework done," Shelby said.

"Everything is finished," Quinn assured her. "Come on, Shelby. I miss some of my Cheerio friends. And think of it this way, the less time I'm around Rachel while she's sick the less of a chance I have of getting it myself."

Shelby had to smile at Quinn's argument. Had all of her memories of being sixteen vanished when she became a full-time parent of a teenager? "Yes, of course, Quinn. Go on and have fun. Just be home by nine."

"Thanks, Shelby," Quinn answered. "I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Shelby hung up her phone and picked up the basket of laundry she had been carrying up from the basement when her phone rang. She joined Rachel in the living room and found that the girl was still writing out ideas in her notebook.

"Want to help me fold some laundry?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Mom," Rachel said. "I wouldn't want to get any of my germs on the clean clothes."

The next thing Rachel knew there was a t-shirt on her head because Shelby had thrown it at her.

"Geez, all you had to do was ask," Rachel said as she pulled the shirt down and tossed the notebook and pencil to the coffee table. "There's no need to throw anything."

A balled up sock was the next piece of clothing to hit Rachel in the face and she cast a withering look over at her mischievous mother. "Really?"

The sock's mate made contact with her forehead and Shelby grinned at Rachel's exasperated show of picking it up from the floor. Rachel was starting to feel a little bit better.

"What have you come up with for Sectionals?" Shelby asked.

"I've got some great solo and duet ideas," Rachel answered. "I've also written down ideas for costuming and staging, lighting and sound, and maybe even some props. I have ideas for choreography, but I need to talk to Mike and Brittany. I've put together a list of songs that highlight my vocal abilities, but also those of the others. And the group number we've been working on allows a lot of people to have a line or two as a solo. I think Sectionals will really be great this year."

"Just remember that they're only your ideas," Shelby said. "So don't get your heart set on a certain thing."

"That's why I plan for multiple contingencies," Rachel said. "It's the only smart thing to do."

"That's true," Shelby said. She should have known.

As the evening progressed Rachel's fever started to wane and her mood became happier as she realized that it meant that she would more than likely be going to school tomorrow. Shelby was pleased with her progress and was glad to see the medicine was working, but knew Rachel was feeling one hundred percent even though Rachel denied it. Rachel picked over her food at dinner and was secretly glad when Shelby suggested she eat some more of the soup she'd had for lunch, though Rachel didn't finish that either.

After dinner Rachel sat Shelby at the kitchen table and had her mother look over her Sectionals ideas and took notes on some of Shelby's input. Shelby was nursing a cup of coffee that she diligently kept out of Rachel's grasp.

"This duet would be great for a waltz," Shelby said. "It could be slow and magical."

"That's a great idea," Rachel said as she wrote it down. She could already see it in her head. Beth banged her hand down on the tray of her high chair, seeming to approve of the suggestion as well. "You think so too, huh Beth?" Rachel took the baby from her chair and held her close. "Do you know how to waltz? I'll show you."

Rachel began a slow waltz around the kitchen while holding Beth tight. Shelby smiled on until Rachel had to stop to get her bearings because she felt dizzy. She was so close to being well and just not there yet.

"Ok, take it easy," Shelby said. "That's enough dancing."

Rachel conceded and took a seat in Shelby's lap and held Beth on her own. Shelby moved her coffee away so that it was still out of Rachel's reach. Rachel leaned back into Shelby and the woman wrapped her arms around both her daughters. It was a perfect moment and a wonderful way to wind down what had not been the best of days to say the least.

Quinn found them in this position a couple minutes later when she entered the house and then the kitchen.

"You guys are so cute." Quinn quickly activated the camera on her phone and snapped a picture. "I'm going to send it to my mom."

Quinn joined them at the table after taking the medicine Shelby instructed her to take; the one that the doctor said would help the other kids not get sick. Quinn rolled her eyes, but did as she was told. Shelby realized that rationally she may be going a bit overboard, but she did not need or want another sick kid in the house.

"How was glee today?" Rachel asked.

"We finally started talking about Sectionals," Quinn answered. She was ready to give the abridged version of the day's events.

"Oh good," Rachel said. "Has Mr. Schue chosen songs yet?"

"No… But he did give out the duet and solo," Quinn said.

"What am I doing?" Rachel asked when Quinn didn't elaborate.

"I'm doing the duet," Quinn said. "With Sam."

"Honey, that's wonderful," Shelby said. "Congratulations."

"And Kurt is doing the solo."

Rachel's face fell. "Oh. But I have so much prepared. I mean, he said-" she turned and gave Shelby a confused look.

"We're all supposed to be thinking about song selections," Quinn said. She knew Rachel was disappointed, but she had hoped her friend would have at least congratulated her on her duet. "Mr. Schue said that since he wasn't sure when you would be back we needed to work around you," Quinn tried to say as nicely as possible. She stood up and placed her glass in the sink so as not to have to look at Rachel's reaction right away.

Rachel was hurt and upset and angry. He knew she wouldn't be there and he knew she was sick today. But he also knew how much she loved the club. He knows hard she worked and how much she cares. Rachel knew exactly who to blame for this. She stood up quickly from her mother's lap and shoved Beth into Quinn's arms, letting go only when she was certain her friend had a good hold on the baby. Then she turned to her mother.

"This is your fault," Rachel yelled at Shelby.

"Rachel," Shelby admonished, getting to her feet as well.

"No. You said that he told you I was the star and that they needed me for Sectionals. Were you just lying? He called here to check up on me and to make sure I was ok and you yelled at him," Rachel shouted. "You threatened him for no reason and now he's punishing me because of it."

Quinn watched on in stunned silence. She wasn't sure what had just happened and even Beth's eyes grew wide at the outburst.

"Rachel, do not blame me," Shelby said.

Rachel stopped her walk towards the doorway and turned back, tears of frustration and anger visible in her eyes.

"Why not? It is your fault. Why couldn't you just leave me alone? Why couldn't you just let me go? Instead, you had to play perfect mother and now Mr. Schue thinks that I don't care and that I can't be relied on," Rachel yelled. "At least my dads never took glee away from me." It was a low blow and everyone knew it, but it didn't stop Rachel from feeling a hint of satisfaction when she noticed that shocked look that passed over Shelby's features.

Rachel turned away from her mother's hurt face and looked to Quinn. "Congratulations on your duet. I'm sure you'll be great," she said without a hint of happiness for her friend. She then turned back around and started to walk out of the room.

"Rachel," Shelby said sternly, taking a couple of steps towards her daughter.

Rachel spun back around to face her. "Don't follow me," she said coldly.

Shelby stayed in her spot as Rachel left the kitchen and made her way upstairs. They heard her door slam a few seconds later and Quinn looked to Shelby while she tried to quiet Beth who had grown agitated over all of the yelling.

"Shelby, I-" The woman held a hand up to stop her.

"Not right now, Quinn." Shelby left the room and disappeared into her office.

Quinn and Beth were left standing alone in the kitchen as the blonde tried to process the scene they had just witnessed. She turned Beth in her arms so the baby could rest her head against her chest and started to hum softly. She wanted to ease Beth's feelings as best she could.

Shelby slammed her hand down onto her desk so hard it activated the screen saver for the monitor on her computer and the screen lit up. That stupid man. True, he was punishing Rachel, but not for the reasons the girl thought. Shelby couldn't wait to go down to that school in the morning because it was time for a little parent-teacher conference with Will Schuester.

**A/N – I hope you guys like this one. Please leave me a review! **

**Oh, and I do have a song in mind for their group song, but I kind of don't want to say yet so that's why I never name it. **


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N – I know, I know. I'm sorry. This was a really weird and busy week for me and it was tough for me to find time to write. I continually try and get the chapters out sooner, but it doesn't always work. I've been pretty good with my weekly updates, but unfortunately that doesn't always work either. But here you go! And thank you so much for all of the reviewers. You guys really are amazing. And thanks to everyone who is sticking with me and continuing to read. I really appreciate it. Your feedback makes writing this so much more enjoyable.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Silence fell over Rachel's room after the echo of the slamming door dissipated. She fought back the angry tears that threatened to fall because she didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction of her crying, even though there was no one there to see. She should have known something like this would happen. Rachel wished she would have fought harder to go to school today. Even with all the fighting she did, deep down she had been pleased with the way her mother had wanted so badly to take care of her. Rachel realized that she didn't really know how to express that and the arguing came so naturally. Her need to be in glee had been at odds all day with her enjoyment of her mother's attention and affections. But maybe if she had insisted just a little bit more none of this would have happened. No, probably not, Rachel thought angrily.

Her thoughts drifted to Mr. Schuester and how he had called to check up on her. He had known about the initial two weeks she would be gone, but it seems as if today was the straw that broke the camel's back. She felt like she had been coming to a good understanding with the rest of the group but now she was afraid that everything would revert back to the way it had been before. How could Shelby have yelled at Mr. Schue like that? She knew how important the club was to Rachel so why would she do something that could hurt her daughter and glee? Rachel couldn't imagine that Shelby herself would have taken very kindly to being yelled at by the parent of a student. She also had to wonder if her mother would have ever allowed one of her students to miss two weeks' worth of practices. Probably not, so Rachel had to question why Shelby had done that to her. It just wasn't fair!

Rachel sat at her desk and took out a sheet of paper so she could start to write down some notes. The notebook her mother had retrieved for her earlier was still downstairs and Rachel wasn't about to go back down there and get it. She had ideas for Kurt as well as Quinn and Sam's duet. She actually had ideas for all of the people in the club though she was pretty certain that most of them wouldn't believe her if she told them that. It was true that Rachel wanted the chance to sing every solo and be featured in every number, but what most people sometimes didn't acknowledge was that everyone else in the glee club felt the exact same way. Everyone wanted to shine. Ok, she was, of course, the most vocal about it, but it didn't change the core of how everyone else felt as well. The idea of not having the solo or a duet stung, but it wasn't so much that she wasn't assigned a major part, it was the reasons behind it that was the most upsetting part of it to her. Rachel felt she had been pushed aside, not because of talent or skill, but because of her mother and that was worse than losing any song.

Rachel only wrote down a few of her ideas, not only for songs, but for themes for the whole show. She glanced at her door a few times, expecting that her mother could show up at any moment. Looking back on it, she was actually pretty surprised that she had been allowed to walk away at all. Or at the very least, that Shelby hadn't followed her to her room. But in this moment, Rachel was glad. She didn't have anything she wanted to say to her mom right now, but if she knew Shelby she knew that the woman would be there eventually. Rachel thought that maybe she could delay this talk she knew she would eventually have to have. In the back of Rachel's mind she could hear her mother telling her that she was not to be yelled at, but the girl pushed it aside. She was angry! People yelled when they were angry.

Setting her notes aside, Rachel busied herself with getting ready for bed. She was going to get into bed so that she could pretend to be asleep if her mother showed up soon. That way maybe she could avoid Shelby for the rest of the evening.

Shelby only sat in her office for about ten minutes thinking about what Rachel had said and what she wanted to say to her in response. She didn't quite know what to make of Rachel's outburst, but she did know that she wasn't happy about it. But by the same token, the more she was getting to know Rachel, the more she understood that this was a normal reaction for the girl. She had heard numerous stories or Rachel's infamous storm-outs during glee practice and she'd witnessed a couple firsthand. It didn't make it right and Shelby knew that she had to work on it with her, but it was also the way Rachel reacted to things. That wasn't something that could be changed overnight no matter how much Shelby wanted it to. She had impressed upon her daughter that she was not allowed to yell but Rachel was nothing if not a creature of habit and Shelby knew that old habits die hard.

There was also the knowledge that Rachel didn't know the whole story of what had happened during the conversation with Will. The girl hadn't wanted to listen earlier and Shelby had decided not to push it on her. She hoped that Rachel would feel differently when she understood the situation. Of course, she needed to find out from Quinn what exactly the rest of the situation was.

But the thing that troubled Shelby the most was Rachel using her fathers against her. There was a part of her that wanted to believe that Rachel felt completely at home and understood that Shelby was doing what was best for her all the time. On the other hand, Shelby knew that the upheaval in Rachel's life had been great and clearly the girl was still adjusting as she worked to find her place and figure out how to be settled. Shelby knew in her heart that she was giving Rachel what she needed more than her father's had and she believed that Rachel understood that too. Logically, Shelby tried to rationalize that Rachel had lashed out against her in anger and would know how hurtful she had been when she calmed down and thought about the impact of her words. But emotionally Shelby's heart ached. Part of her was ready to march upstairs and turn Rachel over her knee; the girl had been warned about being intentionally hurtful after all; but another part of Shelby knew that despite how much it hurt her, Rachel's feelings were probably real. Though the men had essentially abandoned Rachel when she was just twelve, they were still the only parents she had ever known. Rachel had life with her dads working like a well-oiled machine and though she didn't get what she really needed from them, she got to make all of the decisions and Shelby knew without a doubt that Rachel missed that.

When Shelby emerged from her office she looked into the kitchen to see if Beth and Quinn were still there, but she found the room to be empty. Her next stop was the living room and that's where Shelby found Quinn sitting on the couch holding Beth and feeding her a bottle. Shelby reached out and gently moved Quinn's hair to rest behind her shoulder and tweaked the girl's ear as she moved around the couch. Quinn looked up at the touch and returned Shelby's half-hearted smile. She couldn't help but note that the woman looked exhausted. Shelby took a seat next to Quinn and stretched her feet out to rest them on the coffee table in front of her.

"Thank you for giving her a bottle, Quinn," Shelby said after a moment.

"It's no problem," Quinn said. "She was getting fussy and I know she always has a bottle before she goes to sleep."

"I'm sure she's tired," Shelby said. "We've all had a really long day."

"Everything looked like it was fine when I came in," Quinn said.

"It was. But it took a while to get there. Rachel really wanted to go to school today but I wouldn't let her," Shelby said. "And I was right. There's no sense in a kid going to school sick."

Quinn let out a couple of fake coughs and tried to look pitiful. Shelby smiled and looked over at her young houseguest and then reached over to pat her knee.

"Nice try," Shelby said, grateful for the break in the tension. "But now she's right back to being angry. Not that she's alone in that feeling; I'm pretty angry as well."

"Because of her storm out?" Quinn asked.

"Because of her yelling," Shelby answered. She didn't elaborate further though because she didn't think it was right to discuss her issues with Rachel's behavior with Quinn despite how close the girls might be.

"I wish I could have come home with better news for her," Quinn said. "I know how much she looks forward to the competitions and glee in general." Quinn looked away from Shelby and down at the baby in her arms. "I'm pretty excited too. I get to do the duet and my mom will be there. She was there for Regionals last year as well but I wasn't featured. And then there was Beth. And then we lost. Well you know; you were there. I wish Rachel could be happy about it too. I feel bad-"

"Don't," Shelby interrupted. "Don't feel bad. You have every right to be excited. I'm sorry Rachel was so rude about it."

"It's ok," Quinn said.

"It's not ok."

"I know how she gets," Quinn tried to shrug it off. "Probably more than you do actually. I hope she will come around though. Everyone was talking about trying to get her inputs. Mr. Schue wants everyone to work together and try and come up with ideas."

"What else did Mr. Schuester say about the competition?" Shelby asked. She was trying to skirt around the issue of whether or not he was taking something away from Rachel because of their earlier conversation.

"Did you really yell at him today?" Quinn answered with a question of her own.

"Yeah, I did," Shelby conceded. "But Rachel doesn't understand the full story so her accusations aren't exactly founded. I didn't keep her from glee for anything other than-"

"I know. And so does she," Quinn cut in. "She was being really dumb when she said that about her fathers."

Shelby couldn't help but smile at Quinn's description of Rachel's words. "I'll talk to her about it."

"So will I," Quinn mumbled, more to Beth than to Shelby.

"So anything else about the competition I, as a parent, should know about?" Shelby got back to her previous question.

"Not yet," Quinn said. "But there are some things you as Coach Corcoran should know about."

"Oh?" Shelby asked.

"We've been trying to figure out a time to tell Mr. Schue that we've been working with Rachel and you," Quinn said. "It was just something that never really came up during the class and so we never said anything."

"I knew I should have made you guys talk to him after our first session and before I ever did another one," Shelby said.

"It almost came up today when he mentioned having to work around Rachel in case she didn't come back. Someone brought up that maybe you could help us, but Mr. Schuester said no. Rather adamantly, actually. So of course we didn't tell him."

Shelby sat back and sighed. This whole thing was a big mess. "You guys don't have to worry about it anymore because I'm going to go in and talk to him tomorrow. I'll tell him that I've been helping New Directions out."

"Are you going to make him give Rachel a solo?" Quinn asked.

"No," Shelby answered. "I'm not going to take yours or anyone else's songs away. I just need to talk with him to clear some things up."

Quinn was relieved at Shelby's answer and she smiled as she gave Beth the last of her bottle. She sat her up to burp her and the baby did not disappoint much to the amusement of her mother and Quinn. Beth reached for Shelby immediately and snuggled into her mother's arms after she'd taken a moment to spit up on Shelby's hand. Quinn laughed, glad that she had avoided the assault. Shelby made a show of trying to wipe her hand on the girl but Quinn was able to dodge out of the way. Shelby wiped her hand on one of the ever-present burp cloths and then got to her feet with the nearly sleeping Beth.

"I'm going to go put her down and then talk to Rachel," Shelby said. "Why don't you call your mom and tell her the good news."

Quinn happily obliged and pulled her phone out and found her mother's number as Shelby was climbing the stairs.

It only took Shelby a few minutes to get Beth changed and in her crib asleep. She started the mobile and soon the soft sounds of _Lullaby and Goodnight_ filled the air. Shelby only spent a few moments watching the baby before leaving to room to go and try and deal with her other daughter. But before she went to Rachel's room, Shelby made a quick trip downstairs and to the kitchen. She could hear Quinn telling her mother about a couple of song ideas and Shelby made a mental note to ask her about them later. A couple minutes later, Shelby returned to the second story carrying Rachel's medicine and a glass of water.

Rachel jumped slightly when she heard the knock at her door. She quickly closed the book she had been reading and pulled her blankets up close to her chin and relaxed. She shut her eyes at the second knock and did her best to make it appear as if she was sleeping.

Shelby knocked again when she still didn't get an answer. She waited a few more moments and when she didn't hear anything she opened the door slightly and looked in only to find that Rachel was in bed and asleep. Shelby stepped into the room and closed the door behind her before going to Rachel's bedside and setting down the medicine and water. It was then that she noticed that something was a little off with the way Rachel was sleeping. Shelby had seen her kid sleeping far too many times to not realize that Rachel was faking it. She would have been fooled if she had stayed by the door, but right now she was looking into a face that was trying much too hard. She was about to call Rachel on it and get her up so they could have a proper talk, but changed her mind. Shelby knew she might have more of a chance in this moment to get through to Rachel then if she gave her daughter the opportunity to answer back.

"Goodnight, Rachel," Shelby said in her normal speaking voice instead of a whisper. She wanted Rachel to know that she knew. "I was hoping that we would get a chance to talk tonight, but I know that you must be tired so it's probably a good thing you've gone to bed a little early. I brought your medicine up for you to take since I think it'll help hold your fever down overnight, but you can always take it in the morning. I just hope your fever isn't still high before school." Shelby placed her hand on Rachel's head and felt the still warm, but getting lower, temperature.

"I had wanted to talk to you about what you said downstairs, but that can wait until the morning as well," Shelby continued. "Because we will talk about it. I know I've made it pretty clear that I don't want to be yelled at, but I guess we're going to have to talk about that again. Although the talking hasn't seemed to help so I will try and figure out something else to help get my point across." She smirked when Rachel flinched ever so slightly.

Rachel tried to play off her movement as a natural shifting in her sleep, but she realized her mother probably wasn't buying any of it. She just hoped that the woman would leave soon. She didn't want to hear any of this right now.

"I guess I could help you with one of your medicines now," Shelby said, "since you're already lying on your left side." Shelby sat down on the bed next to her daughter and moved the hair away from Rachel's face and ear. She then reached over and measured out the drops needed and sat back.

"I had also planned to talk to you about what you said about Mr. Schuester and the rest of the club's worries about you," Shelby said as she dropped a small amount of the medicine into Rachel's ear. "I understand that you don't know the whole story, but I was hoping that you would have more faith in your friends. Yes, you are a star. The star of that club. But you're not the only one and you were incredibly rude to Quinn downstairs," Shelby scolded sternly. "She is your friend and you should have been happy for her. I hate to break it to you, kiddo, but getting your way all the time is not how show business works. It is just as important to be happy for your friends' successes as we all your own." Rachel wanted to roll her eyes.

Shelby emptied the last bit of medicine from the tiny plunger into Rachel's ear and then set it back on the table. "I was also hoping that you would have had a little more faith in me and know that I was telling you the truth when I tried to tell you about my conversation with Mr. Schuester earlier." Shelby watched for any sign that Rachel was going to give up this ruse and open her eyes and talk to her, but the girl didn't move and Shelby couldn't help but marvel at how stubborn her daughter was.

"I don't know why or how Mr. Schuester decided upon the assignments he did for the Sectionals competition, but I do know that you are missing information about the conversation he and I had earlier," Shelby said. "But I want you to know that for as much as it hurt when he called and accused me of keeping you away from Glee on purpose, it pains me so much more to know that you think the same thing. I would never do that to you, honey. If you were awake I would tell you to think and really try and understand how your comments hurt those around you. Your words and your anger hurt people, Rachel." Shelby left out any mention of the girl's fathers on purpose because she wasn't going to talk about that until Rachel was willing to talk back.

Shelby sat on the bed for a few more minutes hoping to give Rachel a sense that she was trying to be close to her. She wanted her to understand that even though they were both angry that Shelby would still be right there with her. Rachel did her best to keep her emotions in check and hoped that her mother would leave soon. Didn't Shelby understand that her actions hurt people too? Rachel was hurting because of her mother's actions that day. Why couldn't she just be angry for a while?

Shelby leaned down and placed a kiss on Rachel's cheek and whispered 'I love you' into her ear. After she stood up Shelby made sure to fix Rachel's blankets and tuck the girl in.

Shelby was about to leave the room, but she turned back to the bed and said, "Just a word of advice. If I come back in the morning and those pills haven't been taken," Shelby referenced the other medicine and glass of water she'd left on the bedside table, "you aren't going to school again tomorrow." With that she turned the light off and left the room.

Rachel waited for a few minutes before sitting up and taking the medicine her mother had left for her. She gave an indignant huff as she adjusted her pillow and lay back down in the bed. Now that she wasn't concentrating on pretending, actual sleep came pretty quickly to the tired, angry, and still sick girl.

Rachel awoke the next morning to the sounds of her alarm. She forced a hand out from under her warm blankets to silence it and then took another couple of minutes to convince herself to actually get up. She had set her alarm for much earlier than she normally got up so she could get ready and avoid her mother and Quinn in the process. She wanted to be out of the house and on her way to school while they were still getting ready. The last thing she wanted to do this morning was have to talk with her mother. She needed to get to school and talk to Mr. Schuester and get this whole thing sorted out. It didn't seem as if Rachel's anger had dissipated at all the night before despite her mother's long speech. All she knew is that if she had been in school the previous day all of it could have been avoided. And she wasn't there because of her mother.

Rachel scribbled out a note saying that she had already left for school and placed it on the table in the kitchen before slipping out the front door. She had heard both Quinn and her mother up and moving and she knew that it was time to leave.

When Quinn arrived at the school an hour later she found Rachel sitting front and center in the classroom the glee club had been assigned for their detention. Quinn rolled her eyes at her friend as she took a seat next to her.

"Why are you sitting up here? There's no work or anything; we're all just here," Quinn said.

"It just seemed like a good place to sit," Rachel said. "I'm waiting for Mr. Schuester."

"Why didn't you wait around this morning? Your mom was upset that you just left like that."

"I wanted to get here early," Rachel replied. "I left a note explaining that I was feeling much better and that I had taken all of my medicine."

"I'm pretty sure she wanted to see you and know for herself," Quinn said. "Are you really feeling better or were you just afraid she wouldn't let you come to school again?"

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Rachel said. "I'm here now because she ruined everything by keeping me home yesterday."

"No, she didn't," Quinn said. "And you're being horrible. Why would you bring up your fathers like that? You think that didn't hurt her feelings?"

"Coach Beiste," Rachel said as she got to her feet when the woman walked into the room. She figured the best way to answer Quinn's question was to just ignore it. "Where is Mr. Schuester?"

"He called and said he was running late and asked me to cover for him," the tall woman answered.

Rachel's shoulders visibly slumped and she returned to her seat. Quinn had moved to the back of the room to sit with most of the others who were all moaning about the early hour. There was a piece of paper left on her desk and Rachel recognized Quinn's handwriting. The note read 'Don't use your fathers to make Shelby feel bad. It isn't fair.'

Quinn watched her friend read the note and the only reaction she received was to watch Rachel sit up straighter in her chair, almost defiantly. She sighed and turned back to the rest of the club, some of whom were still trickling in. What Quinn couldn't see were the tears that formed in Rachel's eyes and her effort to keep her chin from trembling. She hadn't actually meant to bring up her dads the night before; it had just slipped out. She had felt like everything was suddenly going against her and she needed to feel like someone was on her side, even if she made it up. Her dads wouldn't have kept her from glee for being sick because they never would have known she was sick in the first place. Rachel knew that. She understood it. And still, she needed to somehow feel that they were still there for her when she needed them. She missed them. She didn't always know why, but she did.

"What's up with her?" Santana asked when she sat with the rest of the kids. She had been the last one to arrive.

"She just had a rough night last night," Quinn answered.

"It isn't about the assignments for Sectionals, is it?" Kurt asked.

"Maybe partly," Quinn said. She gathered the group closer to her so she could whisper to them. "From what I can gather Mr. Schue called Shelby yesterday and she yelled at him for something. But Shelby said that Rachel doesn't know the whole story. So when I came home and told Rachel about what Mr. Schue said in class yesterday about having to work without her and who got the solo and duet, she flipped out and started yelling at Shelby and telling her she ruined everything. I don't know why Shelby yelled at Mr. Schue though."

"Interesting," Kurt said. "We need to get this all figured out and soon because the last thing we need is for Little Miss Broadway to sulk her way through Sectionals."

"We also need to figure out how we're going to tell Mr. Schuester that we've actually been singing with Coach Corcoran," Sam said.

"We don't need to worry about that," Quinn said. "Shelby said she's coming in today to talk to him and that she would tell him."

"Oh fantastic," Tina said. "Rachel's angry. Mr. Schue's going to be angry and we're going to be back to getting no work done."

Rachel was acutely aware that the group was talking about her and she did her best to ignore the whispering and keep her eyes forward and her gathered tears from falling. She left the room without a word to anyone as soon as Coach Beiste told them the time was up. Rachel headed straight to her first class, one that thankfully didn't have anyone else from glee, and settled into her desk. It looked like the first chance she would get to speak with Mr. Schuester would be during lunch.

It was lunchtime when Shelby walked into McKinley High, stopping first at the office to sign in and then heading straight to Will's office. He answered immediately after she knocked and they seemed to size each other up for a moment before remembering their manners and shaking hands.

"Ms. Corcoran, come in, please," Will said.

"Thanks." Shelby sat at the seat in front of his desk and waited for him to return to his.

"About yesterday," he started, "I wanted to apologize for the accusations I made. I realized I was wrong almost as soon as you started talking."

"Yelling is more like it," Shelby said. "That hurt, Will."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that with so few members of the club, it's been hard to lose someone for so long. Especially someone like Rachel. She works so hard. Two weeks felt like an eternity and then the day she was supposed to be back, she was still gone," Will said. "With everything that's happened, I jumped to the wrong conclusions."

"If you had issues with the two weeks, you should have called me and told me so," Shelby said. "I'm not the unreasonable bitch you seem to want to paint me as. I wouldn't have kept her away from the club; I'd have just changed up the punishment. I've been in your position. I've had set rules that the students and parents knew before the kids were allowed in. And one of those was how much time could be reasonably be missed. You didn't have such a rule."

"I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I do need some come up with some guidelines," Will said. Shelby let the sarcastic 'you think?' remark die on her lips so she wouldn't say it out loud.

"But what I would really like to talk about is the rehearsal you had with your kids yesterday," Shelby said.

"I figured," Will said. "And I would like to talk with you about it as well. But you first."

"Ok. You're not excluding Rachel because of my yelling at you, are you?" Shelby asked. "She's convinced that she's not getting the solo and part of the duet because you're mad at me. And not only that, she's also convinced that you don't think she can be relied on anymore. And I'm the one who has ruined it all for her. So you can imagine how my night went," Shelby told him.

"I have to admit," Will said, "I did tell the kids that we'd have to learn to work around Rachel in case she didn't come back anytime soon. And that was a dig at you. I apologize," Will said quickly when he saw her glare. "But as for the assignments, no. I've researched our competition for Sectionals and I think we've got a really good shot at winning. The competition for this will not be as hard as it will be during Regionals or Nationals, if we were to get that far. I want to give all of the kids a chance while also saving our ace in the hole for tougher competition. We can win with the kids I've singled out and a really strong group number and still not reveal Rachel to any scouts that may be in the audience that night."

"That's actually pretty smart," Shelby said. "I mean, that's a good strategy. But Will, I'm begging you, please sit Rachel down and explain that to her. She's not going to believe me right now."

"I will talk to her," Will said.

"And Quinn said that you guys were going to work on ideas together, so please let Rachel contribute," Shelby said. "I know she has the tendency to try and take over, but don't just push her aside. Quinn said the other kids were looking forward to some of her inputs."

"I will do my best to give everyone's ideas their due consideration," Will said. "Which brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about. How do you know so much about what my kids wanted for Sectionals? We hadn't even talked about it during rehearsal before. Some even brought up the idea of asking you for help. These are the same kids who hated Vocal Adrenaline last year. I'm pretty sure they still hate Vocal Adrenaline, come to think of it."

"They brought up the idea because I've already worked with them," Shelby said.

"You what?" Will asked. "When?"

"It was only twice," Shelby said. "The first time they came to me and said that they wanted Rachel back and so I let them come over to practice with her and sort of jumped in there with them. The second time they all showed up at my house and asked for another session. They wanted to start working on Sectionals."

"But why wouldn't they just tell me that?"

"I think they'd been trying," Shelby told him. "Kids can have a hard time explaining to their teachers what they want or need, especially if they think that their teacher won't agree."

"Your kid doesn't."

"She's different," Shelby laughed.

"I had noticed that they sounded different," Will said. He sat back in his chair and let out a breath. "I don't know how to feel about this," he told her honestly. "I thought I was getting through to them and they've been going to you."

"You influence them more than you think," Shelby said. "They were just asserting some control over their competition."

"Did you let your kids exert control over their competitions?"

"Of course not," Shelby said. "I'm a taskmaster. But my kids started working on the Sectionals set list the second week of school. But we're different and we have different methods. And our kids were different. Talk to them about it, Will. I am more than happy to work with them some more, but only if you agree. And we'll do it here at the school and not in my house. And you'll be one hundred percent involved."

"I'll think about it," Will said.

"Thanks for hearing me out," Shelby said as she got to her feet. "And thanks for speaking to Rachel."

"And thank you for accepting my apology," Will said as he held his hand out for her to shake.

Rachel was rounding the corner to head to Mr. Schuester's office when the sight of her mother leaving that very office stopped her in her tracks. She turned and went back to hide around the corner and snuck a glance and watched as Shelby walked off in the opposite direction. She had missed her chance to talk to him because now she didn't know if he was going to be even more upset since her mother had been there or if he was just going to tell her what Shelby wanted her to hear. She ducked her head back when she noticed that Mr. Schue was standing in the hallway waving Shelby off.

"Get out of the way," a Cheerio said as she walked by Rachel and pushed her into the hallway. Rachel stumbled forward and the commotion caught Will's attention and he turned around just in time to see Rachel come into view. The Cheerio and her friend laughed as they headed off in the other direction.

"Rachel, are you ok?" Will asked as he made his way over to her.

"Yes, of course," Rachel answered as she straightened herself.

"Good. Do you have a moment? I'd like to talk with you."

"Umm, actually I was headed to the library," Rachel said. "I need to catch up on some work I missed yesterday when I was sick."

"It won't take very long. Come with me," Will insisted.

"I really can't," Rachel said. She turned and started to walk away.

"I thought you wanted to help with Sectionals," Will said to her knowing it would get the girl to stop and look back.

"I do want to help with Sectionals," Rachel said. "I want you to know that you can always rely on me no matter what outside circumstances may be influencing me at the time."

"I know that," Will said. "So come into my office and talk to me about it."

Rachel had little choice but to follow and like her mother before her, she waited until Mr. Schuester sat at his desk before she started talking.

"Did my mother come here to yell at you again?" she asked bluntly.

"No," Will answered. "Would you like to know the reason she yelled?"

"I already know," Rachel said.

"I don't think you do, but we can talk about that later," Will said.

"I don't see the point," Rachel said. "You've already made decisions based on it. You decided on the duet partners and soloist. You've decided that you can work around me."

"I was angry when I said those things to the class yesterday and I'm sorry that Quinn had to relay them to you. But they were more about your mother than you," Will said. "I know you can be relied on and I know you have good ideas. I look forward to hearing them. But if you'll just listen to why your mom was yelling, you'll understand."

"Why did you choose the people you did?" Rachel said, ignoring his last statement.

"I know you know the phrase 'save the best for last'," Will said. "I picked them so they could shine. I want everyone to play a big part in our road to Regionals. The competition for Sectionals will not be as hard as anything we face as Regionals and I wanted a chance to put some new faces forward while saving a voice like yours for another, bigger competition."

"But we have to make it through Sectionals to even get to Regionals," Rachel said. "What if we lose?"

"Then you're going to have to work twice as hard to help your teammates to make sure that doesn't happen," Will told her.

Rachel smiled broadly and said, "We'll make it to Regionals. We're all going to work really hard. And I understand what you're saying and I appreciate your confidence in me. More than you probably realize. My mom didn't make you say that, did she?"

"No, she didn't. Believe it or not, I have actually been thinking about our upcoming competitions," Will said and Rachel smiled sheepishly. "Now, please let me explain about that phone call."

"I already know about it," Rachel said. "My mom said that you accused her of keeping me from glee on purpose to help Vocal Adrenaline, but I told her that she probably misunderstood. I had explained to you that I would be gone for two weeks and you said it was fine. And you knew I was sick. It's no wonder you were angry when she started yelling and threatening to have me removed from McKinley."

"Rachel," he started to say but was cut off when the bell rang.

"I have to get to class," Rachel said as she got to her feet. "I'll see you later."

Will sighed, feeling extremely guilty and knowing that he owed another apology to Shelby and one to Rachel. The girl trusted that he knew everything was ok and he had jumped to conclusions and worse than that, he had acted upon them. He could tell how angry Rachel was at Shelby simply because she didn't want to believe the truth her mother was telling her. He would tell Rachel later after glee practice and he wouldn't let her leave until he knew she understood the truth.

Will made his way into the choir room that afternoon with a new found determination to clear the air his kids and to make sure they were all on the same page. He scanned the room and saw everyone but Rachel. What now?

"Our biology teacher held her after class to explain an upcoming project since Rachel missed it yesterday," Quinn answered his unspoken question. "She should be here soon."

"Ok," Will said. "Guys, we need to talk." This got the room's attention and all of the children turned to look at him. "I want to talk about Coach Corcoran and the fact that you've been singing with her."

There was a gasp from the kids and they all took a few moments to look accusingly at each other to try and figure out who had told. Then they all silently tried to get someone else to speak up and explain and before long all eyes were on Quinn. She already knew that Shelby was going to tell him so her shock wasn't as expressed as the others. She was about to open her mouth to explain, but Puck jumped in first.

"It kind of just happened, Mr. Schue."

"We were trying to figure out ways to practice with Rachel since she couldn't come to our rehearsals," Tina said. "So Coach Corcoran said we could come to her house."

"She was really helpful," Kurt said.

"But guys," Will said. "What about-"

"She was really great," Santana said. "We sounded great and even you said so when we came back and sang for you."

"We thought she could help with Sectionals," Finn said.

"Why didn't you guys just talk to me about Sectionals," Will asked.

There was a collective shrug and finally Quinn answered for them. "We know that you normally like to wait a bit longer to start working on the competitions and we just wanted a bit of a head start so that's why we asked her. She said she wanted us to talk to you about it so please don't blame her." The other kids rallied to Shelby's defense as well asking Mr. Schue not to blame their part-time mentor.

"Guys, guys," Will said in an attempt to get them to quiet down. "It's fine. Coach Corcoran came today and talked to me about it. She explained what had happened and offered to help us out again in the future if we would like."

"Can we?" Artie asked.

"Can we what?" Rachel asked as she came into the room. "I'm so sorry I'm late."

"Can we continue to get help from your mom," Mercedes answered.

"Oh," was Rachel's reply. "It's up to Mr. Schuester, I suppose."

"Thank you, Rachel," he rolled his eyes at the girl as she took her seat. "And yes, we can ask her again once we've worked out a set list. But we'll do it here at school."

Everyone smiled and started to talk amongst themselves, except for Rachel who was having trouble letting go of her lingering anger even though Mr. Schue had explained his reasons for choosing the singers he did to her earlier. She still resented the fact that her mother had threatened Mr. Schue over his concern for her.

Most of the session was spent brainstorming ideas and it was no surprise to anyone that there wasn't a consensus at the end. All of the kids had their own opinions and each of them felt like they were right. The only thing they agreed on was the group song, but Will wanted the duet and solo taken care of first.

After dismissing them, Will held Rachel back and waited while the room emptied.

"Mr. Schuester, I really need to get going. I want to look through some of my songbooks and work on some more ideas," Rachel said. She took a moment and turned away while she coughed and then looked back at him expectantly.

"Rachel, about the conversation on the phone between your mother and I; she didn't misunderstand," Will said. "She was exactly right when she told you that I accused her of trying to keep you away to help Vocal Adrenaline."

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't find the words. Will had to keep his own emotions in check when he saw that her eyes had filled with tears.

"Oh."

"I'm so sorry, Rachel."

"I believed in you," Rachel said. "I thought you were worried about me."

"I was," Will tried but Rachel cut him off.

"Do you know what I said to her?" Rachel asked rhetorically. "She was so angry and so…hurt. I didn't even really want to think about it, but she said my words hurt people."

"Rachel."

"Why do I keep doing this to her? Why do I keep pushing her away when she's trying to help me?" Rachel asked. "My dads never would have noticed," her tears spilled over. "They wouldn't have kept me away. But my mom," her voice cracked, "did everything to help me and I couldn't even believe her when she was telling me the truth. What is wrong with me? Why am I so horrible to her?"

"Rachel, you're not," Will said. "You just didn't know."

"But I did know. I just didn't believe and I hurt her. I bet she's so much angrier then she let on last night," Rachel said. "I have to go." She turned and ran out of the room ignoring Mr. Schuester's calls for her to wait.

Rachel didn't bother with her locker and didn't look for Quinn since her friend had told her she had plans after school. Rachel just left the building and headed in a familiar, but recently unused, direction. She needed to talk to some people before she could go home and face her mother.

**A/N – Thanks for reading and I hope you guys liked this one. Please leave me a review.**


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N – Hey guys. I tried to get this one done a little bit quicker for you. It was a tough one to write and even tougher to submit so I hope you all like it. Thanks again, so much, for all of the reviews and messages. And to everyone who continues to read. I really, really appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

About halfway to her father's house Rachel stopped and thought about the fact that she had no idea whether or not her mother had planned to be there at the school waiting for her. She hadn't seen the SUV in the parking lot, but she hadn't been looking for it either. Rachel got an image of Shelby waiting in her car with Beth, growing ever more exasperated the longer she waited without any sight of her daughter.

Rachel started to turn back to the school, but again stopped herself. She knew she was in trouble and she knew that her mother was incredibly angry at her. And why wouldn't she be after everything Rachel had done yesterday? But this was something that she felt she needed to do. She needed to go see and talk to her fathers. She needed to know what it was that made them leave her all the time. Why did they not talk to her about it? Why did her family fall apart? If she could figure all of those things out then certainly the same would not happen again with Shelby.

Rachel pulled out her phone and sent a quick text message to her mother stating that she would be home a little later. After some hesitation she sent another one that read 'I love you.' Rachel was almost embarrassed by it considering the way she had treated her mother the day before. After checking that they had both been sent properly, she dropped her phone in her bag and continued on to her father's house.

Shelby stared at the phone in her hand and read the first message again. She hadn't gone to pick Rachel up because after the way the girl had left that morning, Shelby was going to let her have that day. She promised herself that she wouldn't have her pulled out of class at school and she wouldn't be in the parking lot watching for her. She'd give Rachel all school day to think about it if that's what she needed, but the moment she walked in the door, she was Shelby's. She had even hinted to Quinn that morning, asking her if she had plans for the evening. Quinn obliged and said she did and that she'd be home by nine.

But now Rachel had put a kink in those plans; a situation Shelby was finding all too common. She sent off a reply to the text asking Rachel where she was and telling her that she needed to come home now. And also that she loved her as well. After ten minutes and not receiving a reply, Shelby started to pace and for every text message she sent that ended up ignored, her anger grew.

Rachel hadn't heard her alerts once she put her phone back in her bag and continued the walk to her old house. As she neared the place she saw that both of her fathers' cars were in the driveway. She was surprised since only Scott actually still lived there and when she started her walk in that direction she didn't even know if he would be home at all. But this was perfect; she could talk to them together and get the answers she needed.

When she reached the front door, Rachel hesitated, unsure of what she should do next. Could she still just walk in like it was normal? Should she ring the bell? She erred on the side of courtesy and rang the doorbell and stepped back to wait for the door to be opened.

"Rachel," Scott said in surprise when he opened the door and saw her standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Daddy." Rachel smiled at him. She couldn't help it. "I wanted to talk to you. Can I come in?"

"Of course, please," he said as he stepped aside and let her enter.

Rachel looked around as she walked towards the kitchen and she found that nothing had changed since she had left. Everything was in the same place it had always been in the house where she had lived for fifteen years and yet there was something off about it that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She smiled at Henry as she stepped into the kitchen and saw him sitting at the table which was covered in papers.

"Hi, Dad. What you guys doing?"

"Hey, Rach," Henry said. "We're just going through and straightening out some of our finances so that it all gets separated properly."

"Oh," she nodded and looked around. She had hoped for a hug, but neither made the move and so she didn't either. "I'm glad you're both here because I was hoping I could speak with you."

"Ok," Scott said as he resumed his place at the table. "Shoot."

Rachel opened her mouth to try and start forming the words she was hoping would come to her, but she was cut off.

"But quickly, sweetheart, we've still got a lot to go through," Henry said and Scott nodded.

"Oh. Ok," Rachel said. "Umm… can I have a glass of water?"

"Yeah, of course." Scott got to his feet and poured her a glass. He sat back down after handing her the glass and waited while she took a long sip. "Now. What's up?"

Rachel felt her resolve slipping and couldn't bring herself to ask any of her questions or tell them how she really felt. She felt nervous and looked away from them to take another sip of her water. Their eyes on her were expectant and curious… at first. But the longer she took to say anything, the more Rachel could tell their interest was waning.

"Rach?" Henry prompted.

"I, umm, I was just in the neighborhood after school and thought I would stop and say hello since it's so pretty out and the walk was nice," Rachel said. "And since you're both here I can say hello to you at the same time."

"You're right, it is a beautiful day out," Henry said. "I hope it was a nice walk over here."

"It was," Rachel readily agreed.

"Good," Scott said. "You used to enjoy talking walks when you were little."

"I still do," Rachel told them. The conversation was awkward and stilted.

"That's wonderful," Henry said kindly. "It seems like everything is going fine."

"Yeah," was Rachel's only reply.

"Well good," Scott said. They were all silent for a few moments as each one of them searched for something else to say.

"But listen, honey, we're really busy and it was great seeing you, but we do need to get back to work," Henry said.

"Right," Rachel said. "I'm sorry."

"I'll walk you out," Scott said.

"Can I go up and see my room?" Rachel asked quickly.

"Sure," Scott told her. "Go on."

Rachel made her way up the stairs without another word to her fathers. She held her emotions in until she was upstairs and out of there sight. That's when her face crumpled and her tears started. Rachel shut her bedroom door behind her and sank down into her desk chair and rested her head in her hands. That's when she realized why she felt the house was different when she first walked in. She was the thing that was out of place now. She was the piece that didn't belong.

After a few minutes Rachel moved to her bed and sank down into, snuggling into the pillows that helped to wipe her tears. This was the piece of furniture she had missed the most when she moved and she let its comfort wrap around her. Her dads had told her this was the type of bed a princess would have when they gave it to her when she turned eight. She had them told them that she was more interested in having the type of bed Fanny Brice would have so they had quickly changed their story and told her that Fanny Brice did indeed have a grown up bed like that one. The bed had always been the thing that had made her feel the safest when she was home alone. She had always felt like that if she was wrapped safely and tightly under her blankets then nothing could get her. It wasn't true, of course, after her nightmares started, but even then the bed had given her solace. She wasn't supposed to sneak out of it to seek comfort elsewhere so she always had to try to push the scary parts away and let the bed comfort her again. It was a trick she had never been able to pull off at Shelby's house. More times than not, she vacated her bed when she had a nightmare there. She had even discovered that it was ok look for her parent, though she wasn't sure at first, when Shelby had found her in the hallway after a nightmare not too long ago.

Rachel moved a couple times to try and find the spot she liked the most and get even more comfortable, but she couldn't quite get it right. It was very nice, but not the same as she was remembering. The comfort of the bed was as much in her mind as the mattress she was lying on. Try as she might, she couldn't find the place in this bed that equaled the comfort and the safety she felt that night sitting in Shelby's lap. She wouldn't be able to find that place in this house either, she knew. And she realized it wasn't like she thought it would be to lie down in it once again. She gave up on finding her spot and just lied still and stared out the window.

The silence was broken a couple minutes later by her phone alerting her that she had a text message. Rachel got up and fished through her bag for her phone and unlocked it to find that she had eleven text messages. She quickly read through each message from her mother telling her that she needed to get home and demanding to know where she was. Rachel could tell the tone was angry and anxious and she started to cry all over again. She was in so much trouble.

Rachel thought about how worried Shelby sounded and how actively she was trying to locate her. The difference in her parents was astounding. Shelby was focused on Rachel in this moment and her dads, who were actually there with her, weren't interested and hadn't been this interested in years. It really highlighted how hurtful she had been the night before and that made Rachel feel even worse. What was she doing there? How could she do that? Rachel sent off a quick text message to Shelby telling her that she was on the way. She needed to get out of there and see her mom. She needed to go home.

Shelby was coming down the stairs from putting Beth down for a nap when she heard a key in the door and then saw the handle slowly turning to the left and then the door opening. She placed her hands on her hips and looked sternly at Rachel when the girl stepped into the foyer and closed the door behind her. Rachel put her bag down near the door and took a couple of steps towards her mother and then stopped. She chanced a quick look at Shelby's angry expression, but couldn't hold it for long because her tears started and she looked down at the ground. She was amazed that she even had anymore tears available to cry that day.

This was not exactly the demeanor that Shelby expected in her daughter when Rachel came home; she thought the girl would be defiant and standoffish. Shelby quickly stepped forward and enveloped Rachel in a hug and held her tightly while the girl buried her head into her neck and cried. She rubbed her back in an attempt to get the girl to calm down a little. Shelby was curious to know just what had changed between last night and right now.

"I'm so sorry," Rachel choked out.

Shelby gave off a faint smile at Rachel's words and placed a kiss on the top of Rachel's head so the girl would know she had heard her. Shelby let her cry for a couple minutes longer before deciding that they needed to move forward.

Shelby put her hands on Rachel's shoulders and had her step back. "Ok, that's enough. Stop crying now," she ordered kindly, even stooping to be at eye level with Rachel when she said it.

Rachel did as she was told, only hiccupping a few more times as she wiped her eyes and finally looked up at her mom. Shelby's expression was serious and stern and Rachel looked down again. Shelby took her by the hand and led her into the kitchen and sat her down at the table. She then took a moment to pour Rachel a glass of apple juice – she wasn't going to give her water in this moment – and grabbed her medicine and then sat down with her. Rachel took a sip of her juice, grateful to have something to drink after crying for so long. She also took the pills before setting the glass back on the table and waiting for Shelby.

"Rachel, we have a lot of talking to do," Shelby said. This was her show now and she wasn't going to leave any room for Rachel to talk her way out of it.

"Ok," Rachel whispered out.

"One thing I know we have talked about before, numerous times, is that I don't want you yelling at me when you get angry," Shelby said. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I've made myself very clear on that point. I have heard too many stories of your yelling and storm outs and I have witnessed some firsthand and it is going to stop. You are an intelligent girl, Rachel, so I know you can figure out a better way to convey your displeasure. Especially when you are talking to me. Next time you feel like you need to yell at someone to get your point across I want you to remember just how childish it makes you look. I want you to take ten seconds to think about what you are doing before you open your mouth to speak. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded.

"Yes what?" Shelby said. "This is that type of conversation, honey."

"Yes, Ma'am," Rachel said. These were the rules Shelby planned to teach Beth as she grew and she was simply going to expect the same from Rachel. She wanted to know that she was treating and raising her children in the same way.

"Good. Now," Shelby moved on to the next point in her lecture, "do you remember what I told you last night while you were pretending to be asleep, which I was more than willing to let you get away with, by the way."

Rachel thought back for a second and furrowed her brow a bit in concentration. Shelby had said a great many things last night and so now she wasn't sure what the right answer was. "Umm," she stalled a bit by taking another sip of her juice."

Shelby hid her amusement at Rachel's tactics and realized she should have been more specific. It was a scolding not a pop quiz and so Shelby helped her out. "About what we would be doing this morning."

Oh that. Rachel knew where this was going and she hung her head again when she put her glass back on the table. "You said that we were going to talk about what happened last night."

"Yes, I did," Shelby confirmed. "But the funny thing was that when I looked for you this morning so we could have that talk, you were already gone. I got up this morning to check on my child, my sick child, Rachel, and you weren't in the house." Shelby was careful not to raise her voice, but the volume did nothing to contain the edge and anger.

"I left you a note," Rachel said meekly.

"I saw it," Shelby told her. "But that doesn't mean it was acceptable."

"But I had to," Rachel said, pleading with her watery eyes. "I was feeling better and I had to."

"No, you didn't have to, Rachel. You did not have to at all. You wanted to go and that's a big difference," Shelby said. "You made a plan to deliberately disobey me. You got yourself up early and got out of the house so you could avoid me and the situation. You wanted to go and so you went. Despite the fact that I made it quite clear that you weren't going back to school until I said it was ok because you're sick. Do you remember that whole discussion about it being my decision because I'm your mother?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Do you? Because that didn't seem to be the case this morning," Shelby said. "I thought maybe you were really understanding a little bit yesterday, but then this morning I realized that perhaps I hadn't really impressed upon you how much I mean that statement, but I will try and do that today. I'm your mother. Rachel, listen to me. I understand that you have been making all of these decisions for yourself. I really do get that and I know that losing some of that control is really hard for you. But you're just leaving today went beyond a mix up where you just assumed something. You did all of that on purpose to get around me. And I know you understand the difference. And it is not ok. I am not going to let you get away with disobeying me just because it's something you wanted. That is not how this is going to work, kiddo."

Rachel could only nod and wring her hands.

"So let's talk a little bit about last night," Shelby continued. "The yelling is one thing, but the things you said, Rachel, were the worst part of that. Do you honestly think that I would keep you away from glee on purpose or to help Vocal Adrenaline?" Rachel shook her head. "You thought enough last night to say it."

"I was angry," Rachel said.

"So you said it on purpose? To upset me."

"No, I… I just wanted to go so badly. And then Quinn told me I had missed them planning for Sectionals and that I wasn't going to get to sing a solo. I was angry."

"Rachel, you missed one day of planning," Shelby said. "You missed assignments, not planning. And you do not get to sing a solo everytime. And on top of all of that, you were horrible to Quinn."

"I didn't mean-"

"That's the point, Rachel. You didn't mean it, but you said it anyway. You were purposefully hurtful and I know this is something we've discussed before too."

"I know," Rachel said. "I was just looking for someone to blame. I'm sorry."

"What changed from then to now?"

"Mr. Schue," Rachel said. "He told me what he said." Her tears were forming again. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you or wouldn't let you explain. I know you must ha-" she stopped herself. "I'm sorry I tried to hurt you by bringing up my dads."

Shelby took a deep breath and sat back. "Why did you?"

Rachel shrugged and looked down, "I've been missing them recently. I don't know why. Just a feeling I've had."

"Rachel, I don't want you seeing your fathers again until I've talked to them," Shelby said and Rachel's head shot up to look at her. "I've been meaning to speak to you about it ever since your last visit and you came home so upset. I want to speak with them and talk about some things. I was thinking it could wait until after we find you a therapist to talk to."

Rachel nodded and had to take another sip of her juice as a look of panic crossed her features.

"But back to the matter at hand," Shelby said. "On top of everything else that happened yesterday and this morning, you decided that today would be the day you head off somewhere after school without telling me where. Rach, I don't expect you to come straight home every day after school. I know you have friends and will want to go out. But I do expect to always know where you are and who you're with. And today was probably not the best day or you to not come straight home. Or ignore all of my text messages. So tell me now, where did you go?"

Rachel looked down and away from her mother before she mumbled out, "My dad's house."

Shelby let out a long breath and looked to the ceiling and asked, "Why?"

"After Mr. Schuester told me what he said I got really upset because I started to understand just how awful I was to you last night," Rachel said. "And I couldn't figure out why I keep being so awful to you when you're just trying to help," her voice cracked as she tried to keep more tears from falling. "I wanted to confront my dads and ask them why they had done what they did and why my family had fallen apart. So I went there after school and they were both there at the house trying to separate their finances. I had put my phone in my bag and couldn't hear your text messages coming in."

Shelby listened intently to Rachel's explanation so she could try and understand what goes on in Rachel's mind when she makes these decisions. "What did they say?"

"I couldn't ask them," Rachel said. "I tried, but they were busy and I felt so out of place." Her tears were falling down her cheek and Shelby reached out and took one of her hands to hold. "They only seemed to be mildly interested and so I didn't tell them anything. And then I went and sat in my room for a few minutes before I came home. To you."

Shelby squeezed her hand, but then let it go and Rachel then used it to wipe her tears.

"Ok, you're not to go over there again, do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Rachel said.

"If you want to see them, I'm going with you or they can come here, but you get hurt everytime you go over there and that's not going to happen anymore," Shelby said. "Your fathers need to be involved in some serious discussions before you are to see them alone again. I'm very serious about this, Rachel."

"I understand," Rachel told her.

Shelby shook off her anger at Rachel's dads and focused back on the girl and the task at hand. Shelby had made this decision earlier this morning when she'd found that Rachel had gone to school and now she had to simply follow through with it. She even contemplated asking Rachel what it was the girl thought they should do about this, but she decided against it because this was not Rachel's decisions. Shelby was doling this punishment.

"Ok, Rachel, here's what's going to happen," Shelby said. "I will not let you get away with all of the blatant disregard and rule breaking that you displayed yesterday and today. You are going to be punished."

"But I'm really sorry, Mom," Rachel said. She hated the thought of being grounded. Her mom wouldn't make her miss glee again would she? Rachel started to get apprehensive.

"I know you are. I can see it," Shelby said. "And I'm glad you understand what you did was wrong. But none of that changes the fact that you did do wrong. You broke almost every rule I've set for you, a couple of them in a calculated manner. So this will be a little different because grounding hasn't worked. And taking away something you love hasn't worked. And lectures haven't worked. Rachel, I'm afraid that this time you, young lady, have earned yourself a spanking." Rachel let out a light gasp of surprise.

"No," Rachel shook her head and more tears formed in her eyes.

"Yes," Shelby said. "Rachel, I don't want to have to do this, but your behavior is unacceptable and there has to be something that will get through to you. You are going to remember this day and this punishment."

"I'm too old," Rachel tried to argue.

"Your behavior doesn't indicate that," Shelby said. "Now go up to your room and wait for me."

Rachel shook her head again even as she got to her feet.

"Go on," Shelby said. "And do not slam your door because Beth is sleeping."

Shelby watched Rachel until she had left the room and she could hear her on the stairs before she turned back and rested her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. Keeping the façade of calm disciplinarian was so hard in this case because she could see how much her daughter was hurting. But it had to be done. Shelby knew she had to follow through right now or she may never get a handle on Rachel's behavior.

Rachel changed out of her school clothes and into some sweats that were cut off at the knees and an 'I Love NYC' t-shirt she'd swiped from her mother. Her ankle socks were the only thing between her feet and the floor as she paced her room. Even though Shelby had threatened before, Rachel had never had it feel as real as this. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her pacing ended about ten minutes later when she finally tried to resign herself to the fact and sat on her bed and waited.

Shelby stood outside Rachel's door and took a few deep, calming breaths before she finally knocked lightly and waited until Rachel said something before she entered the room. Rachel was sitting slumped on her bed with her head down. Shelby was glad to see that the girl had changed into something more comfortable. Shelby set a bottle of water she had brought for Rachel down on the bedside table and then sat down next to her on the bed and wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders.

"But Quinn," Rachel made another attempt to stop this.

"Quinn isn't here and won't be for a while. This is happening. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Rachel answered, defeated.

"Rachel, I love you," Shelby said. "I am your mother and you're my little girl and I'm not going to allow your break the rules with no consequences. That's why I'm doing this; because one way or another you're going to learn that I'm the parent and you're the kid and what I say goes."

Rachel looked up at Shelby forlornly and Shelby took a moment to kiss her forehead, which was still warm, she noted, though part of that could be because Rachel was worked up.

"Ok," Shelby said, removing her arm from Rachel's shoulders. "Let's get this done."

Rachel's cries filled the room as Shelby held her after the spanking. Shelby sat on Rachel's bed with her back resting against the headboard and Rachel was stretched out beside her, on her stomach mostly, with her head resting on Shelby's chest. One hand clung tightly to her mother while one hand tried to rub some of the sting out of her smarting backside; an attempt that was proving to be futile. Shelby had ignored the whines and cries and promises of 'Mommy, I'll be good' and spanked until Rachel had given up the begging and the kicking and squirming and had laid limply over Shelby's lap and taken her punishment. She had lectured occasionally to remind Rachel that she was her daughter and that she wouldn't allow her to get away with the behavior that Rachel insisted on repeating despite all of the warnings.

When it was over, Shelby had slipped Rachel's pants back up and moved the two of them to their current position on the bed so she could hold her daughter. Unlike earlier when she had stopped Rachel's crying so she could start her lecture, she was prepared to sit here and hold her until Rachel decided her crying was done. Shelby was doing everything she could to keep her own tears at bay.

Rachel gave up on the rubbing because she decided it wasn't doing any good anyway and instead wrapped that arm around Shelby's waist. She felt young and thoroughly chastised and…loved. Her fathers had never stayed with her after a spanking or explained why they were doing it. It just was and then was supposed to be over. The rush of emotions coming out in her tears was almost too overwhelming for her.

Shelby rocked them a bit and hummed as Rachel's sobs finally slowed and turned to hiccups and then just sniffles. Shelby could feel that her shirt was wet with Rachel's tears and she was pretty sure the girl had used it to wipe her nose once or twice. Shelby reached over and plucked a few tissues from the box and handed them to Rachel.

"Thank you," the girl whispered when she took the tissues. Shelby just squeezed her tighter.

"Ok, Rachel, it's over now," Shelby said. "Please don't cry anymore."

"It hurts," Rachel told her.

"I suspect it does," Shelby said. "You earned that spanking."

"Are you still mad at me?" Rachel asked, ready to cry again depending on the answer she received.

"No, I'm not mad. I wasn't mad when I came up to your room," Shelby said. "We can move on from this now. Have you learned anything?" Shelby prayed the girl said yes.

Rachel nodded. "I know I broke all of those rules. I won't ever break any of them again." Shelby wanted to tell her to not make promises she couldn't keep. "And that I don't have to do everything all on my own because you're my mom and that's your job too."

"That's right," Shelby said. "Honey, I'm not trying to take every ounce of control you felt you had away from you, but you had to learn that you cannot make all of your own decisions because I am the mom here and you are my daughter and live in my house with my rules. Rachel, don't you want to be taken care of? Even just a little bit?" Shelby knew she did.

Rachel's tears started again as she nodded her head.

"Then let me take care of you," Shelby said. "You're still just a kid and I know you're having to learn some of what that means all over again. But just let me take care of it."

"I don't know how sometimes," Rachel admitted.

"We're both learning," Shelby assured her.

"Ok," Rachel said.

"Alright, I'm going to go and start cooking dinner," Shelby said.

"Can I just stay here for a little while?" Rachel asked.

"Sure, take your time," Shelby said. Your punishment is over. There's no grounding or restrictions."

Rachel nodded as she moved off of Shelby so the woman could get up. Shelby told Rachel she loved her one more time before she left the room and closed the door behind her. Rachel reached for the bottle of water Shelby had brought up earlier and took a few long sips to soothe her throat which was sore from all of the crying. She then pulled her blankets back and crawled under them in the bed and lay down on her side and wiggled a bit until she found that perfect spot. It was the spot that was so comfortable and safe that had eluded her at her father's house. The smell of Shelby's perfume lingered in the air and Rachel could swear she could still feel Shelby's arms wrapped around her as she pulled the blankets tight and shut her eyes.

Shelby heard Beth crying almost as soon as she stepped into the hallway from Rachel's room. She found the little girl wide awake and testing her lungs in her crib. The little girl gave Shelby a look as if to ask what took her so long. Shelby scooped her up and held her close as they made their way down the stairs.

"Please not you too, Beth," Shelby said. "I don't think I can listen to either of my daughters cry anymore today."

Beth quieted as soon as she saw Shelby start to make a bottle and readily drank it down when it was ready. The familiar task allowed Shelby sit and relax and breathe a sigh of relief because she felt like she had really gotten through to Rachel this time. And while she didn't expect her child to walk down the stair polishing a halo, she knew she had made an impact and that Rachel's contrition was real.

When Beth was satisfied, Shelby put her in her highchair with a handful of cheerios to snack on so she could start making dinner. Her back was to the doorway while she stood at the counter cutting vegetable and so she missed it when Rachel walked gingerly into the room. Rachel stopped and gave Beth a kiss on the head and accepted one of the pieces of cereal that Beth held up and put in her mouth. Rachel took a few steps towards Shelby and reached a hand out as if to touch her and get her attention, but she withdrew it and brought it back to her side. She wasn't quite sure of what to do now, though she knew what she wanted to do.

"Are you going to say something or just keep lurking there?" Shelby finally asked as an amused smile played on her lips.

Rachel stepped forward and hugged her mother tightly from behind. She squeezed her arms around Shelby's waist and turned her face to the side so she could rest her cheek on Shelby's back. Shelby wiped her hands on a dish towel and turned around so she could hug Rachel properly. They stood in silence for close to a minute just holding each other. Beth watched for a little bit but grew bored with them and then her cereal, which she started to throw on the floor. It was her banging on the tray of her highchair demanding more cereal that brought Shelby and Rachel out of their moment. Shelby smiled down at her, but Rachel looked away and her cheeks tinged red.

"Hey," Shelby said, cupping the girl's chin with her hand and forcing Rachel to look at her. "Do not be embarrassed about this, ok? It's clearly not the end of the world. Everything is ok." Rachel nodded and stood up a little straighter and Shelby tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "How do you feel?"

"Good… Better," Rachel answered. "Very sore."

"Good," Shelby answered. Rachel rolled her eyes and then realized her mistake and looked at her mom with trepidation. Shelby only chuckled and as she went to retrieve more cereal for Beth.

"What are you making?" Rachel asked.

"Spaghetti."

"Can I help?"

"Sure," Shelby answered. "You can finish cutting up those vegetables right there and I'll get started on the sauce."

Rachel turned to look at the counter and the cutting board the Shelby had been working with and saw that green peppers were the vegetable currently being worked on. Rachel tried to remember how Shelby had showed her to cut them, but it didn't come to her. She cut one down the middle horizontally and knew right away that that was wrong. "Umm, Mom?"

Shelby laughed at Rachel's predicament and stepped up behind her and put her arms around the girl picked up the knife that Rachel was still holding.

"I'll control the knife. Just relax and watch and learn," Shelby said.

They were working on their second pepper when Quinn came home. She had taken Shelby's hint earlier because she had seen how upset the woman was that morning when they discovered Rachel wasn't in the house. Quinn had decided to go to her own house after school and get some time to herself while Shelby and Rachel talked. She had been anxious about going back to Shelby's, especially before nine, because she was certain she'd be walking into a house filled with tension and that both Shelby and Rachel would be angry. She knew it was going to be a long rest of the week if Rachel was grounded.

What she did not expect to find was the idyllic scene she encountered when she entered the kitchen.

"Keep trying," Shelby said as she let go of the knife and stepped away from Rachel. "Oh hey, Quinn."

Rachel turned and looked at her and side hi before going back to hurting the peppers. Rachel was not as gentle or smooth with the knife so the peppers were not as evenly cut.

"Hi," Quinn said cautiously. "Sorry I'm home a little early."

"No, its perfect timing," Shelby said. "We can all have dinner together. You can help if you want."

"Ok," Quinn answered, still confused as to why everything was so calm and happy. She'd seen those two in action and after knowing how angry and upset they both had been, this was just weird.

"Ok, Rachel, have mercy on the peppers," Shelby said. Thankful, Rachel put the knife down. "Do you think you can handle the tomatoes?"

"I'll try," Rachel said.

"Come here." Shelby picked up another cutting board, a few tomatoes, a bowl and a knife and put them on the kitchen table. "Sit here and cut these up for the sauce. I'll finish the peppers."

Quinn watched as Rachel slid carefully into the chair and then wince as she tried to get settled and find a spot that wouldn't hurt as much. The girl was not looking at her and Quinn stared at her with a confused expression. Shelby had turned to say something to Quinn but had stopped when she saw how the blonde was looking at Rachel. Rachel caught her breath a little and sat up straighter before she picked up the knife to try her luck with the defenseless red plant.

Why did it hurt to sit…Oh! Realization dawned on Quinn and she opened her mouth to ask Rachel but was cut off when Shelby stepped over to her and pulled her away.

"Will you help me with something real quick, Quinn?" Shelby didn't let her answer as she pulled her out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. Rachel didn't pay them any attention because she was concentrating on figuring out how she should actually cut into the tomato in front of her.

"Did you-"

"Yes," Shelby cut her off. "But don't you say anything to her about it. I'm serious, Quinn. Do not make her feel awkward or embarrassed."

"I won't," Quinn assured her. "It happens, right?"

"Yes. And don't you dare tell anyone at school or you're next," Shelby warned her.

"I won't, I promise," Quinn said.

"And don't ask her about it," Shelby instructed. "If she wants to talk to you about it, she will."

"I understand, Shelby. It's not like she's the only kid who has been spanked," Quinn said.

"And she won't be the last if this gets around," Shelby reiterated.

"I know," Quinn said holding her hands up in surrender. "I said I promise."

Shelby backed off then and smiled. "I know, honey. I'm sorry."

Shelby led them back into the kitchen to find that Rachel had squished her first tomato in the process and there was juice everywhere.

"I hope you like your tomatoes flat," Quinn said to Shelby.

"As a matter of fact I do," Shelby said with a wink towards Rachel and Quinn laughed.

"You can still chop it up," Rachel defended.

"Quinn, why don't you help us out? I've got some onions that still need to be cut," Shelby said.

"Actually, I was hoping to get started on some homework," Quinn said. "I think I'll leave the cooking to you and Sweeney Todd here. Though I think Sweeney was a better cut."

Shelby laughed and Rachel huffed indignantly as Quinn left the room.

Dinner that night was fun and happy and everyone enjoyed themselves. There was never any mention of Sectionals or Rachel's behavior or Shelby's punishment. It reminded Quinn of when she first arrived there right down to Shelby asking if she needed to look over any of their homework. And much to everyone's shock, Rachel said yes. Quinn declined, but only because she was about three days behind on it and no way was she going to tell Shelby.

Quinn loaded the dishwasher while Shelby and Rachel sat at the table looking over some of Rachel's English homework. Rachel didn't really need her to and Shelby knew that, but took it seriously anyway as she checked all of the questions. Quinn disappeared from the kitchen to return to her room to keep working on her own. She was glad to see that Rachel was feeling better and was back to normal and not upset and angry. She had just also hoped that maybe that Rachel would talk to her about Sectionals. Quinn wanted Rachel to be happy for her despite everything that had happened. It mattered to Quinn to know that Rachel felt she deserved the duet.

Quinn sighed as she opened her book to look at some of the homework she'd been ignoring while she took the time to hang out at her own house and with some of her other friends. She wasn't too worried about getting caught up, but it wasn't the first thing she wanted to be working on either. She was more interested in finding a song to sing with Sam. And maybe practicing with Sam. Or talking with Sam. Or making out with Sam. Quinn closed her book to pick up her phone and sent him a text message to see if he had figured out a song yet. He hadn't. But maybe they could look together. Quinn smiled.

**A/N – I hope you guys liked this one. Please leave me a review. **


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of your inputs on the last chapter. I really appreciate it, guys. And now we're moving forward. Thanks so much to everyone who continues to read and review. You guys are awesome!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. I'm working on it though. Kidding, of course. Kinda. **

Quinn spent the next hour and a half lying on her bed texting back and forth with Sam. It wasn't until she heard a knock at her door and she glanced at the clock, that Quinn even realized how much time had passed. She told Sam she had to go and that she would see him tomorrow before she called for the knocker to come in.

"Are you busy?" Rachel asked when she opened the door. She was holding Beth and they both looking to Quinn. "I didn't want to interrupt your homework or anything."

"No," Quinn answered. "No, homework's all good. I was just, umm, talking to Santana," she held up her phone for Rachel to see. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Rachel said as she entered the room. "Beth and I are just hanging out while my mom is in the phone. And I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" Quinn asked. She smiled at Beth and accepted the pacifier the girl was passing off to her as Rachel sat on the edge of the bed and got comfortable. Quinn did not get to keep Beth's gift long because it was only a few seconds before she reached her hand out and wanted it back. Quinn turned it over and Beth happily put it back in her mouth.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday, Quinn," Rachel said. "I shouldn't have reacted that way. I am happy for you that you were assigned the duet."

"Even though you think you would be better for it," Quinn said. "I know you're mad about it."

Rachel shook her head. "I was, but it wasn't about you. I was mad at my mom. And I was wrong to yell at her and put you in the middle of it."

"So are you happy for me now because you mean it or because you have to say so because you got spanked?" Quinn asked sarcastically. It was a knee-jerk reaction and she regretted it the moment she saw the look that passed over Rachel's face.

Rachel turned red and immediately ducked her head and looked away from Quinn. She adjusted Beth on her lap when the little girl started to squirm. "How did you-"

"Rachel, I'm so sorry," Quinn said sincerely.

"No, it's ok," Rachel answered, still not looking at her. She got up from her spot on the bed and walked towards the door never looking back at Quinn. "You're right, Shelby was mad and…punished me, but she didn't force me to come and talk to you. I am sorry. I have some ideas for you and Sam if you'd like to hear them. Goodnight, Quinn."

"Rachel, I-"Quinn was cut off by Rachel shutting the door behind her. Great. Just great. Quinn didn't know whether to get up and follow her or let it go for the night. She thought for a minute or two and was about to get up when her phone rang and she saw that it was her mom. She opted to let Rachel go because she was worried that she might actually make it worse tonight and answered her phone instead. Maybe she could explain to her mother what a dumb thing she had just said and get some advice that way.

Rachel went into her room and sat down on her bed with her back resting on the headboard and her knees drawn up so that Beth would have something to lean against as she sat on Rachel's stomach. Beth spit her pacifier out and babbled to Rachel.

"I know," Rachel said when Beth stopped. "But I guess she has a right to be suspicious. Everyone knows how I feel about getting solos and I did say I was the best, which is true, and that I deserved it."

Beth cooed a response and leaned forward and Rachel helped her get situated on her hands and knees while resting on her chest and Beth took a moment to babble some more, this time with her own little face much closer to Rachel's. She returned her pacifier to her mouth when she was finished.

"I do like getting to see and hear everyone else sing," Rachel argued. "But I also want to win and that blinds me to how everyone else feels sometimes. I know they all want to win too, but not as badly as I do."

Beth dropped her pacifier from her mouth once more and Rachel stopped it from falling on the floor. Beth's babbling took a more serious tone and Rachel listened intently. The baby went on for a while and Rachel didn't interrupt. Beth once again reached for her pacifier when she was finished, but simply held it this time instead of returning it to her mouth.

"I am excited for Quinn," Rachel protested. "And Sam and Kurt. I know what it feels like to perform like that. I just don't always know how to say it. But I just told her I was sorry."

Beth had one final piece of input that she made before once again returning the pacifier to her mouth and lying down flat and resting her cheek against Rachel's chest. She took a small handful of Rachel's t-shirt and held on, contended.

"I know, I know," Rachel conceded. "I'll talk to her again tomorrow and see if there's a way I can make it up to her." Rachel rubbed the baby's back and smiled. Beth was freshly bathed and warm and cuddly and smelled like baby powder and lavender. When she was younger, Rachel used to wonder about what it would be like to have a younger sibling, but she never would have imagined that she loved it as much as she did. She breathed in that perfect baby smell as she tried to figure out what she could do to help Quinn know that she was really and truly sorry.

Quinn paced her bedroom floor as she was being lectured by her mother. She had asked for advice, but this is what she got instead.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Quinn said again. "I didn't mean to- I know. It just slipped out!"

"Quinnie, you had better talk to Rachel and apologize," Judy said. "What you said to her wasn't fair and it certainly wasn't any of your business."

"But I said I was sorry."

"Well tell her again," Judy said.

"How? What if she doesn't want to listen?" Quinn asked.

"Then you keep trying until she does."

"I'll try."

"Good. I don't want to the two of you to be fighting when I get home this Saturday," Judy said.

"I'll find some way to make it up to her," Quinn promised. "Mom, please don't tell Shelby I said anything. Like, don't mention it in passing or anything. Please."

"I won't, sweetheart," Judy assured her. "I know how to keep my mouth shut when I've been asked not to say something."

"Mom," Quinn whined.

"I love you, Quinnie. Goodnight."

"I love you too," Quinn said before ending the call. She was going to wait until tomorrow to talk with Rachel so she set about getting ready for bed since it was getting close to ten.

Rachel was singing softly to Beth and she thought the baby was asleep when Shelby knocked and then came in the room to find them. Beth's head came up and looked to Shelby and then back to Rachel, almost as if to ask why she stopped singing.

"There you are," Shelby said.

"Beth and I have just been talking," Rachel said.

Shelby smiled as she made her way over to them and sat at Rachel's feet on the bed and rested a hand on the girl's drawn-up knee. "Sounds nice."

Rachel put her feet on the floor and sat up so she could sit next to her mom. Shelby watched as a couple looks of mild pain or irritation flashed across Rachel's features. Rachel noticed her mom watching and smiled sheepishly.

"I hope I sleep ok," Rachel said.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine," Shelby said. Shelby knew that Rachel was emotionally exhausted and predicted that she'd be asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. "In fact, that's why I'm here; to tell you it's time to get start getting ready for bed."

"How come Beth gets to stay up later?" Rachel asked, joking with her mother.

"Because Beth doesn't have to get up as early as you do," Shelby replied.

"Enjoy it while you can," Rachel said to her little sister. Beth smiled at her as if to say, 'I plan to.'

Rachel passed Beth to Shelby and the baby immediately found a comfortable spot on Shelby's shoulder to rest her head. Shelby kissed Rachel goodnight and was headed to the door when Rachel stopped her.

"Did you tell Quinn?" Rachel asked. It wasn't an accusation, but rather simple curiosity. Shelby felt her heart ache at the fact that Rachel couldn't look at her while she asked the question. She stepped back over to her daughter to try and reassure her once more.

Ten minutes later there was a knock at Quinn's door and the girl hadn't even had a chance to answer when it swung open and she saw Shelby standing there with Beth. Quinn knew that look.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Quinn said as she put her hands up to try and show her innocence. She backed away from Shelby as the woman came further into the room. "Shelby, I'm sorry."

Shelby stopped halfway into the room and was glad to see that Quinn was already in her pajamas. She kept her stern expression as she simply pointed to the bed. Quinn quickly and carefully made her way past Shelby and crawled in the bed and pulled the blankets up around her. Shelby turned on her heel and made her way out of the room, switching off the light and shutting the door as she went. Quinn let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and settled into the bed.

The ride to school in the morning had been mostly fake pleasantries as each girl tried to figure out on their own how to say they were sorry. Nothing was resolved by the time they got there and the girls went their separate ways when they reached the building.

Rachel had resolved to sit and talk with Quinn during lunch, but when she reached the cafeteria she realized that her friend was nowhere to be found. Rachel was going to leave the room but she was waved over to a table with some of her fellow glee members.

"Hi," she said as she sat down and started to unpack the lunch she had brought with her. "Have you guys thought of anything new for Sectionals?"

"We were just talking about that," Kurt answered. "There doesn't seem to be any consensus."

"I think R&B is the way to go," Mercedes said. "Popular songs that everyone knows would be a big crowd pleaser, I think."

"But that's probably what everyone else is doing," Finn said. "We need something that makes people remember."

"Remember what?" Santana asked, incredulous.

"I think he means nostalgic," Tina clarified.

"Right," Finn said. "Like classic rock or something."

"We do that all the time," Mercedes argued.

"I think we should do Broadway," Rachel jumped in.

"Shocking," Santana said.

"No, guys, listen. The group number that we've been working on with my mom is a Broadway song and we all want to do that one," Rachel said. "So we could go all out and make it a big production number. We all know Kurt can sing Broadway and Quinn and Sam would be good too."

"Where are they anyway?" Finn asked and only received shrugs for an answer.

"You'd give up the big Broadway numbers and let other people sing them?" Kurt asked Rachel.

Rachel ducked her head for a second and then looked back up at him and smiled. "I'm not giving anything up. I know how much you love Broadway too. And I'm really happy that you're going to be doing the solo. Honestly, Kurt. Don't get me wrong, I want a solo. But it's always been that way and it will always be that way. I'm going to want a solo everytime Mr. Schue opens his mouth to assign something. But you all should understand that because you do too. And I just want us to do well. And if we can sort of tell a story instead of just picking random songs to sing, I think we stand a better chance. And surely this won't be the last time we do anything related to Broadway. I'll get another chance later."

The whole table sat in stunned silence at her declaration.

"But if I can have a solo line or two in the group song, I would love that as well," Rachel added after a moment.

Kurt broke the silence and laughed at her last statement and did what no one else was expecting and pulled her into a side hug. "We're so glad you're back in Glee."

"Me too, Kurt. Me too."

"Ok shorty, tell us about your ideas," Santana said. "What's the theme?"

"Love, of course," Rachel answered.

The bell rang just then and the whole table groaned since they would not get a chance to hear what Rachel had in mind right then. They all slowly got up and went their own way with the promise that Rachel would fill them in later.

Rachel had to pass the choir room on her way to her biology class and out of habit she glanced in as she was walking by. A movement in the corner caught her and eye and she poked her head in to see Sam sitting in a chair with Quinn perched on his lap. They were kissing and neither noticed Rachel so she stepped back quickly and continued on her way. When did that happen? Quinn hadn't mentioned anything about Sam and Rachel was sure she would have. Though, if she was being honest with herself, Rachel knew that she probably hadn't been the easiest of people to talk to the last few days.

The teacher had already started her lesson for the day when Quinn walked in the classroom ten minutes late. She spouted off a practiced and hurried apology and the teacher let it go and Quinn took her seat. Rachel shot her a questioning glance and Quinn just shrugged.

Rachel was hoping to get a chance to talk with Quinn when the class ended and before glee, but she was held after and Rachel had to leave. She waited just outside the door, but not out of earshot, to see if she could figure out what was going on. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Quinn, this is the third day this week you haven't turned in any homework," Mrs. Lewis said.

"I know. I'm really sorry," Quinn said. "I've just been really busy and fell a little behind. You know I don't normally do this."

"I know that which is why I'm concerned."

"I'll have it all to you tomorrow, I promise," Quinn said.

"I hope so, Quinn," Mrs. Lewis said.

Rachel had heard enough and scurried away before she was caught listening at the door. Why wasn't Quinn doing her homework? Rachel suddenly felt like she and Quinn hadn't talked in weeks. She turned the corner to head to the choir room determined to get to the bottom of this.

When Quinn had packed her bag and left, Mrs. Lewis decided that she would help her student out. Quinn was one of the brightest in the class and she didn't want her falling behind for any reason. The teacher went to her computer and pulled up Quinn's file. She'd help the girl get the nudge she needed to make sure she got her work in. Picking up her phone, she dialed a number and waited for it to be received on the other end.

"Hello."

"Hello, Mrs. Fabray. This is Melanie Lewis; I'm Quinn's biology teacher. I was hoping I could speak with you for a moment."

Rachel raised her hand to speak almost as soon as Mr. Schuester walked through the door to begin glee practice. He ignored it at first, thinking that she might be preparing an outburst because she was still upset with him. But then again, she normally didn't raise her hand before an outburst.

"Yes, Rachel?"

"Mr. Schuester, I hope we will be able to discuss Sectionals with you today because I have an idea I would like to discuss with everyone," she said.

"Actually guys, we can't today," he told them. There was a round of groans and questions but he held his hands up to silence them and moved on. "Principal Figgins just told me he wants to hold an assembly this Friday, which is what?"

"Halloween," the children chorused, knowing where this was going.

"Right! And he asked us to put together a few Halloween songs for the occasion and we need to get started right away."

"But can't we just talk about Sectionals for a few minutes?" Rachel asked.

"Sorry, not today. We don't have much time to prepare for Friday," Mr. Schue said. "But all of you keep thinking of ideas on your own and we'll get to them. Now, any ideas for Halloween songs? I know I assigned this to you last week."

As the kids piled out of the choir room at the end of rehearsal, Mr. Schue asked Rachel to wait around so they could talk.

"Rachel, are you ok? You were so upset when you left here yesterday. I hope you know how sorry I am."

"I'm ok now," Rachel said. "My mother and I worked it out. And I'm working on having my faith in you restored. I really thought you understood me a little better this year. And I know you saw how happy I was to be with Shelby."

"Rachel, I made a mistake," he told her. "I was worried about you, but for all the wrong reasons. And I hope you can forgive me."

"I do forgive you, Mr. Schue," Rachel said. "I just need some time."

"Of course. Just remember that I'm always here if you need anything."

"So is my mom," Rachel said.

She left him standing alone in the room and made her way towards Quinn's locker.

"Hey," Rachel greeted.

"Hi."

"I was planning on hanging around for a while and working on my homework in the library if you'd like to stay and work with me," Rachel said. "You know, just to get it out of the way."

"Umm, sure," Quinn agreed.

"Great."

As the pair made their way towards the library, Quinn spent the whole walk texting someone. She told Rachel it was Santana when the girl asked. Rachel found them a table in a quiet corner and spread some of her books out. Quinn did the same but was still more interested in her phone than anything else. Rachel had some hope that Quinn had finally finished talking when they went for a stretch of fifteen minutes without the phone buzzing. They were both getting work done and Rachel hoped Quinn was making progress, but the phone went off again and broke both of their concentrations.

"Will you watch my stuff for a second?" Quinn asked. "I've got run to the restroom."

"Sure," Rachel answered and watched as Quinn got up and took her phone with her.

Twenty minutes passed until Rachel finally decided to go and look for her. She left their books there so no one would steal their table, though considering she was the only where there besides the librarians, she doubted there wasn't much of a chance of that. She checked the restroom first to make sure Quinn really wasn't there and then headed to the choir room because that's where she had seen them before.

Sure enough, there was Quinn and Sam sitting in the same corner in the same manner doing more kissing than talking. Rachel only watched for a couple of seconds before making her way back to the library. She thought about calling Quinn and reminding her that she had homework that needed to be completed, but she nixed that idea. She didn't want to be seen as a mother hen that ruined their fun. And maybe she had found her way of proving to Quinn how sorry she was. She could help her out right now and then Quinn would believe it was because she wanted to and not because she was being forced to.

Rachel sat down at the side of the table Quinn had occupied and started to sort through her books and papers to find out what exactly Quinn had to do for each class and figure out just how far behind she was. She quickly shot off a text message to Shelby to let her know they would be home later and got to work.

Three and a half hours later when the librarian approached her to tell her she needed to leave now because they were closing; Rachel asked for and received five more minutes so she could finish up a couple more questions for their biology class. She had done her best to mimic Quinn's handwriting, a skill she was pretty adept at, but it had slowed her process some. Her hand was aching from all the writing when she finally closed all of the books and repacked both of their book bags. But she had done it. Quinn was caught up in every class.

Rachel was just stepping up onto the porch at her house when Quinn pulled into the driveway. Rachel walked in and put their bags down by the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water and took a long sip. Shelby and Beth were sitting at the kitchen table and both looked at her curiously. Quinn came running in a few seconds later and tried to read Rachel and Shelby to see if the girl had said anything to her mom.

"Quinn," Shelby said as she got up and started to strap Beth into her highchair. "I got a call from your mom today asking me to speak with you about something."

"Oh?" Quinn questioned.

"Yes, it seemed she got a call from your biology teacher Mrs. Lewis who told her that you haven't turned in any of your homework all week," Shelby said as she came over to stand by the girls.

"She did?" Quinn tried to play innocent.

"She did," Shelby confirmed. "Your mom also said that she tried to call you a few times this afternoon and you never answered."

"She did?" Quinn questioned again. "I, umm-"

"She had her phone silenced while we were in the library," Rachel answered. "There's nothing worse than someone's phone ringing off the hook while they're in the library working."

"I see," Shelby said. "So what's going on with your homework? How far behind are you? And why?" Shelby was the image of no nonsense and Quinn had not expected to be caught and so she had nothing planned for this.

"She's not behind at all," Rachel answered. "Are you sure Mrs. Fabray heard right? She's even got everything for tomorrow finished already."

Both Quinn and Shelby turned to look at Rachel; Shelby suspiciously and Quinn wide eyed and confused. When Shelby looked to Quinn for her reaction all she could do was nod her agreement with Rachel.

"Look and see," Rachel said. She bent down and opened Quinn's book bag and pulled out her biology binder and handed it to Shelby. Shelby flipped through the pages and let Rachel point out all of the work, including the next day's assignment. "We worked on it together in the library."

Shelby looked back and forth between the girls and could read them like a book. Rachel was pure innocence and helpfulness. She was putting on a show and never wavering from her character. Quinn was a bundle of nerves and confusion and only just grasping the fact that her friend had completed all of her homework and was now saving her. Shelby was not born yesterday and saw right through this charade. Though the weather was cooler, Rachel had come through the door sweating from a walk carrying two bags and needing something to drink while Quinn had come through looking as though she'd just stepped from a comfortable car. Quinn didn't have any answers while Rachel had them all and yet Shelby couldn't bring herself to call them on it. At least not yet.

"Good," Shelby finally said. "Quinn, I guess you should call your mom and explain to her the mix up."

"Can you do that?" Quinn asked her.

"No, I think you should," Shelby replied.

"Ok," Quinn nodded even as she was deciding to not call her mom tonight.

"Ok. Then why don't you two go upstairs and get ready for dinner. It shouldn't be too much longer," Shelby said.

Quinn took her binder from Shelby and grabbed her bag and took off. Rachel took another sip of her water and then kissed her mom on the cheek before grabbing her bag and following after Quinn. Shelby just smiled and shook her head as she turned back to Beth. She had to laugh at Beth's serious expression, one that looked so much like the one Quinn always wore, and said, "Don't worry, honey. We'll tell them later that we know."

Rachel went to her room first and dropped her bag by her desk and then went back to Quinn's room. By the time she got there Quinn already had her books and binders out and was looking through them to try and figure out what Rachel had done.

"You did it all?" Quinn said looking up at her friend. "For every class?"

"Yes," Rachel answered.

"Why?" Quinn asked. "How did you even know?"

"I overheard Mrs. Lewis asking you why you hadn't turned anything in," Rachel said. "I went looking for you after lunch and saw you with Sam in the choir room and then I figured out that's where you disappeared to while we were working this afternoon. You must really like him to ignore all of your work. I've been trying all day to figure out how to make it up to you so you would know that I really am sorry for how I acted the other night and I thought this would be a good way. Now you don't have to worry about trying to get caught up and still find time to hang out with Sam."

"Rachel, I don't know what to say," Quinn said. "Thank you so much."

"You do believe me, right? That I'm sorry?"

"Yes, of course. I believed you last night but my mouth decided it would say something stupid instead," Quinn answered. "I'm sorry for what I said. I had no right. I tried to tell you last night but I didn't know what to say. And then my mom called me and so I asked her for advice and she lectured me instead."

"You told your mom?" Rachel asked.

Oh god, Quinn chastised herself. Quinn shut her eyes for a second and then opened them slowly to look at Rachel and try and get a read of her expression. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I thought she could help me."

"It's alright, Quinn," Rachel shrugged it off. "My mom told me it's not the end of the world."

"My mom said the same thing. Unless I tell anyone else and then she said it'll be the end of my world," Quinn said. "But I promise I won't, Rachel."

"I believe you."

"And I'm sorry."

"I know, Quinn. I can tell that you are."

"So…are you ok?"

"Yeah," Rachel answered. "I hope I finished everything and got it all right," she switched subjects back to the homework and Quinn understood.

"It looks great," Quinn said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Rachel answered.

Quinn stepped forward and pulled Rachel into a hug and Rachel returned the friendly gesture. Both were glad to have the tension between them melt away.

"Girls," they heard Shelby call out. "Come down for dinner. Now, please."

"Oh my god," Quinn said when she stepped back from the hug.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"I can't believe you lied to Shelby about my homework," Quinn said. "After everything that has happened in the last couple of days."

Rachel waved her off as she headed for the door. "It's ok. I don't think she figured it out."

After dinner, Rachel talked her way out of doing the dishes went to her room so she could finish her own homework which she had to put to the side when she had started on Quinn's. Shelby gave Beth a bath while Quinn did the dishes. She had volunteered after Rachel asked to be excused from it. Quinn figured she owed Rachel at least that much.

Rachel was reading through her History book when she heard a knock at her door and Shelby call out, "Hey, Rach?"

"Come in," Rachel said.

"I was just seeing what you were up to," Shelby said as she came into the room carrying the freshly bathed Beth. "You disappeared after dinner."

"I, uhh, just had some homework to finish up," Rachel said, not looking over at Shelby.

"Really? You were at school pretty late today and you didn't get it all done?" Shelby said. "Quinn was able to get all of hers done in that time."

"Quinn was just able to work faster than I was," Rachel said. "I think I had more homework than her for tonight."

"Why is that?" Shelby asked. "Was there something else going on today after school that you were participating in?"

"No," Rachel shook her head.

"Were you distracted by something? Or someone?" Shelby asked. "Is there something you want to talk about, honey?"

"No," Rachel said quickly. "Everything is fine."

"What was the distraction today, Rachel?" Shelby asked, hiding her amusement. This was fun. "Is it a boy?"

"Yes," Rachel said without thinking. "No. I mean, no. No boy. Not for me. Nope. I wasn't distracted at all. Just slow." She went back to reading her history book, hoping that this would be the end of the talk.

"Well if you're sure," Shelby said.

"I am," Rachel insisted.

"Then I'll let you get back to work."

Rachel kept her eyes on the page, though she wasn't really reading, until Shelby had left the room and closed the door behind her. That's when she let out a long breath and muttered, "She knows." Rachel dropped her head to her desk dramatically and shut her eyes.

Quinn had just finished wiping down the countertops when Shelby and Beth entered the kitchen and took a seat at the table. "The kitchen looks great, Quinn."

"Thanks," Quinn replied. "I actually just finished up so I'm going to go on upstairs and-"

"Why don't you sit and talk with me for a minute," Shelby said.

Quinn turned back to look at the woman and hesitated as she tried to come up with any excuse she could to get away. She finally gave in and sat down and held out hand which Beth happily took.

"I wanted to tell you that you've done a good job with your homework and I'm sorry your teacher confused you with another student," Shelby said. "It happens, I'm afraid. But you clearly have been right on top of things the whole time. I'd be more than happy to call your teacher or go in and see her to explain the mix up."

"No," Quinn said. "You don't need to do that. It's fine; just a mistake. There's no need for you to trouble yourself."

"Ok," Shelby agreed. "I'm just glad that you've been using your time wisely and getting your work done because Rachel is up there still finishing all of hers because apparently she didn't get any of it done after school today."

Quinn looked away guiltily as Shelby praised her while saying Rachel needed to do better.

"I just can't imagine what she was doing all that time while you worked," Shelby continued. "I asked her what had been distracting her, but she wouldn't tell me. Do you know, Quinn?"

Quinn shook her head no.

"I thought maybe it was a boy," Shelby said, "but she denied it."

"Why would you think it was a boy?" Quinn asked. "It could be anything…like glee club or music or other friends. You know, anything. If she was distracted at all, which I don't think she was. If she says she wasn't," Quinn said. She silently chided herself for sounding so stupid while trying to protect her friend. And herself for that matter.

"Because if it was a boy," Shelby said, sidestepping Quinn's rambling, "I'd hate to see her put herself in a position where she wasn't allowed to see him simply because she started ignoring her schoolwork. I'm sure your mother would feel the same way, Quinn, if it were you. Don't you think?"

Quinn nodded dumbly at her.

"I might call her and ask her advice on the situation, as a matter of fact," Shelby said.

"Oh," was all Quinn managed to get out.

"But you wanted to get upstairs," Shelby said, changing the subject so quickly it caught Quinn off guard.

"Right," Quinn said as she hastily got to her feet after Shelby stood up. "I'm going to go upstairs."

"Oh and Quinn," Shelby said, stopping the girl who turned back to look at her. "Maybe you could go up there and help Rachel with her homework. I'm sure she could use a friend right now who is willing to help her out of a jam."

Quinn understood and gave a tiny smile as she matched Shelby's serious tone, "Yes, Ma'am."

Quinn quickly made her way up the stairs and burst into Rachel's room, startling the girl and causing her to write a line across her paper when she jumped.

"Quinn," Rachel admonished. "I need to get this finished before my mom comes back." Rachel turned to look at her friend and let her voice get low and serious. "She knows, Quinn."

"I know," the blonde concurred.

They quickly compared stories and tried to measure the amount of trouble they might be in with Shelby. It was Quinn who declared that they might be ok.

"I think she took too much joy out of getting me to ramble like an idiot to then come and punish us now," Quinn said.

"You? I couldn't even look at her," Rachel said.

The two girls took a moment to think on it and then burst into peals of laughter as they again began to recount the experience, this time from the point of view of what Shelby might possibly have been thinking.

Shelby sat with Beth in the nursery and listened to the older girls laughing and couldn't help but laugh herself. She knew she had gotten her point across to them and, truth be told, she was delighted to hear them laughing again. It felt like it had been ages since the girls spent an evening together without any of the drama and tension.

"I hope you were paying attention to all of that, Beth," Shelby said to the child in her arms. "It's not so easy to pull one over on your dear old mom."

She helped Beth stand on her lap and the baby looked at her solemnly for a few moments before a smile lit up her tiny face and she babbled as if to say, 'don't worry, Mom, I can be sneakier than Rachel.' Somehow Shelby didn't doubt it.

**A/N – I hope you guys liked this one. Please leave me a review and let me know. **


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N – Here's the next chapter. I just set out to have a little bit of fun with this one so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing. I really enjoyed it. **

**Also, I'm thinking I might end this one after the next few chapters. I want to write more within this universe and with these characters, but I'm not sure if I should keep it within this story or if I should write a whole new one as a sequel. It's something I've been thinking about all week and I finally decided I would put a note here and see what people thought. So, thoughts?**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Shelby spent the day before Halloween shopping for pumpkins to carve up later that night. Normally she would have picked up one sooner and had it already out on her porch, but the time got away from her this year and so she was out doing some last minute shopping. She got three good sized pumpkins, of the ones that were left, so that there would be one for herself as well as Quinn and Rachel. She found a pumpkin costume for Beth and she was certain that her child would be the cutest baby ever to wear such an outfit. She was already anticipating the pictures she would be able to take.

Rachel and Quinn were staying late at school working on last minute preparation for the zombie costumes they had all decided on for the assembly the following day. Rachel didn't especially care for zombies and had agreed only after it was made clear that she would in fact be an undead Broadway star. That was something she could get onboard with and had even created a back story and traits for her character. It was all in her imagination, of course, but that was part of what made Rachel who she was. While others were just dressing up, Rachel was creating a character.

The late afternoon sun hung in the sky when the girls got home that day and Shelby was already working on dinner. Rachel and Quinn found Shelby and Beth dancing around the kitchen while Shelby sang and the casserole baked in the oven. Beth was squealing with delight and Shelby's smile lit up the room. Shelby stopped dancing when she noticed the girls watching her and welcomed them home.

"How did your costumes turn out?" Shelby asked them. Beth held her arms out for Rachel and the girl complied by dropping her bag by the door and taking her little sister.

"They should be good," Quinn said. "We're only doing one song, but it should be fun."

"I'm excited to see it."

"You're going to come and watch?" Rachel asked.

"Of course. Beth and I will be there with bells on," Shelby told her. "Well Beth will be dressed as a pumpkin and I'll be dressed as Shelby."

"You're dressing her as a pumpkin?" Rachel asked. "Out of all the cute costumes that are available, you chose a pumpkin?"

"What's wrong with it?" Shelby said. "You're going to be adorable, aren't you, Beth?" Beth agreed. When was she not adorable? "Oh, and speaking of pumpkins, I got us some to carve up tonight. There's one for each of us. That's why I've got dinner on so early; I want us to have time later."

"Really?" Quinn asked. "I love Halloween but I haven't gotten the chance to carve up a pumpkin in a few years."

"They're right over there," Shelby said, pointing to the counter behind her.

Rachel scrunched up her nose to show her displeasure. "You two can have fun with that. Quinn, you can carve two because I'm not doing one."

"What?" Shelby asked. "Why?"

"Because pumpkins are gross," Rachel said. "I've never liked them. I helped my dad one time when I was little and didn't like it so I never did it again."

It was then that Shelby recalled her conversation with the Berry men when she first received custody of Rachel. They had rattled off some of the girl's likes and dislikes and pumpkin carving was on the dislike list. Shelby thought that perhaps she could get Rachel to change her mind, but Quinn was beating her to that very task.

"What's so gross about it?" Quinn asked. "Who doesn't like carving pumpkins?"

"I don't," Rachel answered easily. "I don't like the pumpkin guts. They completely gross me out."

"But you haven't done it since you were little," Quinn argued. "You should try it again and see if your opinion has changed."

"No thanks," Rachel said. "Beth and I will sit this one out. But you guys have fun." Rachel and Beth left the room and headed up the stairs while Shelby and Quinn stood there in shock.

"Who doesn't like carving pumpkins?" Quinn asked again.

Rachel and Beth entered the older girl's room so she could change out of her school clothes. She smiled fondly down at Beth snuggling against her owl sweater before laying the girl down on the floor and sitting down next to her for a moment.

"Pumpkins are gross, Beth. I'm sorry Mom has decided to dress you like one for your very first Halloween," Rachel said as she lightly tickled the baby's stomach. "Though I have to agree that you'll be very cute. But that's just because you're very cute anyway and will have nothing to do with the gourd costume you'll be forced to wear."

Beth kicked her feet and smiled at Rachel before deciding enough was enough and rolling over to her stomach. She was getting very close to actually crawling and now seemed like a good a time as any to get some practice in. Rachel kept a close eye on her while she changed her clothes and threw her hair up in a pony tail. Rachel then laid on the floor in front of the baby and encouraged her to crawl to her. Beth didn't do anything except rock on her hands and knees and babble to Rachel.

"Beth, you need to start crawling," Rachel told her. "The sooner you start walking the sooner you can start your dance lessons. You'll be great, I know it." Beth reached her hand out to Rachel, but that was all the big sister could get out of her.

"Is she crawling?" Shelby said when she poked her head in the room to tell Rachel that dinner was ready. "Why didn't you call me up here? I need to get my camera."

"Mom, relax. She's not crawling; she's just teasing me," Rachel said.

"Oh," Shelby said as she came fully into the room. She had been ready to dash off and get the camera. She had seriously contemplated carrying it around everywhere with her so she didn't miss anything. They watched the baby for a few more moments and when it was clear she wasn't going to crawl, Shelby scooped her up and said, "Dinner's ready. Let's go eat."

After dinner the entire family found themselves on the porch preparing to carve up the pumpkins. Shelby and Quinn were comparing the faces they had designed and Rachel's pumpkin sat off to the side untouched. Rachel was using Shelby's camera to take some pictures and occasionally Shelby would take it and snap one of her daughters.

"Rach, what do you want done with your pumpkin?" Shelby asked her after she finished outlining the scary face on her own.

"Nothing. I would like to leave it intact as a protest and stark reminder of the cruelty millions of pumpkins suffer every year at the hands of eager and harsh humans who feel the need to impose their jack-o-lantern wills on the helpless and peaceful species."

Quinn stared at her and Shelby rolled her eyes at her daughter's dramatics. Only Beth seemed to agree with Rachel and she patted the older girl's hand in response.

"Well, I'll figure out some face for it and carve it up so it doesn't go to waste," Shelby said. "We'll roast the seeds and maybe make a few pies."

"You know how to do that?" Rachel asked. She knew her mother knew how to cook but Rachel had never known anyone who could actually make a pumpkin pie. People normally just bought them.

"Sure," Shelby said. "I'll teach you."

"What do you think of that face?" Quinn asked as she held her pumpkin up for them to see. She had drawn on the face she planned to carve out.

"It looks like a skull," Rachel said.

"Awesome," Quinn answered. "That's what I was going for."

Shelby and Quinn made quick work out of cutting off the tops and began scooping the pumpkin innards out and into a bowl.

"Rachel look," Quinn teased and she held up her spoon with the pumpkin pulp hanging from either side. She held close to Rachel in a faux menacing manner. "Oooh," she said like a ghost would.

"Quinn, don't you dare," Rachel said sternly. "You keep the pumpkin guts over there on that side of the porch. Beth and I would like to remain pumpkin free."

"I can't believe you don't like this," Quinn said as she deposited the pulp into the bowl.

"It's just gross and slimy and it smells funny and your hand is turning orange," Rachel said. "There's no law stating that I have to like carving up pumpkins."

"But it's fun," Quinn said.

"Ok. I'm glad you're having fun," Rachel said.

Quinn pouted for a second and Rachel huffed in her seat before turning to look out towards the sun that was just starting to set. She wrapped her arms more snugly around Beth and really felt the chill that was in the air. It had been unseasonably warm for the past few weeks and they had been enjoying it, but the cooler air was coming earlier an earlier now. She looked back at Quinn and could see that the girl was shaking her head at the idea that Rachel didn't like pumpkin carving. Rachel didn't understand what the big deal was. If she wanted to participate she would, but since she didn't want to, why try and force her and make her feel bad? It was just a pumpkin, not anything important.

"How long will this take?" Rachel asked after a few minutes.

"Do you have a hot date?" Shelby asked.

"No. Quinn, do you?" Rachel asked, smirking at her. Quinn and Sam hadn't been able to keep their secret very long and the relationship was the new gossip of the glee club.

"Not that I would tell you about," Quinn snarked back. "Besides, I told Sam that it would be easier for me to sneak out of my house rather than Shelby's so we should wait a few days."

Shelby stopped mid-cut and snapped her head up to look at Quinn.

"Kidding," Quinn told her smiling broadly.

"I suppose you're right, Quinn," Rachel chimed in. "Though I don't think it would be all that hard here either."

Shelby's narrow-eyed glare turned on Rachel and her daughter just wore a grin that matched Quinn's.

"Kidding, of course, Mom," Rachel said sweetly.

Shelby just glared back and forth between them a couple times, giving them each a silent warning, and then went back to her pumpkin. Rachel and Quinn shared a smile before the blonde got back to work as well.

It was another ten minutes before Rachel spoke up again. "Are you almost done? I didn't think it would take a year when I said I would sit out here with you guys."

"Stop whining," Shelby told her.

Rachel turned her petulant stare back to the yard and changed her focus to their upcoming Sectionals competition. Her ideas would need some work, no question, but she really thought they could pull it off. That is, if the team liked her ideas. She hoped other people would come up with specifics as well, but she wasn't sure how many actually would.

"Rachel, look at my pumpkin," Quinn said, pulling Rachel from her thoughts.

Rachel turned her head back to them and was startled to find Quinn standing right next to her. She shrieked a bit when she realized a moment too late that the object in Quinn's hands was not her carved pumpkin, but rather a handful of the pumpkin guts. Before she could react, Rachel felt the slimy, gross orange pulp on the top of her head. It was hanging down in her face and she shook her head the try and get it off, but it was staying firmly in its spot. She heard Quinn's laugh and noticed that her friend had played the same prank on Beth, but with a smaller amount. Both girls sat pumpkin guts slipping down their heads and Shelby was able to capture a picture of them with identical pouts before Rachel jumped into action and angrily got to her feet.

"Quinn Fabray! Why would you do that?" Rachel demanded. The girl ducked her head to one side and most of the pulp slide off and onto the floor of the porch. Beth wasn't nearly as upset and she simply reached up to her head and grabbed a handful and immediately tried to put it in her mouth. Shelby quickly put her camera down and stepped over to Rachel and Beth and stopped the baby from trying to eat the pulp.

"Just a little prank, Rachel," Quinn said with a devious smile as she sat back down to finish up her pumpkin.

Rachel stamped her foot and looked to her mother for help. She pointed at Quinn as if to say, 'do something,' but Shelby's only comment was, "There goes one of my pies."

Rachel looked around for a second and spotted her revenge. She quickly grabbed her mother's unopened water bottle and began pouring it over Quinn's head.

"Rachel!" Quinn squealed as she got to her feet, but not until after the whole bottle had been dumped on her head. "Shelby," Quinn tried next, hoping the woman was ready to offer up a reprimand to her daughter.

Shelby shook her head. Rachel deserved to get her payback. "Come inside when you're done," she said to them as she took Beth from Rachel's arms so she could get her cleaned up.

The two girls stared at each other for a few long moments before Rachel smiled and said, "You should have seen your face. 'Rachel!'" she imitated.

"Me?" Quinn asked incredulously. "Yours was just as bad," Quinn said with a laugh.

"I bet so," Rachel conceded. "I really hate pumpkins."

"Truce?" Quinn asked reaching her hand out to shake.

"Truce," Rachel agreed and shook her hand. Quinn shivered involuntarily from the cold water and the cold air. "Come on, I've got to get the rest of this pumpkin off of me."

While the girls were getting cleaned up, Shelby took care of the porch and set the two carved pumpkins out for display with lights. She brought the pumpkin that was to be Rachel's inside and carved it in the kitchen while a freshly bathed Beth watched from her perch in her high chair. Shelby carved a sad face that matched the one Rachel had worn when she realized there was pumpkin on her head. Beth had banged on her tray when Shelby asked if she liked it and the woman had taken that as positive feedback. She set it out for display and made some hot chocolate for all of them so it would be ready when the girls returned.

The assembly had gone off without a hitch the following day and all of New Directions had sufficiently fawned over Beth dressed as a pumpkin. Shelby took a ton of pictures of the kids in their zombie costumes and promised them all that Rachel would email the pictures to everyone. Mr. Schue took the chance to watch Shelby interacting with the kids and he could immediately see and understand their affection for the woman. Granted, she wasn't coaching at the moment, but he could tell they respected her a great deal and he had the feeling that Shelby knew how to get through to all of them. He was glad he'd made the decision to allow the woman to help out in their upcoming competitions.

"I want to do something for my mom tonight," Rachel said to Quinn on their way home from school. "Since she came and watched us today."

"I was trying to think of something too," Quinn said. "As a thank you for letting me stay for so long. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could make her a cake or something," Rachel said.

"Like actually bake it? You?"

"I can bake," Rachel said. "I know how to make cookies."

"And?"

"Nothing. But a cake can't be that much different than cookies," Rachel argued. "Besides, you'll be there. And you can cook."

"Yeah," Quinn agreed.

"And since it's Halloween we could make it using Halloween colors like green and orange and black," Rachel said. It'll probably be a lot of fun. And tonight's the perfect night because she's got a meeting with the parents of one of the kids she does voice lessons with. Apparently this is the only time they were available. And Beth is too young to go trick-or-treating so I told my mom I'd watch her for a few hours. I didn't know what you had going on tonight."

"Nothing," Quinn answered. "Sam is taking his younger siblings out and I didn't even acknowledge the party invitations I received."

"I guess you're stuck with Beth and I then."

Quinn changed their course so they could stop at the grocery store and pick up the ingredients they needed to make Shelby a Halloween cake. As soon as the woman was out the door for her meeting, the girls got to work. It had been decided that the chocolate cake part would be green and the icing would be orange. And they picked up a tube of black icing to write with so they could scrawl a message on the cake when it was done.

Beth sat in her high chair munching on cheerios while Quinn and Rachel tried to work the batter together.

"I don't think it's green enough," Rachel said.

"Should we add some more food coloring?" Quinn asked.

"I think so." Rachel opened up the bottle of green coloring and poured some more into their batter while Quinn continued to stir. "Ok, I guess that should do it."

"I hope so; we need to get it in the oven so it can cook before your mom gets home," Quinn said. Not to mention the fact that they needed some time to clean up the mess they'd left in the kitchen. "Rachel, you did pre-heat the oven, didn't you?"

"I thought you did," Rachel said. She'd completely forgotten about the oven, even after Quinn had reminded her of it twenty minutes ago.

"Rachel," Quinn said, exasperated.

"Sorry."

Quinn turned the oven on so it could heat up and then left the kitchen to run to the restroom. Rachel took the opportunity to add some more food coloring and stir the batter some more.

"Do you want to try some, Beth?" Rachel asked her baby sister. Beth was ready and willing.

Rachel found a spoon and scooped a small amount onto it and fed it to the baby. Beth's eyes lit up from the sweet taste and she opened her mouth and banged the tray indicating she wanted some more.

"I'll take it that you like it," Rachel said with a laugh as she gave the little girl some more.

The phone started to ring just then and Rachel set the large bowl of batter down on the tray of the high chair instead of turning back to put it on the counter. It was a natural reaction and Rachel didn't even think about the consequences. Phone rings, set bowl down, go answer phone. But Beth was delighted.

"Hello?" Beth heard Rachel say from the living room.

She grabbed for the bowl immediately and tried to reach inside. She pulled down on it and was soon successful in spilling it on its side and all over her. The green batter ran down her chest and legs and arms and soon Beth was scooping up handfuls and bringing them to her mouth. Deciding that perhaps her little hands were not holding enough of the sweet mixture, Beth dipped her whole face into the bowl. When she sat back up she had batter covering her face and she was trying to eat as much of it as possible.

"No, I'm sorry she's not here. Can I take a message?" Rachel asked the phone.

The nearly empty bowl slipped from Beth's grasp and fell to the floor with a loud clang. The remaining batter went everywhere and soon there were green splotches all over the floor and the cabinets. It simply helped to add to the effect of baking disarray and blended nicely with spilled flour and cracked eggs and other ingredients that had been left on the counters and were to be cleaned while the cake was cooking.

"Ok, bye," Rachel concluded the short conversation and returned to the kitchen.

Her jaw dropped when the turned the corner into the room. Beth was happily stirring the batter around on her tray which only helped to put more on the floor and on her.

"What was that noise?" Quinn asked as she stepped into the kitchen. "Oh my god! What happened?"

"I was only gone for a second," Rachel said. "The phone rang and I put the bowl down… I was only gone for a second."

"We've got to get her cleaned up," Quinn said.

"Don't worry. We've got time," Rachel said. "We'll just get her in the bath and wipe down all of the counters."

"And floors and cabinets and the high chair," Quinn added. "I can't believe you left her alone with the batter."

"I'm sorry!" Rachel said. "You don't think we have time to start another cake, do you?" The look on Quinn's face told her no, she didn't think there was time. "I bet it would have been good. Beth sure seems to be enjoying it."

Quinn rolled her eyes and then stepped into the kitchen to get to work. Rachel took the tray away and unstrapped Beth and held her at arm's length so she would get as little of the batter on herself as possible.

"Look how cute she looks," Rachel said.

Quinn stopped what she was doing and came over to admire the baby. Even covered from head to toe in the green mess, Beth was still very adorable.

"We should take some pictures!" Rachel said.

Quinn agreed and left to go and get Shelby's camera. She snapped a few pictures and Beth and Rachel both smiled broadly for her. When Rachel felt Beth getting slippery from the batter, she gave in and held the baby close and didn't even mind so much when her t-shirt ended up covered in green. Beth rubbed her hands on Rachel's face leaving green streaks before patting her own stomach again and covering her hands with green again.

"You look like the Wicked Witch of the West," Rachel commented and Quinn laughed. "That would have been a much better costume than that silly old pumpkin Mom made you wear." Rachel tickled Beth's ribs a little bit and the baby laughed.

Rachel started the sing the Wicked Witch's theme from the classic movie. She was on a second go-round when she turned and then abruptly stopped the song when she saw Shelby standing in the doorway of the kitchen with her hands on her hips. Wicked Witch indeed.

"Mom," Rachel sputtered out.

Quinn spun around and saw the woman and took a couple of steps off to the side. Oh, shit.

"I thought… your meeting. We weren't expecting you so early," Rachel said.

"Clearly," Shelby said. "What is going on here? Why is my baby covered in green…what is it?"

"Quinn and I," Rachel said; she wasn't taking the fall for this alone, "wanted to do something for you. We were making you a cake. A green one for Halloween. But Beth kind of got a hold of the batter."

"Kind of?" Shelby said. "It looks like she went swimming in it."

"We're getting it all cleaned up," Rachel assured her.

Just then the oven beeped and all eyes turned towards it. "It finished pre-heating," Quinn supplied.

Shelby sighed and shrugged out of her coat and went and hung it by the door. So much for a relaxing night of handing out candy and spooking little kids.

"Quinn, for starters, turn off the oven because you two certainly don't need it anymore," Shelby instructed. "And Rachel, take her upstairs and get her out of that mess and into the tub."

Beth had taken a moment from snacking on the batter to reach her arms out towards Shelby. She didn't care if she was a huge mess; she wanted her mom to hold her now.

"She wants you, Mom," Rachel said, inching her way towards Shelby.

"Oh no you don't," Shelby said. "Go on upstairs and neither of you touch anything along the way."

"But look at that face," Rachel teased. She got closer to Shelby and held Beth out to her.

"Rachel, I'm serious. We do not need to make and even bigger mess-" she was cut off when Rachel plopped Beth in her arms and she had no choice but to take her.

Shelby glared at Rachel who just started to laugh in response as the batter squished into Shelby's shirt. Beth reached a green hand up and touched Shelby's cheek and when she removed it there was a perfect tiny green handprint in its place.

"Aww," Rachel cooed. "That's cute."

Rachel touched her left hand to her shirt to get more green batter on it and then reached out and touched Shelby's other cheek. Quinn quickly grabbed the camera and captured the image of Shelby smiling adoringly at Rachel while the girl's hand was still on her cheek. Beth was in Shelby's right arm and the baby's tiny handprint could be seen in the picture. Quinn smiled at the view screen because of the perfect timing of it all. An odd sense of déjà vu washed over Shelby and her mind flashed to a smaller Rachel and a similar green handprint. Rachel noticed her mother's eyes go far away for a moment and her smile faltered some because she had no idea what the woman was thinking about. Shelby noticed the change in Rachel's expression and leaned forward and placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

The moment was broken up by a knock at the door and Rachel's smile had returned by the time Shelby sent her off to answer it. Shelby then made her way to Quinn because the blonde wanted to show her the pictures she had taken. Both of their heads were bent over the camera when Judy Fabray stepped into the room with Rachel.

"Quinnie," Judy said.

Quinn's head snapped up and she smiled at her mom and went to hug her, the pictures forgotten. "Hi, Mom." Judy hugged her tightly in return and Shelby smiled at Rachel who returned it as she stepped over to stand by her mom.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked. "I didn't think you'd be home until tomorrow."

"Your grandmother is settled and healing nicely and I thought I'd get an early start home and surprise you," Judy said.

"I'm glad you did," Quinn said. "I've missed you."

"And I missed you," Judy said. "But what happened in here?" She looked around at the disaster area and the other occupants of the room who were covered in green.

"Rachel happened in here," Quinn answered. Rachel huffed, offended and both adults laughed.

"It wasn't just me," Rachel said. "You were cooking as well."

"Yes, I know," Quinn conceded. "Someone had to crack the eggs."

"But don't worry about it now, Quinn," Shelby said. "Rachel and I can clean it up because I know you two will want to get some time together."

"Nonsense," Judy answered even as Quinn started to smile. "She most certainly will help clean up."

Quinn sagged her shoulders a bit and made her way back into the kitchen to help. Judy winked at Shelby and both women laughed.

It took a while, but eventually the kitchen was returned to its clean state and Beth was bathed and fed something a little healthier than the cake batter she'd munched on earlier. Rachel had helped Quinn pack while Shelby and Judy spent the time catching up and drinking coffee.

"I can't thank you enough," Judy said to her friend. "I would have been so worried about her being alone in that house."

"It was my pleasure," Shelby answered. "And I know the feeling."

"I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"Not too much," Shelby said with a laugh. "It was an interesting two weeks for sure."

"I heard about a lot of it," Judy said. "And I'm glad to see that things seem to be moving in the right direction."

"It's going to take time, that's for sure," Shelby said. "Rachel starts therapy next week. Or rather she's meeting with a doctor. I promised her that she'd only have to see a doctor she felt comfortable with. Apparently she didn't like the therapist her fathers had hired for her at all. I'm hoping for the best though."

"She'll find the right person to help her," Judy said.

"I know," Shelby answered. "It's so frustrating when you know it can't be you though. I'd give anything to be able to help her not be so afraid."

"Don't say that," Judy said. "You help her every day. And more than any doctor will be able to. I don't even think Rachel's at a point or an age where she could comprehend how much."

"I know," Shelby said. "I know it's going to take time and I'm ready to do whatever it is she needs."

"And she knows that," Judy said. "Deep down, whether she realizes it or knows how to express it, she knows."

"Thank you," Shelby said.

The girls came down the stairs a few minutes later and the goodbyes and thank yous took another fifteen minutes, but eventually it was back to just Shelby, Rachel, and Beth.

"This was the point in the night where I was going to offer to get you a piece of cake," Rachel said once they were back inside and settled, "but that clearly didn't work out."

"Why a cake?" Shelby asked. "Were you two planning to ask me something big and figured you'd sweeten me up first?"

"No," Rachel said. "It was just a thank you cake. To say thanks for coming to watch us today at the assembly. I was really proud to have you there. And Quinn wanted to say thank you for having her here for two weeks."

"It was my pleasure to get to do all of those things," Shelby said. "It made me happy to get to see you perform."

"Really?" Rachel asked in a small voice.

"Of course," Shelby said. She forced Rachel to look at her. "Getting to see you perform is so much more amazing than anything I ever felt while being on stage myself. You light up the whole room. I guarantee you a vast majority of people couldn't take their eyes off of you when you were singing."

Rachel smiled and ducked her head which surprised Shelby because Rachel was not usually one to shy away from praise about her performances. Normally she just agreed.

"I was watching for you the whole time. I got so excited when I spotted you," Rachel said. "It's been a long time since I've had someone in the audience who came for me. I used to pretend at other competitions. I'd pick someone in the audience very early and pretend they were my dad or aunt or maybe a grandma who was there just because I was singing. But now I don't have to pretend anymore. I've got you."

Shelby held back her tears as her eyes shone and she pulled Rachel into a tight hug. "Yes. And I've got you." She squeezed the girl tighter trying to convey the full weight of that tiny sentence. Shelby had her.

It was late the following morning when Shelby made her way up the stairs to the music room to talk with Rachel. The girl had been up there for about an hour picking out songs on the piano. Shelby had just come from her neighbor's house where she had dropped Beth off for a few hours. She had a surprise for her eldest.

"Hey, Rach," Shelby said as she came into the room and stood at the doorway. "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure," Rachel said as she took her hands from the keys and gave her attention to her mom.

"Think fast," Shelby said as she tossed something at her daughter.

Rachel caught the keys easily and stared down at them for a second, confused. And then it hit her!

"Are you serious?"

"Yep."

"Oh my god, this is going to be great. I know I'm fully prepared and that you're going to be really astounded at how well I take it to it. You'll be ready to trust me alone in the car in no time at all." Shelby highly doubted that.

Rachel sprang up from her seat on the piano bench and gave Shelby a hug and kiss all in one motion as she made her way out the door and down the stairs.

"Hurry up, Mom," Rachel called after her. "We've got to go."

Shelby only chuckled as she left the room and followed after her daughter.

**A/N – Please leave me a review. Thanks.  
Full disclosure; I don't have the slightest idea how to make pumpkin pie so just pretend that Shelby does and had everything she needed from those pumpkins.  
**


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N – Thank you guys so much for all of the reviews and messages and for everyone who is setting up alerts and reading and following this. I really do appreciate it. As for the sequel question… The time jump I had in mind for a sequel was a pretty short one because I have more I want to do with them at this age and time frame. I also now have a specific ending spot in mind and will be working towards that, but it's a while off. And who knows, I might bring this universe back one day after I finish. I'll just have to see. But I have included that time jump in this chapter. It's short and it's toward the end, but it's there and I'm giving you a heads up so you don't miss it. Again, thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. If I did, they would have had a set list ready before they got on the plane to go to New York City. I'm just sayin'. **

Shelby parked her SUV in the empty parking lot of the elementary school in her neighborhood and shut it off. Rachel was already out of the car and coming around to the driver's side before Shelby could even get her door open. Rachel was practically bouncing as she waited for her mom to get out and hand over the keys. Why was she going so slowly?

Shelby stood before Rachel and held the keys just out of reach. Rachel gave her a withering stare, but Shelby wasn't fazed.

"You're just going to practice for a while in the parking lot first before we go out on the regular roads," Shelby said.

"I know, Mom," Rachel said. "You've already told me that." She reached out for the keys but Shelby pulled them back a little farther. "Mom."

"And I want you to take your time and really get a feel for what you are doing," Shelby continued. "If you don't feel comfortable than we can wait until you are."

"Mom, please," Rachel said as she held her hand out once again. "Please."

Shelby relented and slowly brought her hand closer until Rachel was able to reach out and snatch them from her hand. The girl was in the car and had the seatbelt buckled before Shelby was able to get around to the passenger side and get in herself. Shelby reached over and made sure Rachel's seatbelt was secure which earned her a "mom" and an eye roll. She buckled her own seatbelt and then stared over at Rachel who was staring impatiently back at her.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Start the car."

That was all Rachel needed to get going and soon the SUV was started and Rachel was gripping the wheel with delight. She then took a moment to adjust the seat forward and move the mirrors while Shelby watched. She realized it wasn't working so far, but she really did want to give Rachel some room to let her figure all of this out. Starting in the parking lot would give her a chance to drive with no one else around so she could get a feel for the pedals and how the car moves. Plus there was nothing she could hit. Except the poles. Oh god, the light poles. Shelby turned her head and looked out her window and surveyed the poles scattered throughout the lot.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"What?" Shelby said as she turned back to look at Rachel. "Nothing." She was calm. She was calm. She was cal-

"I'm going to go now."

"Are you sure? No, I mean ok. Go ahead and put it in reverse and back out slowly."

"Ok," Rachel said as she put her foot on the brake and checked her mirrors and then turned around to look behind her before slowing backing out of the space and stopping.

"Good job, honey!" Shelby said. "You did great."

"Mom, I backed up ten feet in an empty parking lot," Rachel deadpanned.

"Right. I know," Shelby said as she tried to play it off and be cool.

"You know, I would have thought someone as steely and together as Coach Corcoran would have been better at this," Rachel teased. "You're so nervous you're making me nervous."

"Coach Corcoran was never dealing with her own kid," Shelby said as she sat up a little straighter and gave Rachel an indignant look. "And teaching those kids in a show choir was easier than this." Shelby softened her features and looked at Rachel who was now gripping the wheel tighter as she took in Shelby's words. The girl was right; her demeanor was having an effect on Rachel. She's the one who has never done this before. "You're right, Rach, I'm sorry. I'll try and relax. You're doing fine so far. Keep going."

Shelby kept her promise and did relax as Rachel made her way around the parking lot. She followed every instruction perfectly and only had a few slammed brakes and sharp turns. They spent an hour parking and backing up and simulating red lights and turns and stop signs and changing lanes. Shelby had to admit that she was duly impressed. She hadn't expected anything to go this smoothly. Of course they were still in the parking lot, but it was a good achievement for the girl. The effect her words had on the kids around her had always been something that Shelby was acutely aware of while she was coach of Vocal Adrenaline and she was seeing that it was no different during this situation with Rachel. The girl listened to every direction and focused on Shelby's guidance and beamed at her praise. Rachel's excitement was present but not overpowering.

"Can we try to go out on the road now?" Rachel asked as she pulled into another parking spot. "Please. I know I can do it, Mom."

"I know you can too, honey," Shelby said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Can we drive to Quinn's house?"

"I think that's a great idea," Shelby said though her heart was pounding at the thought of her little girl behind the wheel out on the actual street. Those other drivers wouldn't know that this was Rachel's first time. They wouldn't care that she was just starting to learn. Shelby could already see herself wanting to yell at the first person that honked at Rachel.

Shelby went through a quick mental checklist of everything she felt they might need as Rachel moved the car across the parking lot towards the entrance to the road. She had her license and Rachel has her permit and they both had insurance cards, Rachel's being brand new from when Shelby added the girl to her own car insurance earlier in the week. She had both of their medical insurance cards and her cell phone in case there was an accident and she had to call someone. What if she was knocked unconscious and her phone slid under her seat? Rachel would never find it. Shelby hadn't allowed Rachel to bring her own phone and now the girl would have no way to call 911. What if they were both knocked unconscious? She was supposed to get Beth in a few hours. She needed to update her emergency contacts to add the Fabrays since they were there in town and her parents were in Columbus. What if she wasn't awake to make medical decisions for Rachel? What if they couldn't-

"Mom, I did it," Rachel said, interrupting Shelby's thoughts.

Sure enough Shelby looked up from her internal freak out and saw that Rachel had pulled out onto the road was going at a steady thirty-five miles-per-hour.

"It doesn't seem like there are that many people out right now," Rachel said.

"Nope, it doesn't," Shelby said. "You're doing very well."

"Thanks!" Rachel smiled as she turned and looked over at her. Shelby returned the smile but pointed at the road and Rachel quickly snapped her head around and kept her eyes in front of her. So far so good.

Judy was resting on her front step as she took a break from working in her garden when she saw Shelby's SUV pull into her driveway. She stood up to greet them and that's when she noticed that it was Rachel behind the wheel. She glanced back and forth between the two occupants of the car trying to gauge their reactions, but she couldn't really tell from this perspective. Rachel was the first one out of the car and she came bounding up to Judy holding up the keys for her to see.

"I drove over here!" Rachel said as she wrapped her arms around Judy's neck in an enthusiastic hug.

"I see," Judy said. "How'd you do?" She looked at Rachel and then over her shoulder to look at Shelby who was just now making her way up to them.

"Perfect," Rachel answered as if there had ever been any doubt.

"Wonderful," Judy answered. "Quinn's inside somewhere if you want to tell her."

Rachel practically took the door off the hinges with her as she raced into the house. Judy flinched when she heard it slam behind her and waited for Shelby to make it all the way to the porch.

"So how are you, Mom?" Judy asked her friend.

"Fine," Shelby answered, almost shell shocked. "She wasn't kidding. Rachel did really well. She was really good." And then she burst into tears. "She was good. She was fine and I was a nervous wreck."

Judy gave her a knowing smile as she pulled the woman into a hug.

"It'd be easier if she was terrible because then I could tell her she couldn't drive anymore," Shelby said, sniffing as she did. "It figures she'd be ok and not really need me to show her anything. I am not ready for her to be driving alone. I've only had her a couple of months and she's driving already. She's going to graduate before I know it and then she'll be gone. And then Beth will be in school and then she'll be driving. I'm not ready for this, Judy."

Judy laughed lightly and pulled back from their hug. "You're freaking out as Quinn would say. She's only fifteen and she's not going anywhere anytime soon. And when she does leave for college or New York City, you are going to be the one she runs home to."

"But that's only three years," Shelby said. "She's just a baby. She won't be ready for New York City in only three years."

"Were you when you left for school?" Judy asked.

"Of course," Shelby answered. "Or at least I thought I was."

"Was your mother?" Judy asked. "And I can answer that. No, she wasn't. Quinn's sister has lived on her own for six years and I still don't think she is ready."

"Can't I just lock her up and keep her safe until she's forty?" Shelby asked.

"I'm afraid not. But you can be thankful that she's careful behind the wheel and that she's proving herself to be capable and ready," Judy said. "You just have to trust that she can display good judgment."

"And if she can't?" Shelby regretted it as soon as she asked it. She was not trying to remind Judy of Quinn's pregnancy and then being kicked out. It wasn't really a subject that had talked a lot about and Shelby knew that if Quinn had forgiven the woman and could be there than she had no place to judge.

"Then you love her anyway and do the best you can for her," Judy said as she looked directly into Shelby's eyes. "Even if it takes you a while to realize what it is she actually needs as opposed to what you had planned. It can be hard to step up right away but as long as we do step up we can be there for them and try and protect them down the road in spite of our past behavior towards them."

Touché.

The two women stared at each other for a long moment as they each started to gain a new understanding about the other. It was Shelby who smiled and broke the study.

"Are you sure we can't just lock them up until they're forty?" she asked. They both laughed as they went into the house.

The girls only visited for about an hour before Shelby declared that it was time to go because they had to pick up Beth.

"Rachel, come on down, it's time to go," Shelby called up the stairs. "I'm sorry for just barging in on you like this," she said to Judy.

"Oh it's no problem at all," Judy said. "We were both just being lazy today. And you two know that you are welcome anytime."

"Rachel, let's go," Shelby called again. "Oh, I wanted to ask you something," she said as she turned back to Judy. "I'm trying to make plans for Thanksgiving and I was wondering if you had plans. If not, I'd love for you to come to my house. My family will be there and it'll be crazy, but I'd love for you and Quinn to be there."

"We don't have any plans," Judy said. "This is our first without Quinn's father in the house so it would be great to spend it with friends."

"It's settled then," Shelby said.

"Perfect."

"Rachel, you can stay if you want but at least bring me my keys back," Shelby yelled up the stairs. It didn't take long before they heard the footsteps on the stairs and soon Rachel and Quinn joined them in the foyer, the former with the keys still clutched firmly in her hand.

"I'm ready," Rachel said excitedly. "Bye Quinn. Bye Mrs. Fabray."

"Rachel, honey, call me Judy."

"Really?"

"Really," Judy said. "It may have taken me too long to tell you, but formality is ingrained in me and it takes me a while to get over sometimes. But you're pretty much a part of my family and Mrs. Fabray is just too much for a member of my family."

"Wow, thanks," Rachel said as she gave the woman a hug.

"Of course," Judy said.

Shelby gave Quinn a quick kiss on the forehead and then they were out the door and back into the car with Rachel driving. They rolled down their windows to wave at Judy who had come out to the porch to see them off. Rachel had just started to back out when Quinn ran out onto the porch and called out to her.

"Rachel, I just got a text from Kurt and he said the club wants to meet early Monday to talk about Sectionals."

Rachel turned around and looked back at Quinn though she never stopped backing up. "What time?"

"Rachel," Shelby said because the girl was still turning the wheel and not looking at the road.

"Six forty-five," Quinn yelled back.

"That sounds perfect," Rachel yelled back.

"That sounds early," was Quinn's reply.

"Rachel- Watch out-" Judy and Shelby yelled over each other.

Rachel heard the clunk and splintering sound before she really felt the small impact. She slammed on the brakes and gripped the wheel and sat there dumbfounded for a second. She waited a few moments before tentatively sticking her head out of her window and looking behind her. She saw that the SUV was now partly in the yard the clunking sound was her hitting and completely knocking over and breaking the Fabray's mailbox.

Shelby reached over and put her car in park and then crossed her arms and waited for her daughter to turn back around and look at her. She kept her face stern though part of her wanted to smile at how completely normal this was. Rachel gulped as she kept her eyes trained on the mailbox and pole that now lay sadly in the street. She could feel her mother's eyes boring in the back of her head. She slowly turned back around to face the music and came face-to-face with her mother's stern expression and cocked eyebrow.

"I uhhh…"

Shelby reached over and turned the car off and took her keys. "Out."

Rachel hastily got out of the car and went to stand in front of it. "I'm so sorry, Mom," Rachel squeaked out.

Judy and Quinn met them at the front of her car and each woman was glaring at her own daughter.

"Rachel, this is why you have to pay attention," Shelby lectured. "You could have driven into traffic because you weren't looking. You could have hit a car or a person or a little kid." Rachel's bottom lip started to tremble as she lowered her head.

"And you, young lady, should not have run out here and distracted her," Judy said to Quinn. "Was that so important that it couldn't have waited until you could call her?"

"I just thought she'd want to know," Quinn tried to defend herself.

"She didn't need to know it that second," Shelby said.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Fabray," Rachel said.

"Judy," the woman corrected.

"Me too, Mom," Quinn said. "I'm sorry."

Shelby stood with her hands on her hips and gave them each an angry stare before saying that she was going to go back and look to see what damage had been done. Judy followed her after giving the girls a stern look of her own.

"She's never going to let me drive again," Rachel said sadly once the adults were gone. "I'm glad I was ok this morning because that's all I'll ever get to drive."

"I'm really sorry, Rach," Quinn said.

"It's not your fault," Rachel said. "I'm glad to know about the impromptu glee meeting."

As the girls continued with their conversation the two women reached the end of the SUV and found that there was only a broken tail light and a few scratches on the car. The mailbox had not been so lucky.

"I can't believe she did that," Shelby said with a laugh. "Actually, yes I can."

"Did you see her face?" Judy said matching Shelby's mirth. "You'll be able to use this for a while. And leave it to Quinn run out and decide that was a good time for a conversation. I think a good lecture on driving while distracted and distracting other drivers is in order."

"I agree. And they'll love that," Shelby laughed.

"Oh sure they will," Judy said. "But it'll be fun for us."

The two women shared a smirk before turning their attention back to the car.

"I am really sorry, Judy," Shelby said seriously. "I'll pay for a new mailbox, of course."

"Nonsense," Judy said. "The mailbox can come out of Quinn's portion of the blame."

"No," Shelby said.

"Yes," Judy said. "It's a mailbox, Shelby. Don't worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Though I suppose we should get it out of the street," Judy said.

The girls watched as Judy moved the mailbox and Shelby moved the car so that it was all the way back in the driveway.

"Mom, Mrs. Fabray-"

"Judy."

"Judy," Rachel repeated. "I can pay for everything. I don't know how extensive the damages are or how much a mailbox costs, but I think I'll be able to afford it."

Shelby quirked an eyebrow at her because as far as she knew Rachel had never had a job.

"I've got an account from the money my dads used to leave for me when they would go out of town," Rachel explained. This was news to Shelby. "I never needed it all so I just started saving it instead of giving it back. I was saving it for when I left for New York."

Judy cast a quick glance at Shelby and she could tell the woman's mind was turning with thoughts about Rachel and her fathers so she stepped in.

"There's no need, Rachel," Judy said. "Your mother and I have it all worked out."

"Are you sure? Because Mom could just drive me to the bank and I'll take out whatever you need," Rachel said.

"No," Shelby said. "It's all worked out like Judy said."

Rachel just nodded.

"Ok, we really need to go because I'm going to be late picking up Beth," Shelby said.

They all said their goodbyes once again and they made sure the girls had nothing else they needed to talk about before actually getting in the car. Rachel and Shelby both headed to the passenger side and reached out to grab the door handle at the same time.

"What are you doing?" Shelby asked.

"Getting in the car," Rachel said.

"You're getting in on the wrong side," Shelby told her. "You drove us here; drive us back." She held up her keys and Rachel smiled and took them from her hand and then crashed into Shelby and held her around the waist in a tight hug.

"Thanks, Mom."

Three weeks passed until Rachel found herself fully immersed in the chaos of preparing for a family celebration with Thanksgiving only two days away. She hadn't had a real Thanksgiving meal in years and she found herself extremely excited at the prospect of spending with her new-found relatives. According to Shelby it was her and Beth's first Thanksgiving and the woman was going all out to make it special for them. Beth was not as concerned with the day as both Rachel and Shelby were, but she was doing her best to help anyway. She had started crawling a couple of weeks ago and so her main contribution was to be underfoot and going back and forth between wanting to be held and wanting to be put down.

Sectionals practice was coming along nicely and the competition was two weeks away. Shelby had not been involved in any of the practices yet though she was tutoring all of the soloist at their request. The group had gone with Rachel's ideas for the show and even Mr. Schue had given her due credit for the set list. He did say that it was extremely ambitious, but had been swayed the by the kids working hard to convince him they could do it. Shelby was to start attending practices on Monday and everyone was excited for it.

Rachel sat in the music room the Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving hiding out from her mother and her crazy cleaning ways. Shelby wanted the house spotless for all of their guests and she'd employed Rachel's help in getting it that way. Rachel felt coercion was a better term, but Shelby told her to consider it a delayed punishment for backing the car into Judy's mailbox. Rachel had questioned her about the statute of limitations on such an offense and she had been sent off with the vacuum and a swat.

Right now she was supposed to be dusting the guest bedroom…again. Instead she was sitting on the piano bench with her head resting on her arm which rested on the top of the instrument. Her Swiffer duster was in her other hand which hung lazily at her side. Her daydreams were interrupted when Shelby came into the room and startled her.

"There you are."

Rachel jumped and brought the duster up to the top of the piano and moved it around though she didn't lift her head.

"I would hardly call that dusting," Shelby said. "And this certainly doesn't look like a bedroom."

"It's clean," Rachel said. "The whole house is clean. It was before we started cleaning. And it's not like your family has never been here before."

Shelby sighed and sat down next to Rachel. She knew the place was clean and ready but she just wanted everything to be perfect this year. Her family was going to stay a couple of days because they all wanted to make it memorable for Rachel. They wanted her to feel surrounded by family and love and support. Rachel couldn't help but feel curious about what her fathers were doing for the holiday.

"I know, Rachel," Shelby answered.

"Do we have to try the new therapist tomorrow?" Rachel asked.

Shelby sighed and took the duster from Rachel and tossed it to the floor so she could hold her hand. They had been to five different therapists in three weeks and Rachel had not been comfortable with any of them. At Rachel's request Shelby had not gone into any session and had just waited in the waiting room. But she had received the same report every time; Rachel had not said a word. It was hard to imagine her verbose daughter staying silent through an entire hour when the sole purpose was for her to talk, but the girl was five for five so far. Shelby desperately wanted to ask her about it, but she didn't know what to say or what to ask. She couldn't demand that Rachel open up to any of them and she couldn't force the girl to talk to her. But Rachel had asked that they find someone she was comfortable with and Shelby wasn't going to go back on that now.

The doctor they were going to try tomorrow was considered one of the best in dealing with child psychology and Shelby had been lucky to get an appointment with her, especially one for the day before Thanksgiving.

Shelby brought Rachel's hand up and kissed the back of it. "Yes," she answered. "We have to go."

"Fine." Rachel got to her feet and reached down to pick up the duster.

"Don't worry about it, Rach," Shelby said. "You're done cleaning."

The following day Shelby picked Rachel up from school and drove her to her appointment with the new therapist. Shelby was trying to not get her hopes up that Rachel would like the doctor this time. Rachel was apprehensive about the whole thing and was ready to walk out of the office and it was only her promise to her mother that she would try that kept her rooted to the spot. The other doctors had not worked out. Rachel could tell right away with most of them. She wasn't able to go in and simply start spilling her life story to them. She could talk about Glee and school and her dreams of New York City but she was certain that those weren't the things those doctors wanted to hear so she simply sat quietly. What had really bugged her was that the longer she stayed quiet the more all of the doctors spoke. They asked her leading questions and wrote notes at her non-answers and she could tell they were already making their minds up about her before they even knew anything at all. Every session had ended with her leaving the office and shaking her head at her mother.

Rachel was wringing her hands nervously and Shelby placed a gentle hand on the girl's. She held both hands tight and smiled at the girl who did not return the gesture. The door finally opened and a woman with red hair and a wise smile stepped out to greet them.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Woodward," she told them as she shook Shelby's and then Rachel's hands. She had spoken with Shelby on the phone and knew the basics of Rachel's story. She led Rachel into her office and waited as the girl glanced back over her shoulder at her mother before disappearing inside.

"You can sit down wherever you like," Dr. Woodward said.

Rachel chose a chair in the corner because she hated the how cliché it would feel to sit on a couch and looked down at her hands. The doctor sat down on the couch that Rachel wouldn't use and looked over at the girl to her right. Rachel didn't say anything and so neither did she. Rachel looked up at her after a few minutes of silence and saw that the woman was looking right back at her. She wasn't taking notes or looking at her watch or staring out the window or even fidgeting with the string on her blouse; she was giving Rachel her undivided attention even though the girl hadn't said anything. Rachel studied her for a while as she tried to figure out if the doctor was up to something.

Shelby was pacing the waiting room when the door opened and Rachel and Dr. Woodward emerged. The hour had seemed to drag on forever and Shelby was glad to finally see them. She looked at Rachel and thought she could see the hint of a smile on her face. She leaned down to kiss Rachel's forehead and the girl whispered, "I like her."

Shelby smiled and stood up straight and looked past Rachel to the doctor who was watching them. She pointed Rachel towards a chair in the waiting room when Dr. Woodward asked to speak with her privately.

"That's quite an interesting young lady you have there," the doctor said once they were in her office and seated.

"Did she talk to you?" Shelby asked.

"She didn't say a word until the last couple of minutes and even then it was only to give me a piece of trivia about Barbra Streisand and _Funny Girl_."

"I can't understand why she won't talk to anyone," Shelby said. "She'd talk a mile a minute if you let her."

"I think she'll come around. You said she's had a bad experience with therapy in the past and that combined with the situation with her fathers has left a bad taste in her mouth," Dr. Woodward said. "She was seeing a person who should have seen through what her fathers were doing and that person didn't do anything for her."

"But I've always assumed she never even told her old therapist what was going on," Shelby said.

"I think kids pick out the adults whom they feel should know things and be able to see past the lies," Dr. Wilbur explained. "It was one thing for her to lie to a teacher and to never expect that teacher to catch on, but it's quite another thing entirely to lie to someone who is getting paid to help you and have that person not see as well. She has to trust me before she can say anything in case it all goes the way it did before."

"Well, I'm not sure what you did differently, but she said she likes you so I'd like to set up more appointments," Shelby said.

"Did she not tell you about any of the other sessions?"

"No, she never wanted to talk about it," Shelby said. "And all any of the other doctors told me is that she never said anything even when they asked her questions."

"I didn't ask her any questions," Dr. Woodward said. "I didn't say anything until she spoke to me first."

"Do you think I ask her too many questions?" Shelby asked, suddenly feeling anxious and uncertain.

"No," Dr. Woodward said. "You're her mother, not a therapist and it's important that she never thinks of you as such. They're going to have to be separate things for her. You can join us, of course, if she wants. If she wants to talk after a session then please listen intently and be there for her, but don't ask her for specifics and don't pressure her to give you details. Because remember that she may very well be talking about you in here as well and she needs to know that she can do that freely without your finding out or being upset if you do. Barbra Streisand is the only detail you'll ever get out of me without her permission unless there is a life threatening issue. I will explain all of this to her as well so that she knows. How does once a week to start with sound?"

"Perfect," Shelby said. "I'll set up the appointment on the way out."

Rachel was in a better mood when they arrived home than she had been any of the five previous times and Shelby was relieved and happy that, for now, it looked like Rachel had found her person she could talk to.

"I'm going to go and pick up Beth from the sitter's house and then run to the grocery store for some last minute stuff," Shelby said after they'd gotten home. She would have gone straight from the doctor's office but she thought Rachel might want a chance to come home first and get a little while to herself. "Do you want to come along?" But she had to offer all the same.

"No," Rachel answered. She was already flipping through the channels with the remote. "I'm going to just stay here." She flipped past _The Way We Were_ and gasped when she realized what it was and went back. "It just started."

"Enjoy," Shelby said as she dropped a quick kiss in Rachel's hair knowing that she'd lost the girl's attention for the duration of the movie. "We'll be back in a little while."

"Ok," Rachel said, waving her off.

She was so involved in the movie that she didn't hear the knocking at the door twenty minutes later. It wasn't until the doorbell rang that her attention was drawn from the movie and to the front door. She reluctantly got up to answer it though she kept her eyes trained on the TV as long as possible.

The person on the other side of the door made her forget the movie and she gasped in shock at the sight of him standing there on her mother's porch.

"Jesse," she breathed out.

"Hello, Rachel."

**A/N – I hope you guys liked that. Please leave me a review. **

**I know a lot of you wanted Quinn to teach Rachel to drive and I really played around with doing that, but I wanted the driving to be something that Shelby gets to do with Rachel. I didn't want her to miss another first. She missed first steps and word and tooth and days of school, but the driving was something that could be all hers to get to do with and for Rachel and she would get to be there to witness it. I thought Shelby deserved that chance. And it's fun to watch her freak out a little. **

**Also, I don't know that much about therapy sessions. I've never been and don't know any psychiatrists personally so please don't take any of that therapy as any type of real session or anything like that. I was just trying to write out something that I felt would work best for Rachel the character and not necessarily for anyone in real life. Please, if you need to speak to someone, I encourage you to do so.**


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N – Thanks for all of the reviews and messages and for continuing to read. You guys don't know how great you are. Thank you. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. If I did Jonathan Groff would have had more than one song this season. Because seriously, where is the justice in that? **

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked as she looked him over. He didn't seem surprised to see her there. He was still as handsome as ever, she noted.

"I came to see Shelby," he answered. "And you. I heard some rumors from some of my old friends at Carmel that you were living with her now and I had to see for myself."

"It's true," she said. "I thought you were supposed to be in California.

"It's Fall break for Thanksgiving," Jesse said.

She only nodded in response.

"It's nice to see you again, Rachel," he said. She smiled for a second before remembering herself and scowling. "Can I come in?"

"Oh. Of course." Rachel stepped back and held the door for him so he could step passed her and into the house.

"Where's Shelby?"

"She's out running some errands with Beth," Rachel answered. "She'll be back in a little while if you'd like to wait."

A few minutes later they were upstairs in the music room sitting side-by-side on the piano bench. Jesse was playing a melancholy tune as background music for their conversation.

"How do you like school?" Rachel asked.

"It's ok," he answered with a shrug. "I like L.A., but I've been giving some serious thought to transferring to NYU after this year. I think I will find more opportunities for myself in New York."

"That makes sense," Rachel said. "Although who knows, you could be cast in some television show next month and never look back."

"As long as that show eventually affords me to be on the stage then I'm all for it. No doubt I'll be a star someday, but when I am I want to be able to do it all."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Rachel said. "I want it all too. I'm going to have it."

"Of course you will," Jesse said. His voice held no hint of sarcasm or laughter. He was serious and so was she. "When did you move in with Shelby?" he asked after a couple minutes.

"A few months ago."

"Why?"

"It's a long story," she answered. "I'm sure you've heard bits and pieces of it from you friends."

He nodded to show that she was right. "I never knew, Rachel. I would have said something to her sooner if-"

"Yeah, I know," Rachel cut him off. "I didn't want anyone to know. I wanted her to want me for me and not out of some sense of pity."

"She did though," Jesse said. "There was such pain in her eyes when she talked about you. I never understood why she backed off all of a sudden."

"She thought I had everything I needed," Rachel said with a shrug. "She felt like she was intruding on a really happy family."

"She's my hero, you know that?" Jesse said. "She never tried to rein me in from being me and always allowed me to shine. She always told me that it was ok for my dreams to be bigger than this place. You should have seen her face when she found out about…"

"The egging," Rachel supplied for him. "She told me."

"I've never felt so horrible," he said. "She was so angry and so disappointed. And you. I know how that must have hurt you, Rachel. I'm sorry."

"It was heartbreaking," Rachel said as she looked away from him. "And embarrassing. And demoralizing. Why would you do that?"

"I had to prove to the team so they would take me back," he said. "I wanted to win more than anything and I know you can relate to that. I'm not proud of it. And looking back on some of the people I thought were my friends… well, it's amazing how quickly you can go from being friends to being that guy you used to go to school with. Rachel, I sincerely apologize."

Rachel turned on the bench so she could face him directly and let the weight of his words rest down on her. His face and eyes were pleading with her to accept his apology and she knew she would not deny him that.

"I forgive you," she said as she let out a small smile. It was actually a relief to have that incident truly tucked behind her now. She wouldn't have to think on it and try and replay in her mind the lead up and think about what she could have done differently.

"Thank you," Jesse said. "I've missed you."

"Even after you left I sometimes found myself wishing I could call you and tell you about something only you would understand," Rachel said.

Jesse took his hands from the piano keys and turned so that he was straddling the bench and facing her directly.

"I know what you mean," he said as his fingertips absently ran up her legs and to her hips. His hands played on her sides as he leaned down to kiss her. She didn't hesitate in kissing him back and found her own hands wandering as his moved up and he laced his fingers through her hair.

Shelby opened the front door with a sleeping Beth in one arm and four bags of groceries in the other. The handles of the plastic bags were cutting into her hand when she finally got into the kitchen and set them on the table. She heard the TV on and figured that Rachel hadn't even heard her come in.

"Hey Rach, who's car is that?" She asked as she stepped into the living round and found it to be empty save for Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford who were sharing the screen. "Rachel?"

She climbed the stairs and went into her bedroom so she could lie Beth down in her crib. Once the little girl was settled and Shelby brushed some of her dirty blonde hair from Beth's face, she left the room to let her sleep.

She checked in Rachel's room but found it to be empty, as was her bathroom. Shelby was headed back downstairs when she thought she would go ahead and check the music room while she was up here. She just wanted to see that Rachel was ok after the therapy session that day and she wanted an idea of where she was.

Shelby opened the door to the music room and the words she was about to say died on her lips when she saw her daughter kissing Jesse St. James; the kid who she knew had already tried to sleep with Rachel once. She stood there in shock for a few moments before a stern expression washed over her features and she cleared her throat loudly and pointedly.

Rachel and Jesse jumped apart and Rachel quickly got to her feet and let out a startled, "Mom!" Her cheeks were tinged with red and she tried to look anywhere but at Shelby's face or Jesse's as he stood next to her.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Shelby demanded.

"N-nothing," Rachel stammered. "Jesse just stopped by for a visit and we were, umm, catching up."

"Catching up?" Shelby said.

"Yes," Jesse agreed.

"I see. Rachel, downstairs right now," Shelby said.

"But Mom, I-"

"Right. Now."

Rachel refused to look at Jesse because she was embarrassed as she made her way across the room. She gave Shelby an angry expression as she passed and left the room. Jesse was only a few steps behind her but Shelby shut the door before he could escape, leaving only the two of them in the room.

"Hi, Shelby," Jesse said, his voice full of confidence.

"Sit down."

Jesse knew when to back off and did as he was told and sat back down on the piano bench that he and Rachel had just occupied. Shelby paced for a minute or two in front of him, shooting her former student angry glances and giving off exasperated sighs. She had so much she wanted to say to him, none of which really had to do with the scene she had just walked in on. Ok, maybe a little bit, but not entirely.

"When I sent you over there it was to become her friend, not to try and sleep with her," Shelby said, getting the big issue out of the way first.

Jesse nearly choked as he stood up from the bench and held his hands up to show his innocence.

"I didn't. Well, I did, but nothing happened," Jesse said. "I couldn't help how I was feeling. She told me no the first time and then she came to me and told me she was ready. But then she didn't go through with it because she wasn't ready. And then I never brought it up again. Shelby, I swear. I didn't try and force her into anything."

"She's so young, Jesse," Shelby said. "Younger than you realize."

"Not in every sense," Jesse said. "She's ambitious and smart and ready to get out of here. That makes her a lot more grown up than a lot of other people her age around here."

"And you can say that with a straight face because you're so young too," Shelby said.

"I am not!" Jesse defended childishly.

"She trusted you and you turned your back on your relationship," Shelby said.

"I've already gotten this lecture," Jesse said. "Do we have to do it again?"

"You're just one more person who has left her," Shelby told him. "Who hurt her and then walked away. Did you ever suspect, Jesse? Did you never question her about how she was able to get you into her room all the time?"

"No," Jesse answered. "She never brought up meeting her dads and I was glad to get to spend the time with her. I didn't ever want to look the gift horse in the mouth of why she always had the place to herself. I would have told you, Shelby."

"I know," the woman conceded.

"I apologized to her today," Jesse said. "I've been hearing that she was living here and I had always planned to come over and see you when I got home on my break. Getting to see her was just an added bonus. And I hope I can see her again while I'm here."

"If you hurt one hair on her head…"

"I won't!"

"You better not because if you do I will personally call all of my contacts at UCLA and you'll never get another starring role the entire time you're there," Shelby threatened.

"No you wouldn't," Jesse answered confidently, his head held high.

"No, I wouldn't," Shelby agreed as she finally stepped forward and pulled him in for a hug. "Because I'd take care of you before you had a chance to get back to California and so a call to the university wouldn't even be necessary."

They found Rachel sitting on the couch with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face as she watched the closing scene of _The Way We Were_. She couldn't believe she'd just been kicked out like that. And she had expected them to follow her down the stairs and she grew even more upset when she realized that Shelby had shut the door behind her.

Jesse leaned over the back of the couch and started to softly sing the titular song in her ear and Rachel spun around to look at him. She smiled as he continued to sing and then looked over his shoulder to her mother and sent a look of anger her way. Shelby dismissed her look and headed off to the kitchen.

"Tell me, would we?" Jesse sang.

"Could we?" Rachel sang the next line. She got up and joined him behind the couch and took his hands in her own. They sang over the music from the TV and Shelby smiled from the kitchen as their voices filled the house.

Rachel and Jesse entered the kitchen after their impromptu concert and saw that Shelby had just finished putting away the last of the groceries.

"As usual, I have impeccable timing," Jesse said as Shelby scrunched up the last of the plastic bags and put it with the others to be used for later. Rachel laughed and Shelby shot him a glare over her shoulder.

"Would you like a drink, Jesse?" Rachel offered.

"No. As much as I would love to, I can't stay," Jesse answered. "I've got other people I have to go and see."

"Oh," Rachel said as she looked down.

"But," he cut in, "I would like to see you again. Perhaps we can go out while I'm still in town." Rachel couldn't hide her smile as she looked back up to meet his eyes. "How does tomorrow night sound?"

"It sounds perfect," Rachel said.

"Tomorrow is Thanksgiving," Shelby said, forcing the two kids to look away from each other and over to her.

"I have to spend Thanksgiving with my family," he said though Shelby knew that look and knew he was thinking of a way he could get out of it.

"So does Rachel," Shelby answered for the girl when she saw the matching look on her face. Rachel narrowed her eyes and cut them to Shelby to give her a look before turning back to Jesse.

"Friday?" Jesse asked and Rachel nodded with a smile.

Their attention was once again drawn from each other when Shelby cleared her throat and then looked pointedly at Rachel and then Jesse. Did the mother not get a say in her baby girl dating? Jesse just met her eyes and wore a smug smile and Rachel was pleading with her eyes for Shelby to say yes. The woman finally relented and waved her hand the way she had always done in practice, and Jesse knew they had won. Rachel bounced on the balls of her feet and mouthed 'thank you' to her mom.

Shelby could hear the two kids talking quietly together as Rachel walked him to the door. The murmuring stopped after a couple of minutes and Shelby listened for the front door to open but it never did. She waited another minute before finally saying, "Goodbye, Jesse."

Rachel and Jesse broke their kiss apart at Shelby's words and smiled at each other.

"I'll see you later," Jesse said as he reached for the door knob and slowly turned it open.

"Bye," Rachel half whispered to him.

Rachel shut the door behind him and leaned back against it smiling. If she had been told that morning that she would forgive Jesse St. James so easily and be looking forward to a date with him, she would have told that person they were crazy. And yet, here she was. She understood his reasoning and she believed his apology. He was not the first person in her life that had once been mean and left her sad and angry. She had always been quick to forgive and this was no exception.

Rachel walked back to the kitchen and stood in the doorway. She was met with her mom standing with her hands on her hips and a cocked eyebrow, clearly waiting for some sort of explanation.

"What?" Rachel shrugged.

"The music room," Shelby said.

Rachel put on her big eyes and innocent face as she looked at her mother. "But it's not like we were in my room," Rachel said with a sweet smile before she scampered away from Shelby's grasp, laughing as she did. Shelby smiled and shook her head as she turned back to the kitchen. She was going to have to add to those rules.

Rachel was the first to get to the door Thursday morning when the bell rang. She opened it to see her grandparents on the other side. She was scooped up into a hug by Paul before she even got a proper hello out. He held her up off the floor and she could see her aunt and uncle and younger cousins just getting out of their own car. Maggie waved at her and she waved back before being carried into the house.

"Grandpa, you can put me down now," Rachel said though her arms were still wrapped around his neck.

"Yeah, stop hogging her," Rebecca said.

"I am not hogging her," Paul said. "How've you been, kiddo?" he asked Rachel.

"Fine," she told him.

"Only fine?"

"Everything's great, Grandpa. Promise," she added when she could see that he was studying her. It was only after he was satisfied with her answer that he set her back on the floor.

A round of welcome hugs was passed out between everyone and even the two boys, Jack and Michael, hugged Rachel. She didn't they liked her after their first visit because neither of them wanted much to do with her, but she'd been assured that that wasn't the case and the boys were already more open this time.

Judy and Quinn arrived not long after the Corcoran clan and after introductions were made and the food was cooking, everyone settled in to talk. The boys were up in the music room playing and every now and then they could hear a thump or a peal of laughter. Rachel sat on the floor because seating in the living room had become scarce and she had assumed Shelby would sit on the couch she was leaning against, but it was Maggie who sat there instead. Rachel took great care to make sure she didn't bother the woman or lean against her leg as she would have done with Shelby. She was still working on getting to know her aunt and uncle and though she had enjoyed the time she'd spent with them, she still wasn't sure how to be comfortable yet. Rachel didn't know if anyone had picked up on her anxiety, but if they did, they didn't show it. And she couldn't just move over to sit near Shelby because she thought it would be rude.

As the conversation strayed to Beth's latest crawling achievements, which earned the baby seated on Sam's lap everyone's attention, Rachel's phone buzzed telling her she had a text message. She was surprised to see the name 'Dad' pop up and she held the phone close to her to read it. _Happy Thanksgiving, sweetheart. I'll miss you this year, but I hope you have a nice day. I would have called but I didn't want to interrupt any family things. Call me later if you want._

Rachel read it over a few times and then brought her phone down and rested it in her lap. Her mind was far from the people in the room as she thought over her dad's words. He'd miss her this year? The Thanksgiving they'd shared last year had consisted of take-out and football. They hadn't even eaten together at the table. She was convinced the only reason they had both been home was because they both were off work. But now he missed her?

Shelby glanced at Rachel and saw how the girl was staring off into space with her brow creased and her eyes full of thought. Maggie noticed Shelby watching Rachel with a look of worry on her face and tried to do what she could to help them. Maggie reached a hand out and started to absently play with Rachel's hair. The soothing gesture pulled Rachel from her thoughts and she looked back towards the rest of the group. Shelby smiled faintly at Maggie who gave her a slight nod.

Rachel was acutely aware of the hand touching her head and playing with her hair. She turned her head so she could look up at her aunt and smiled at her, though it didn't reach her eyes and the woman noticed. Maggie gave Rachel's cheek a couple of light pats and was about to lean down to say something when Rachel's phone started to ring and caught everyone's attention. Rachel looked at the caller ID and saw the name 'Daddy' appear on the screen.

"I have to take this," she said as she got to her feet and quickly left the room. "Hello," she answered the phone when she was on the stairs.

"Hi, Rach," Scott said. "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Hi, Daddy," Rachel said as she went into her room and then stepped back out. Sam and Maggie were taking her room with the boys camping out on the floor. Her grandparents had the guest room and Rachel had been shuffled off to Shelby's room. That's where she went to carry on with this conversation. "Happy Thanksgiving." She settled into the oversized chair in Shelby's room and put her feet up on the ottoman.

"I just wanted to call and see how you are today," Scott said. "Thanksgiving won't be the same without you here."

"Are you and Dad having dinner together?" Rachel asked. She was on the verge of tears as it was and if her dads were together right now enjoying the time without her, she didn't think she'd be able to hold them back.

"No," Scott answered. "He's been invited to a co-worker's house and I'm meeting some friends later on."

"Oh," Rachel said as she let out a shuddering breath.

"What are you doing?"

"Spending the day with my family," she said before she was really able to stop herself. There was silence on his end and she added, "With Shelby's family. Her parents and brother and sister-in-law and two nephews came this morning."

"That sounds like it'll be a really nice time," Scott said.

"Daddy, I-"

"Have you talked to your father today?"

"He sent me a message and I'll call him back in a little while," Rachel answered.

"Ok. Have a wonderful day, Rachel."

"You too, Daddy."

"I guess I'll see you later."

"When?" Rachel asked as silent tears slipped down her cheeks.

"We can work something out. Be a good girl," he said using the line he always used to say to her when he would leave to go out of town.

"Yes, sir," she'd always answer.

The phone clicked and the call was over and Rachel pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her head on her knees.

Shelby excused herself from the group and went in search of her daughter. Rachel had been gone for close to fifteen minutes and the look on Rachel's face when she saw who was calling was enough for Shelby to want to go and find her. She heard Rachel talking before she got there and waited for a second to see if she could get an idea of who the girl was talking to. If it was Jesse she could go in and simply tell Rachel that they had company and time was up, but somehow Shelby knew that it wasn't Jesse.

"I hope you have a good day too," Rachel said. "At least you won't have to suffer through anything vegan this year because of me." The joke was meant to be light but Rachel's voice and demeanor betrayed her and she moved the phone away from her mouth as she choked out a silent cry. What else were her fathers getting to do simply because they didn't have her to deal with her this year?

"Have some vegan stuff for me," Henry said. If he knew that she was crying, he didn't let on.

"I will, Dad," Rachel said as Shelby walked into the room. Rachel turned her face away from her mother and rested into on the back of the chair.

"I've got to run, Rachel," Henry said. "Maybe we can get together soon."

"When?" she asked the same way she had done with Scott.

"Soon, sweetheart," Henry answered. "Bye."

"Bye, Dad."

Rachel ended the call and set the phone down and still wouldn't turn around and look at Shelby who was now seated on the ottoman watching her. Why was this so hard? Rachel wanted to be with this family more than anything and to have a wonderful, brand new Thanksgiving, but she couldn't escape the feelings about her fathers. She had wanted to talk to them and know what they were doing, but now she just felt guilty and sad.

"Honey," Shelby said as she leaned forward and rubbed Rachel's back.

"I'm so confused," Rachel said as more tears shook her body.

"Why?" Shelby asked as she scooted closer. She wanted to pull Rachel to her but knew she needed to wait for Rachel to get this out.

"They both said that they missed me today and that Thanksgiving won't be same without them," Rachel said. "They miss me now? We didn't even do anything special last year. Or the year before that. But the thing is, I miss them too," Rachel said, still unable to look at Shelby. "I'm so sorry, Mom, but I do. Especially on a day like this. I thought maybe I was getting over it last month when I saw them, but as Thanksgiving approached I've been thinking about them more and more."

Shelby never stopped rubbing Rachel's back as she tried to stop the girl's tears. "Look at me, Rach."

Rachel shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mom."

Shelby pulled Rachel up by her arms and turned her so that the girl was facing her. She put a hand to Rachel's chin and forced her to look at her. "Why are you sorry?"

"Be-because you've worked so hard to make this day perfect and I'm ruining it," Rachel said. "I miss my dads and I can't help but cry when they say they miss me too. I want them to miss me and I feel terrible about that."

"Rachel, stop it now," Shelby said. "You're not ruining anything. And it's natural for you to miss your dads and for you to want to know that they think about you too."

"It's not though," Rachel said. "I should be overjoyed to have my family and friends here. And I am, Mom, I promise."

"I know that, Rachel."

"And I know what you must be thinking," Rachel said. "You've done everything for me and for today and yet here I am thinking about them when I should be downstairs laughing with you and Nana and everyone else. Please don't think I'm ungrateful, Mom. Do you think the others will think I'm being crazy?"

"No one thinks you're crazy," Shelby assured her. "And I can't even begin to tell you how off base you are about what I'm thinking. I don't want you to worry about me."

"But I do worry about it," Rachel said. "All the time. If you only knew half of what I assume you must be thinking about. But especially on a day like this. I know I've hurt your feelings and I didn't mean to do that."

"Hey now, stop it," Shelby said forcefully as she gave Rachel's shoulders a slight shake. "I'm going to tell you what I'm thinking about today. But you are going to promise me that in the future you will ask me about how I feel instead of assuming you know."

"I can't do that," Rachel said.

"Why ever not?" Shelby questioned.

"I just couldn't."

"Yes you can," Shelby said. "We will sit down every night and talk about it if we have to, but I am not going to let you go around assuming the worst all the time."

"That's just easier sometimes," Rachel said.

"Than what? Knowing the truth? Feeling good about something? Feeling secure in your own house?"

"I'm trying," Rachel said in a small voice.

"I know, honey," Shelby said and this time she did pull her into a hug and Rachel buried her head into Shelby's shoulder. When she sat her back, Rachel's tears had subsided somewhat and her breathing was evening out.

"You want to know what I'm thinking right now about you and your dads?" Rachel nodded.

"I'm angry."

"I'm so sorry, Mom," Rachel said and Shelby shook her head.

"At your fathers," Shelby said. "I'm angry that you have been made to feel this upset. I'm angry that you feel you're not allowed to enjoy your holiday with you family because you feel guilty for not being with them. I'm sad that you're sad. I'm unhappy that you're embarrassed. I'm scared you won't feel free to open up to everyone downstairs who want nothing more than to see you happy. I'm worried that you still feel as if you are in any way to blame for any of this."

"I am," Rachel said.

Shelby took her chin again and forced her head up. "You are not."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you," Shelby said.

"What if that's the problem?"

Shelby was momentarily silenced by Rachel's question as she desperately tried to come up with some way for her daughter to understand. The quickness and the severity with which Rachel could be reduced to tears and blame herself truly frightened Shelby. Every time she felt like they were getting somewhere she was reminded of just how far they had to go.

"You are not the problem," Shelby said. "None of this is your fault. Say it, Rachel."

"None of this is my fault," Rachel said without emotion before she leaned forward and rested her head against Shelby's shoulder one more time.

This was a bit of a routine in which Shelby had to tell her it wasn't her fault and she always made Rachel repeat it back to her as if the repetition would get through to her. They were at the end of this episode and Shelby knew that within ten minutes Rachel would be back to herself and would carry on as if nothing had happened.

Shelby's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door and she looked back to see her mother standing in the doorway. Rachel looked up too and quickly sat back and wiped at her eyes. She took a few deep breaths and composed herself before smiling at her grandmother.

"Hi, Nana."

"Is everything ok?"

"Yep, everything is fine now," Rachel said.

Rebecca looked from Rachel's face to Shelby's eyes which told a completely different story.

"Well then you two had better get back downstairs because most of the food is just about ready," Rebecca said.

Shelby looked at her watch and then back at Rachel who was already getting to her feet. "We'll be right down, Mom."

"I'm just going to go and wash my face," Rachel said when Rebecca had left.

"Rachel."

"No, I'm fine," Rachel said. "I'm sorry for the outburst but I suppose I hadn't really expected to hear from my dads today and it threw me off guard. I'm can't wait to get down there and start the dinner. Will you be sure to take lots of pictures so that I have photos to go with the memories of my first Thanksgiving with you?"

"Of course," Shelby said. What else could she say right now?

"Thanks, Mom," Rachel said. She wasn't sure how much more meaning she could pack into that small sentence.

"Don't take too long," Shelby instructed.

"I won't."

Rachel went into the bathroom and Shelby stepped out into the hallway and found her mother there waiting on her. Shelby's tears started almost immediately and Rebecca took her hand and led her into the guest room. She pulled Shelby close for a hug and just held her until the tears stopped a few minutes later.

"Thank you," Shelby said as she wiped at her eyes.

"Anytime," Rebecca said. They both knew this wasn't the time to talk about what had happened and so she said, "I'm going to fetch the boys and you should get downstairs."

Rebecca left the room and Shelby checked her reflection in the mirror a few times to make sure the traces of her tears were gone. She put on a bright smile and made her way to the kitchen.

A few minutes later Rachel was repeating that same process. She had washed her face and had carefully fixed her make-up and was now taking a second look in the mirror before leaving the bathroom and Shelby's room. She put her hand on the door knob and put on her best show face before opening the door and stepping out to join the rest of her family.

**A/N – Thanks for sticking with me and reading. Please leave me a review.**

**Also, I know many of you want to see Shelby and the dads, but please stick with me. I'm getting there. Thanks again, guys.**


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N – I know. I'm sorry this is late. I was out of town this past week and I was just too busy to get this completed and posted before I left and I didn't have the time to put into it while I was gone. I actually went and saw one of the Glee concerts and it was a lot of fun. But anyway, here's the update. I hope you all like it. Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading and to those of you who review and especially to those of you that I hear from after every chapter. That means so much to me and I look forward to your comments. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

All eyes were on Rachel as the group settled down around the table to start their meal. Rachel could feel everyone looking at her, but decided to play it off as if she didn't notice it. It was just easier that way right now and she didn't want to be the cause of any more delays or outbursts today since Shelby was working so hard to make it special.

"This looks great, Mom," Rachel said as Shelby sat down next to her. Rachel took Shelby's hand in her own as she felt the need to feel close to her mother. Shelby squeezed it back and smiled at Rachel. She felt like she was at a loss sometimes for what to do for her daughter, but she would always be able to provide this type of closeness.

"Thank you, honey," Shelby said. "But I think we can give Nana and Sam most of the credit. They're both better cooks than I am."

"I'm afraid I didn't get the cooking gene," Rachel said. "Mom's been trying to teach me though. It's been a slow process."

"I'm with you, Rachel," Maggie said. "I'm not much of a cook and I'm so glad I married a man who loves to cook." She looked at Sam and smiled.

"There's something to be said for take-out though," Rachel said. "You can get exactly what you want and it's a lot less work."

"And not nearly as good for you," Rebecca said. "Rachel, how often do you eat take-out? I don't want to hear about you not eating at home or cooking."

"Oh great, you got her started. Thanks, Rachel," Sam said and Rebecca huffed.

"I just want her to eat right. Eating healthy is not something that should be taken lightly," Rebecca said while Sam mimicked her, having obviously heard that saying many times. Rachel laughed and Rebecca geared up for another speech but Maggie cut her off.

"Rachel, I hear you've got a date tomorrow."

Quinn's head snapped over to look at Rachel while the girl ducked her head.

"Mom," Rachel said.

"What?" Shelby shrugged. "It came up."

"With who?" Quinn asked. She wondered why she hadn't been told about this before.

"Jesse," Rachel answered quietly.

"St. Jacka- ow!" Quinn said and was cut off when Judy not so discretely pinched her hip. Jack and Michael giggled. "But Rachel? After everything he did?"

Rachel turned and looked at Quinn to try and stop her from elaborating. She did not want the entire meal to become about her date and the merits of going out with Jesse or not. Besides, this was a pot and kettle moment for Quinn even if she didn't see it right now.

"He was one of your students, right?" Paul said to Shelby. "The singer? What did he do?"

"Nothing," Rachel said. "It was nothing."

"Quinn doesn't seem to think it was nothing," Sam said. "What time is this date tomorrow?"

"Six-thirty," Rachel answered.

"I can't wait to meet this kid," Sam said.

"Me too," Paul agreed.

"Why?" Rachel asked. "And I thought you guys were going home in the morning."

"Not anymore," Paul and Sam said together.

"Mom," Rachel whined as she looked to Shelby for some help.

"It's really not that big of a deal," Shelby said. "Rachel is fine and I've already talked to Jesse."

"Well I want to talk to him," Paul said.

"Me too," Sam agreed.

"I want to be here too," Quinn said. "Do you know where you're going? I can help you get ready."

"I don't know yet."

"Oh, this'll be fun," Maggie said and Rebecca nodded her head.

"I already know what I'm going to wear," Rachel said. "It's not a big de-"

"Of course it is," Rebecca said.

Rachel turned to look at Shelby once more and glared at her. Shelby looked to her and tried to apologize. It had been an innocent conversation when she had mentioned it earlier to her mother and sister-in-law. How was she supposed to know that Rachel's date would become a full family affair?

As the subject thankfully moved away from her upcoming evening out, Rachel took in the opportunity to enjoy the family around her. Even in happier times, it had always just been her and her dads for big holidays and so having an extended family and friends there was something new and she found she really enjoyed it. She soaked up every family story and delighted in the banter between Sam and Shelby and found an ally in her aunt Maggie when trying to pull one over on her Nana. She and Quinn had the chance to tell them all about the plans for the Sectionals competition and they all promised they would be there to see it. Rachel was surprised at how they agreed to come even after she told them that she wasn't being featured. She didn't figure family ever showed up if you weren't the star. The last time she tried to get her dads to come to one of her dance recitals, they had backed out when she told them she wasn't being featured. She had been eleven.

Some traditions seemed to be the same for everyone because football was soon turned on and Rachel wandered away from the living room and into the kitchen to finish up some of the cleaning. Quinn soon joined her and immediately brought up the date with Jesse.

"When did you have time to plan a date with Jesse?"

"When he came over yesterday and we talked," Rachel answered. "He's home from California for the holiday break and came by to see Shelby. And me, he said, because he'd heard from some of his old friends that I was living here now."

"But why would you want to go on a date with him?" Quinn asked.

"I like him. I always have."

"But after everything he did?"

"He apologized," Rachel said. "And I understand his reasons. And it's not like he's the only one ever to have treated me badly and apologized for it later."

Quinn nodded and said, "I know, Rachel. I just don't want you to get hurt again."

"Thanks, Quinn. And I'll be careful, I promise," Rachel said. "I just think it'll be fun. And Jesse understands me and he gets all of my Broadway stories and he even likes hearing them because he's just as interested. It's nice to talk to someone who can share that."

"Rachel, I'm interested in your Broadway stuff," Quinn said, hurt.

"No, Quinn, I didn't mean that," Rachel answered quickly. "I didn't say you weren't. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. Jesse's just different."

"I know," Quinn conceded. "Maybe you and Jesse can go out with Sam and me while he's still in town."

"That would be fun," Rachel said.

"Great! So what are you wearing tomorrow night?"

"Oh, I've been thinking about that," Maggie said as she came into the room with Judy and Rebecca on her heels. "Can you show us what you're planning on wearing?"

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Because we want to help you get ready," Rebecca said.

"Why?" Rachel asked again.

"Because it'll be fun," Maggie said.

"There you guys are," Shelby said as she came into the room. "Beth is finally sleeping."

"I was just going to wear one of my normal outfits," Rachel said.

Rebecca, Maggie, Quinn and Judy all started to shake their heads and Rachel heard 'no' a few times.

"But Jesse always seemed to like my clothes when we went out before," Rachel said. "What's wrong with them?"

Shelby moved around the group and stood behind Rachel and faced her family and friends and glared at them, daring them to say anything bad about Rachel's normal skirts, sweaters and knee socks.

"Nothing," Rebecca said quickly and the others nodded. "We were just thinking about how you should change it up a little bit since it's such a special occasion."

"I'm not completely oblivious," Rachel said. "I have other clothes, but I don't even know where we're going. I just thought I would keep it casual and normal."

"That sounds like a good idea, honey," Shelby said from behind her.

"That would be great," Maggie said. "But it doesn't mean we can't keep an eye out for a great outfit when we go shopping tomorrow." The other woman agreed.

"Shopping?" Rachel said. "On Black Friday? I've never been out shopping the day after Thanksgiving. It seems…crazy."

"We go every year. We'll leave the boys and Beth here and make a morning of it," Rebecca said. "You two are going to go with us, right?" she asked looking at Quinn and Judy.

"It sounds great," Judy said.

"But I don't really need anything," Rachel said. She was frugal and had been shopping for herself for years and didn't usually shop just to shop.

"That's not the point," Maggie said.

"It'll be fun, Rachel," Shelby said.

"I'm looking forward to it," Rachel said finally smiling.

The evening eventually wound down and Judy and Quinn decided it was time for them to head home. Jack and Michael were told to start getting ready for bed because they would have to go eventually. The boys only complained for a few minutes, but they followed the instructions all the same. It was well past their bedtime as it was and they were both fighting sleep. Shelby and Rachel accompanied Quinn and Judy to the front porch to see them off. They waved until the car had pulled out of the driveway and then Shelby turned back to open the door, but Rachel stopped her.

"Don't send me to bed," Rachel said.

"What?" Shelby asked, confused.

"Please don't send me to bed like one of the little kids," Rachel said. "I'm not tired and I want to stay up with everyone. I need… I want to know that I'm included." She looked away and shivered against the cold air.

Shelby reached out and took ahold of Rachel's arms and rubbed them a little bit to try and warm the girl up. Even after the whole day and the over protectiveness about Jesse and the planning to go shopping, Rachel still needed to feel included. More importantly, she needed to know that the family was including her because they wanted her there. Shelby sighed and Rachel dropped her head at her mother's reaction.

"I'm sorry."

"No, hey," Shelby said as she pulled her into a hug. "It's ok. You're still getting used to the whole family gathering thing. I understand."

"I just don't want to miss anything," Rachel changed her wording around. "I want to be able to spend the time with everyone. That is, if they want me there. Is this your family's tradition? They send the kids to bed so they can get some time without the children? I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't think of that. I don't want to change your traditions."

"You're not changing anything," Shelby said, trying to encourage her. "Trust me, everyone wants you around too. You are always included."

"I just need to know that I belong somewhere tonight."

"You belong right here," Shelby said. "Do you understand that? Right here. With your family."

Rachel nodded and did her best to shake off her insecurities. She was beginning to think this whole day would have been easier if her dads hadn't called. "Ok."

"Ok, you understand? Or ok, you're saying something to try and appease me?" Shelby said.

"I'm trying," Rachel said using her mantra she so often repeated during times like this. "I guess it's a good thing your family is pretty great."

"Our family, Rachel," Shelby corrected. "And tell me that after they've been here a couple of days," she joked. "And just so you know, I wasn't planning on sending you to bed. There isn't anything you have to be up for tomorrow morning."

"Except shopping," Rachel said.

"Yeah, but we're not some of the crazies who try and get there at four in the morning," Shelby said. "We can sleep in."

"Ok," Rachel said.

"I really do mean that," Rachel," Shelby said. "You don't have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow like you do on the weekends."

Rachel rolled her eyes at her mother's joke and reached for the front door. "Thanks, Mom."

It was after midnight and everyone except Jack, Michael, and Beth were still awake and talking. Rachel was sitting next to Shelby on the couch, leaning into her. Rachel had been clingy most of the day, but Shelby didn't mind. At the moment Rachel was doing her best to prove that she wasn't the least bit tired though they all could see through it.

"This wine is fantastic, Shelby," Paul said as he came back into the room with another full glass, his second.

"Thanks. I found that a wine store I found in Chicago the last time I was there," Shelby said. "Geez, that was over a year ago."

"Why'd you go to Chicago?" Rachel asked.

"Something to do," Shelby shrugged. "I drove over and spent a few days over the summer. I did some shopping and saw a couple of shows and then came home."

"That sounds like fun," Rachel said.

"It was."

"What's so great about the wine?" Rachel asked, turning back to Paul.

"It's very robust," he answered and then chuckled when it was clear that Rachel didn't understand what that meant. "Here, try a sip."

Rachel held out her hand and took the wine glass eagerly. She almost had it to her mouth when it was taken out of her hand by her mother who held it out of her reach.

"Mom," Rachel whined.

"Dad," Shelby accused.

"Shelby," Paul said, sweet talking her, "let her have a sip. It's not going to hurt anything."

"She's only fifteen," Shelby said.

"Oh please," Sam jumped in. "It's not like you weren't sneaking wine when you were younger than that."

The room was silent for a second as everyone absorbed that new information.

"Sam!" Shelby scolded.

"Mom," Rachel laughed when she saw the hint of a blush in Shelby's cheeks.

"I knew it," Rebecca said.

"Sorry, Shelbs," Sam said though the grin on his face didn't give any indication that he was really sorry.

Shelby sent him a mock glare as she handed the glass back to Rachel. "One sip."

Rachel played the room perfectly, knowing just how to work her audience. She left just enough suspense and her timing was perfect as she brought the glass to her lips. But she couldn't control her reaction. She took a large sip, more of a gulp, and then grimaced and contorted her face as she swallowed it down.

"Robust," was all she said causing the adults to burst into laughter. Rachel took a second to cough as she handed the glass back to her grandfather.

"Ok, I don't know about the rest of you but I'm beat," Maggie said. "I'm going up to bed."

"I will join you," Sam said. "Rachel, I will think on some more good stories about your mom that I can share with you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Uncle Sam," Rachel said as Shelby hit him as he passed.

"I'm going too," Rebecca said.

"What do you say, kiddo?" Shelby said as she looked at Rachel who was hiding a yawn.

"I'm fine," Rachel said.

"Come on," Rebecca said, pulling Rachel to her feet. "We have a ton of shopping to do tomorrow and your date to get ready for."

"It's really not that big of a-"

"Deal. I know," Rebecca said. "Humor me. And I need someone to walk me upstairs and, oh look, you're already up." Rebecca linked arms with Rachel and led her to up the stairs.

Shelby let out a long breath and then looked tiredly over at her dad when it was just the two of them. He took a last sip of the wine and then offered the glass back to Shelby who smiled gratefully and finished it off.

"Did you have a good day?" Paul asked.

"Yes," Shelby said. "It turned out to be nice for Beth's and Rachel's first Thanksgiving with us."

"And did she have a nice day?"

Shelby held his gaze for a long moment and then looked away. "I think so. She feels guilty for missing her dads and is worried about being included in our family. She still feels like an intruder sometimes. She's so careful not to overstep any boundaries. She craves all of the attention, but is scared to ask for it and then feels bad about it being given to her. Like it's not real, but only done out of pity."

"Even when it's just you and Beth?"

"Not as much," Shelby says. "She's probably completely overwhelmed right now; not that she's going to tell me that. But she still has her moments when it's just the three of us here. It could be something out of the blue and bam she's in tears and feeling like the world is turning its back on her and then ten minutes later she's fine."

"Probably not all that fine," Paul said.

"No. But hiding it better," Shelby agreed. "She just found a therapist she feels comfortable with and we start regular appointments next week."

"That's wonderful," Paul said. "And you know we'll do whatever it is we can to help."

"I know. And I do have one request."

"What's that?"

"Don't miss that Sectionals performance," Shelby said. "Did you see her face when you guys said you would come and watch? If you have to show up while you're bleeding, I'm ok with that."

"We wouldn't miss it."

Paul got to his feet and leaned down to kiss Shelby on the top of her head and then headed upstairs to go to bed. Shelby took the moment to gather her thoughts in quiet of the room before following suit and going upstairs herself.

Rachel stood in one of Shelby's oversized t-shirts and looked down at Beth who was sleeping peacefully in her crib. It always amazed her how watching one little baby could be so fascinating. Rachel was about to reach in to adjust the blanket when Shelby stopped her.

"Don't wake her. I like that she's sleeping through the night and I want her to stay that way," Shelby whispered.

"I wouldn't wake her."

"You think that now."

They moved away from the crib and over to the bed before Shelby asked, "Is that my shirt?"

"Yeah, I forgot to grab some pajamas from my room earlier," Rachel answered.

"Oh," Shelby answered. "Are you ready to get into bed?" At Rachel's nod, Shelby held the blankets back for her so the girl could get in under them.

"I'm really not all that tired," Rachel said as she rested up on her elbow instead of lying down all the way. "It was really nice to get to sit up and talk with everyone. I feel like I'm learning so much about…everything. Did you have a nice day, Mom?"

"Yes, I did," Shelby answered. "Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Did you have a nice evening?"

Rachel nodded and gave her mother a too perfect smile. "Nobody seemed to mind that I stayed up so late."

"Why would they?" Shelby asked. "Rachel, they are not putting on a show for you or doing anything out of the ordinary for you. They are treating you like a member of the family and not a guest."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," Shelby said. "I promise, honey."

"Do you think my dads were treated like family today? Or just guests?" Rachel asked. "They each went to friends' houses and maybe they had moments where they knew it was kind of awkward because they were only guests."

"Maybe they did," Shelby said.

"I hope they had nice days regardless," Rachel said. "Everyone should have a nice Thanksgiving."

"You're right, sweetie," Shelby answered. She also knew how much better she would feel if the Berry men had not chosen Thanksgiving morning to reach out and say hello. "Now why don't you get some sleep?"

"I think I'll read for a little while first," Rachel said as she sat up all the way and picked up her book from the nightstand. It's Patti LuPone's memoir. I've been taking notes."

"Don't you think it's a little late?" Shelby asked.

"But I'm not that tired," Rachel said even as she tried to hide another yawn.

"Ok," Shelby said. "Read away then."

Shelby went into the bathroom to get ready for bed and not even ten minutes later when she came out, Rachel was fast asleep. Shelby looked down at her the same way she always watched Beth sleeping and smiled. She took the book from Rachel's hand and made sure to move the bookmark to save the page and then set it on the table. She pulled Rachel's quilt, which she had not forgotten to take from her room, to her shoulders and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Shelby checked on Beth once more and then hit the lights and got into bed herself because unlike Rachel, she had no problem admitting when she was tired.

Shelby heard the whimpers in the room and groggily opened her eyes. The clock shining back at her told her it was only a little after two and Shelby was surprised that Beth had woken up. She sighed and sat up so that she could get to Beth before she would wake Rachel up. The crying grew louder and it was then that Shelby realized that it wasn't Beth who was crying; it was Rachel. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Shelby looked down at Rachel and could see the worry and fear on her face as well as the tears that were sliding down the side of her head and into her ears.

"Rachel," Shelby said, shaking her slightly to wake her up. "Honey." She put an arm under Rachel's head and sat the girl up and pulled her close so that her head was resting on Shelby's chest.

"Shhh, don't cry," Shelby said. "Wake up." She held her tightly and rubbed her back and Rachel clung to her hem of her shirt.

"Mom," Rachel mumbled.

"I'm right here," Shelby said. "Please wake up."

The crying stopped and Rachel opened her eyes and sniffled unconsciously while she got her bearings. She glanced up and saw that Shelby was peering down at her and she quickly averted her eyes. She didn't make any move to disengage herself from Shelby's arms though and, in fact, settled deeper into the embrace. She wanted to be held. She needed to be held.

"You were leaving again," Rachel said. "In my dream."

"I'm right here."

"And my dads said that I couldn't go back and live at my old house," Rachel continued. "Someone is always leaving. Them or you or nameless people that just walk away. They never even look back. You never looked back."

"When?"

"When you left," Rachel answered. "My dads haven't looked back. Everyone just walks away."

Shelby released a long breath and tears pricked at her eyes. She didn't know what to say or how to make this better. She squeezed tighter and placed a kiss on the top of Rachel's head.

"I'm not leaving, Rachel," Shelby said.

"Do you promise?" Rachel whispered.

"I promise," Shelby said.

"Then why do I keep having nightmares?"

That was a question Shelby couldn't answer and she sat alone in bed thinking about it after Rachel got up to go into the bathroom. She wanted nothing more than to take all of Rachel's worries and fears away, but she knew she couldn't do that and the thought was almost unbearable.

Rachel returned from the bathroom a few minutes later having cleaned her face and regained her composure. She got into the bed and started to lie back down, but stopped herself.

"Mommy," Rachel mumbled to Shelby.

"Hmmm?" Shelby asked as she tucked some hair behind Rachel's ear.

"Will you hold me until I fall asleep?"

"Of course," Shelby said and she encompassed Rachel with her arms and pulled the girl to her. Shelby leaned back against her pillows and the headboard with Rachel leaning into her and Shelby rubbing her back soothingly. Rachel was back asleep within minutes, but Shelby's mind raced as she stared into the darkness of the room for much longer before she too fell asleep.

Rachel woke up and found that she was practically lying on top of her mother. She had curled herself into a ball and her head was now resting on Shelby's lap and an arm slung across her legs. Shelby was still half sitting up against the headboard and she head one hand resting on Rachel's head. Rachel slowly uncurled herself and moved to the other side of the bed and started to turn the blankets back so she could get up.

"No," Shelby said.

"But-"

"No," Shelby said again. She hadn't even opened her eyes. "What time is it?"

Rachel sat up some and looked past Shelby and at the clock on the table. Five forty-seven."

"Lie back down," Shelby instructed. "It's too early."

"But I always get up around this time."

Shelby opened her eyes for the first time and looked at Rachel. "I know; that's why it's too early. You have not gotten a good night's sleep now lie back down."

"Fine, but I'm not going to go back to sleep," Rachel said as she rested her head down against her own pillow.

"I'm ok with that," Shelby said. "But you're not getting out of bed either." She grimaced as she moved from the spot she had been in and settled down against her own pillow. Her back was going to hurt all day.

Rachel started another whine but Shelby held up a hand that silenced her. It took Shelby a few minutes to realize that she hadn't received another protest and when she looked over she found that Rachel was once again sleeping. She pulled the blankets up and tucked them around the girl's shoulders and then went back to sleep herself. They had both gotten less than four hours of sleep and Shelby knew it wasn't enough for either of them.

Rachel had slept until after ten that morning though Shelby had only gotten a couple more hours because Beth had not particularly cared that her mother might want more sleep when she woke up. Shelby had been able to get her before she woke Rachel up and as she helped make Rachel some breakfast, she was glad that her eldest had ended up sleeping so long.

The mall was packed when they arrived and it had taken the ladies ten minutes to even find a place to park.

"What stores would you like to hit first, Rachel?" Rebecca asked.

"I don't know," Rachel answered. "Whatever you guys want. I don't really need anything."

"Rachel, do we need to go through this again like we did when you were in Columbus?" Rebecca asked.

"Mom, you are not buying her as much as you did that trip," Shelby said.

"Of course not," Rebecca said. "She's got you here to buy some of it too. And I have four grandchildren I can shop for today."

"I don't need mom to buy anything," Rachel said. This was still a bit of an awkward point for Rachel. She and Shelby had not really ever been shopping together since Rachel had moved in. Sure, they shopped for groceries and Shelby always paid for everything if they went to dinner; she'd had to stop Rachel from trying to pay her back; but Shelby had never been there to buy clothes or CDs or anything like that for Rachel.

"Nonsense," Rebecca said. "Come on."

Rachel fell into step next to Shelby as they walked toward the mall entrance and said, "Really, Mom, I don't need anything."

"Relax, honey," Shelby said. "We're just here to have a nice time. If you see something you like, maybe we'll get it."

"I can get it," Rachel said. "I've got some money."

"I want you to save that money," Shelby said, referring to the account Rachel had told her about. "Just hold onto it."

"But that's not fair," Rachel said.

"Rachel, I'm your mom; stop worrying about me paying for something. If it's something I think is too much or anything, I'll just say no," Shelby said.

"Then I bet I could get Nana to get it for me," Rachel said as she relaxed some.

"There, now you're learning," Shelby teased as they caught up with Maggie and Rebecca.

They had met up with Judy and Quinn and hadn't even made it all the way through the mall by the time they stopped to have lunch.

"Are you sure we can eat here, Nana?" Rachel teased. "It's not homemade after all."

"Ok, you smart alec," Rebecca said. "Once in a while is fine."

The group laughed before breaking up so that everyone could go to the eatery of their choice. Shelby and Rachel opted for sushi and then made their way to the tables where they were lucky enough to find two side-by-side to fir their whole party

"Rachel, I love the outfit you got for your date," Maggie said.

"Which one was that?" Shelby asked.

"Oh we'll show you later," Rebecca said. "We found it while you were in the bathroom."

Shelby eyed them suspiciously before dropping it.

"I'm going to come by about five tonight," Quinn said to Rachel. "To help you get ready."

"Ok," Rachel said, distracted. She was looking past Quinn at someone she had just spotted. "I'll be right back."

Rachel got to her feet and started to walk towards the man as the rest of the table turned around look and see what she was doing.

"Who is that?" Maggie asked as they watched Rachel greet the man.

"Henry," Shelby said. "One of her dads."

Shelby was on her feet in the next instance to go and talk to the man. She was stopped as multiple pairs of hands forced her to sit back down.

"What are you doing?" Shelby asked. "I've got a lot I want to say to that man."

"Do not go over there and cause a scene and embarrass her," Rebecca said. "Now is not the time or the place to talk to her fathers; especially not with Rachel right there."

"I won't make a scene," Shelby said though she was almost shaking with anger and no one believed her.

"Hi, Dad," Rachel said.

"Rach, hi," Henry greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Shopping. I'm surprised you're here because I know how much you hate malls," Rachel said.

"I do," he agreed. It was an awkward exchange. "But I needed some stuff."

"Oh. Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?"

"Yes."

"Me too," Rachel said though he hadn't asked. She hung her head for a second as she tried to come up with something else to say. It shouldn't be this hard to talk to your dad.

Shelby tried to get up again when she saw Rachel hang her head. Who knows what he was saying to her. She was stopped again before she could get anywhere, but Maggie got to her feet and made her way towards Rachel and Henry.

"My glee club has a performance coming up soon," Rachel said. "Do you think maybe you could come?" She knew the answer before she even asked it because he and Scott hadn't seen one club performance yet. But it was something to say.

"Oh, I don't know, Rachel," Henry said. "I'll have to check my schedule. You know how busy I get."

"That's ok," Maggie said as she joined the group. She put a comforting hand on Rachel's back and she came up to stand next to the girl. "We're going to record it when we go and we'd be happy to make you a copy."

Henry looked taken aback and glanced down at Rachel for an explanation of who this woman was.

"Dad, this is Shelby's sister-in-law-"

"I'm Rachel's Aunt Maggie," the woman said as she held her hand out for Henry to shake.

"I'm her father," Henry said as he shook Maggie's hand.

"It's nice to meet you," Maggie said, not quite truthfully.

"You too," Henry said. "Rach, listen, I've got to run. I was just grabbing a bite to eat before I left."

"Ok," Rachel said. "I'll see you later then."

"Yep," he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead and Rachel closed her eyes. "I'll see you later, sweetheart."

"Bye, Dad."

Rachel and Maggie stood and watched him leave before turning back to rejoin their group. Rachel returned to her seat and looked down because she knew they were all staring at her.

"I just wanted to say hi," she finally said. "He hates the mall so I was surprised to see him."

"Are you ok?" Shelby asked and Rachel nodded. She finally looked back up at her mother offered her a small half smile. "Honestly."

Shelby pulled Rachel close to her side and placed a kiss on her temple. "Good. Then eat up so we can continue shopping." Shelby figured it was best not to dwell right now and Rachel seemed ok. She looked to Maggie and mouthed 'thank you' and the other woman nodded at her.

"Yeah, we need to find you some shoes for your date tonight," Rebecca said.

Rachel smiled and then took another bite of her lunch. She didn't even tell them that she didn't need to buy shoes because she had some for the outfit at home.

**A/N – Thanks for reading. Please leave me a review!**


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of your reviews and notes and for continuing to read. Some of you guys have come up with some really great ideas for the story and, I'll be honest, I hadn't even thought of a few of them. Please keep the ideas coming because I love to hear what you guys think. I hope you enjoy this one. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer – I still don't own Glee. **

"That's Nicky Arnstein," Rachel said. "They're going to end up falling in love. Of course, Fanny loves him already."

Rachel smiled at the screen as the two boys flanked on either side of her groaned. Jack to her left and Michael to her right had been excited when Rachel had asked them if they wanted to watch a movie with her. They were sitting together on the couch in the music room and Rachel had been explaining _Funny Girl_ to them the same way John Madden would call a football game and the boys had had just about enough of the play-by-play.

"Rachel," Jack said.

"Wait a second. Listen to her sing," Rachel said.

Shelby stepped into the room to see how they were doing and lingered in the doorway to watch. She was just now seeing what movie Rachel had picked, though she had her suspicions. She had tried to warn the boys that letting Rachel choose might not be the best idea.

"We already heard her singing a few times," Michael complained.

"Yeah, I thought you said this movie was good," Jack said.

"It is good," Rachel said, scandalized. "It's the best."

"It's old!" Michael said.

"So!" Rachel said. "That doesn't mean it can't be good."

"It kinda does," Jack said. "Can't we watch _Star Wars_ instead?"

"_Star Wars_ is old too!" Rachel argued.

"Not this old," Jack said. "And nobody sings."

"And there's lots of cool fights," Michael said.

"And Darth Vader," Jack said.

"And light sabers," Michael said.

"But it doesn't have Barbra Streisand," Rachel countered.

"Who?" the boys asked together.

Shelby saw Rachel's face register in shock and she decided to spare her nephews the lecture they were about to receive.

"How's it going in here?" Shelby asked as she stepped further into the room.

"Aunt Shelby, she's making us watch… this," Michael said as he pointed to the screen. He said 'this' in a way that made it seem like he couldn't even bear to say the movie's name.

"Mom, they don't know who Barbra Streisand is," Rachel said.

"Honey, this may not have been the best choice for a movie," Shelby said as she put a hand on Rachel's head and smoothed it over her hair.

"But they said I could pick," Rachel told her.

"Yeah, but we thought you'd pick something good," Jack said.

"I did!" Rachel said.

"How about _Transformers_?" Shelby asked before Rachel could get going again and the boys' faces lit up.

"Yeah!" Michael said.

"But I thought you said you wanted to watch a good movie," Rachel said.

"It is a good movie," Michael said.

"Hardly," Rachel said. "It's a-"

"Rach," Shelby cut her off. Jack was already up and switching out the DVDs.

"But Mom," Rachel whined.

"Quinn is here," Shelby said. "Come on."

"Already?" Rachel asked as she got up and left with Shelby. "Jesse won't be here for two more hours. Everyone is going a little crazy over this. I've been on dates before. I've been on dates with Jesse before as a matter of fact."

"Are you not excited?" Shelby asked, stopping her on the stairs.

"No, I'm excited," Rachel said. "But you guys are acting like this is something brand new for me."

"It's brand new for us," Shelby said. They started their way down the stairs again.

Rachel was headed for the stairway to take her to the living room but was stopped when Shelby took her arm and led her into the master bedroom.

"I thought you said Quinn was here," Rachel said, confused.

"She is," Shelby said. "But I want to talk to you for a second. Have a seat." Rachel sat on the edge of the bed and her feet dangled over the side because the bed was tall and she couldn't reach the floor.

"Since this is you first date since you've been living with me, I wanted to talk to you before you went out," Shelby continued.

"Mom," Rachel said to try and cut her off because she knew where this was going.

"Rachel, just listen," Shelby said. "I want you to go and have a good time tonight, but I want you to remember that you are still very young. I know you've gone out before and I know you've been in…situations, but you're not alone anymore and you have someone to talk to if you want to discuss any questions you may have."

"Mom, I'm not planning on having sex with Jesse tonight," Rachel said.

"Oh, I know," Shelby said, laughing nervously a bit at Rachel's bluntness. "But sometimes, it's not planned and things just happen. You have all of these hormones and desires and-"

"Mom," Rachel cut her off. "How about you just give me a condom and then that way you know I'll be safe."

"Rachel, that's not what I meant!" Shelby gasped out, shocked. "I don't want you to be safe. No, I mean I do want you to be safe, of course. But not tonight." Rachel cocked her head to the side and smiled a little bit, amused at having flustered her mother. "No, tonight too. Always. Always be safe. I'm saying that I don't want you having sex tonight."

"Ok," Rachel said. She got up off the bed and stepped around her still shocked mother and moved towards the door. "Though I suppose it will have to be soon since he's going back to school next week." With that she gave her mother a mischievous smile and then slipped out the door.

"Rachel, wait," Shelby said as she hurried to catch up with her. "You're not ready."

Rachel stopped in the hallway and turned to look at her mother. "I know." Rachel took both of Shelby's hands in her own and asked, "Are you ok, Mom?"

"Yes," Shelby answered.

"Good. And while, I appreciate your efforts to give me a birds and bees speech again, I don't really need it," Rachel told her.

"Honey, you're only fifteen," Shelby said. "Yes you do."

"I looked up the answers to all of my questions a while ago," Rachel said. "And it seems to make you uncomfortable so why should you go through it if I already know?"

"You looked them up?"

"On the internet."

"Of course," Shelby said. "Let's have that talk anyway. I'll try not to be uncomfortable and you can just consider it a refresher."

"If you think it's necessary," Rachel shrugged. "It'll be different having a woman to talk to about it. Ok, let's talk, woman to woman."

"How about mother to daughter," Shelby said as she took Rachel's hand and led her back into the bedroom.

Two hours later Rachel was still in her room with Quinn and Maggie when they heard the doorbell ring and Rachel went to the window to look out.

"I hope they don't embarrass me down there," Rachel said. "You guys are acting like it's prom," she said to Maggie.

"This is new and exciting for us, Rachel," Maggie said. "I have known your grandparents and Sam and Shelby a really long time and, trust me, this would have been our reaction to your first date had you lived with Shelby your whole life."

"But it's not my first date," Rachel reminded her.

"Details, details," Maggie said. "Your grandfather liked to torture any boy that came to the door for your mother. Sam and I used to have a lot of fun with it."

"How long have you known Sam?" Quinn asked.

"Since we were in junior high; middle school now," Maggie answered. "Shelby is younger than us and was his annoying shadow for a good while so we had fun getting back at her when she started to date. We'd tell Paul all sorts of things about the guys who were coming to pick her up that weren't true."

"Aunt Maggie," Rachel laughed. "That's not very nice."

"But it's a lot of fun," Maggie said.

Downstairs both Paul and Sam stood intimidatingly in the living as they waited for Shelby to open the door. They had brushed off her order to be nice and were waiting to meet the boy. Shelby felt sorry for Jesse and her soft spot for him was shining through as she sent one last glare at the men in her family before opening the door.

"Hi, Jesse. Please come in."

"Hi, Shelby. Thanks," Jesse said as he stepped into the house. He had been there many times as a member of Vocal Adrenaline and he felt comfortable inside; until he saw Paul and Sam looming.

"Jesse, these are my parents Paul and Rebecca and this is my brother Sam," Shelby said. "Everyone, this is Jesse St. James."

"It's nice to meet you," Jesse said warmly, turning on his charm. He knew what they were doing. "Is Rachel ready?"

"Not quite," Paul answered. "Where do you plan on taking her?" Jesse looked nice, but was still casual.

"A place I know she'll love," Jesse answered. "I've got it all worked out."

"That's not really an answer," Sam said.

"It's a surprise," Jesse told them.

"For her," Paul said. "Not us."

"Dad," Shelby said. "Let him have his surprise."

"What other surprises do you have planned?" Paul said.

"Oh god," Shelby muttered.

"Excuse me?" Jesse asked.

"A boy your age. Already in college," Paul said. "We're not naïve. She's younger than you."

"Yes sir, I know," Jesse said.

"Dad," Shelby said.

"I don't want to see one hair out of place on her head when she comes home," Paul said.

What do you think we're going to be doing?" Jesse asked.

"I think you know," Paul said.

"I know that I plan on showing her a nice time tonight," Jesse said.

"That nice time better not include what I think it does," Paul said angrily.

"I suppose that would be up to her now, wouldn't it?" Jesse said defiantly, his charm not working.

"Jesse!" Shelby scolded.

"She's not going," Paul said.

"What?" Jesse and Shelby asked at the same time, both turning to look at Paul.

"You just heard him, Shelby. You'd let your daughter go out with him?"

"Rachel and I have been out before," Jesse said, his cocky nature shining through.

"Come with me," Shelby said as she pulled Jesse towards the kitchen. She pushed him into the room and then went back to her dad. "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Paul countered.

"I'm waiting to watch my little girl go out on a date," Shelby said. "I was fully prepare to let you guys have your fun and scare him a little, but don't start telling him or me what Rachel will and won't be doing. She's a good kid. And Jesse is a good kid. I'm not going to be that parent that treats dates horribly." This wasn't exactly true, Shelby knew. It helped that she already knew Jesse.

"I wasn't treating him horribly," Paul said.

"Well then how about don't embarrass Rachel," Shelby said. "She already thinks we're being crazy so let's not prove her right."

"Prove you right about what?" Rachel asked from the top of the stairs. All eyes turned to her as she started to descend the stairs. She was wearing tight jeans with black boots and a green top. Her hair was straight and glimmering and there was worry etched on her face. "Where's Jesse?"

"You look beautiful," Shelby said. Rachel matched Jesse's casual but dressy attire and Shelby knew the boy would approve. "Say goodbye to everyone and I'll get Jesse."

When Shelby walked back into the kitchen, Jesse stood up immediately because he knew that glide and posture very well. This wasn't just some date's mom, this was Coach Corcoran.

"Jesse," Shelby said quietly, yet firmly. "Listen to me. My dad made it a sport of intimidating my dates and none of them ever talked back to him so he wasn't quite sure how to react. So let me do it for him. I know that you tried to sleep with Rachel once and that she said she wasn't ready. Well, she still isn't ready. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," Jesse answered. "I understood it then too, you know. She told me she was ready and then when it came to it, she wasn't and I never said another word about it. I've never tried to pressure her. Shelby, I just want to have a nice time tonight. I have something planned that I know Rachel will like and I will too."

Shelby smiled despite herself and nodded. "Then you two had better get going."

Jesse and Shelby joined the group in the living room and he stopped short when he saw Quinn. "Rachel, what is she-"

"I'll explain it all later," Rachel said. "Bye everyone." She tried to usher Jesse towards the door as fast as possible.

"Wait, let me get a picture," Rebecca said. She stepped past her still fuming husband and son and towards Rachel and Jesse.

"Oh my god," Rachel muttered and looked to her mother for help, but Shelby just grinned.

Rachel and Jesse stopped and posed for a few pictures before finally Rebecca felt she had enough.

"Be home by ten, Rachel," Paul said as the kids were headed towards the door. Rachel looked over her should at him like he was crazy and then looked to Shelby.

"Eleven," Shelby told her.

"Thanks, Mom. Bye."

The front door closed and the rest of the Corcorans plus Quinn just stood there and looked at it for a few moments. It was the blonde guest that broke the silence.

Quinn moved to stand by Shelby and said, "Our little girl is all grown up." She sniffled a bit playfully and looked over at her. Shelby put a hand on her side of Quinn's head and gave her a gentle shove before she started to laugh. Even Paul cracked a smile.

"Where are we headed?" Rachel asked once they were away from the house and in the car. He leaned over from the driver's side and gave her a kiss.

"You'll see," he answered before putting the car in gear and driving away.

It was half an hour before Jesse pulled into the empty parking lot of a local community theater. The whole place was dark and Rachel gave him a bewildered look when he got out of the car.

"What are we doing here?" she asked when he opened her door.

"Playing," Jesse said.

They made their way around the side of the building and to the stage door.

"I'm sure it's locked," Rachel said.

"Nope," Jesse said as he turned the knob and held the door open for her.

"Jesse, we can't just go in there," Rachel said. "Isn't this breaking and entering or something?"

"Not if the door is unlocked," Jesse said. "I used to do Community Theater here all the time and I know the owners. The place is ours for the night."

Rachel smiled as they wondered around backstage. She looked through various props and backdrops and costumes until she finally settled her eyes on Jesse again. She pulled him forward into a kiss and then hugged him. "This is fantastic."

Jesse went back to bins full of props and looked through them until he found what he was looking for; a mask. It wasn't exactly a phantom mask, but it would have to do. He put it on and started singing "The Music of the Night" and pulled Rachel with him until they were standing center stage and looking out into the empty theater. Rachel only listened through the first verse and then she joined in and harmonized with him. When the song was over, they both looked at each other for a few moments before grinning like kids in a candy shop and then rushed back to the props.

"Are you sure she's going to be ok with that boy?" Paul asked…again.

"Yes, Dad," Shelby answered.

"He seemed like a nice boy," Rebecca said.

"He was rude," Paul said.

"So were you," Shelby answered.

"You're not at all concerned?" Paul asked.

"No," Shelby said. "I talked to both of them today and feel confident that they can make the right decisions."

"I have a question," Maggie said as she joined the group in the living room after putting her sons to bed. She wanted to steer the conversation away from Jesse. "Does Rachel always have a hard time referring to us as her family?"

"What?" Rebecca asked. "I thought she was ok with all of that."

Shelby sighed and looked down at her hands.

"I'm asking because she doesn't seem to have any trouble calling you guys Nana and Grandpa and you Uncle Sam and me Aunt Maggie, but it's only here. At the mall when we ran into her father she introduced me as 'Shelby's sister-in-law' and I corrected her."

"She called me mom after one meeting," Shelby said thinking back on when Rachel walked into the Carmel auditorium wearing her horrible stuffed animal Gaga costume. "But she often times refers to you guys as my family as if she still has trouble counting herself as part of it. She struggles with it. And her talking to her dads recently hasn't helped."

"So there's no meaning behind the names for her?" Sam asked.

"No, there is," Shelby assured them. "She loves you guys, but it's just weird for her. She's not used to an extended family.

"Is there anything we can do to help her feel like we're her family all the time?" Maggie asked.

Shelby shrugged. "Just everything you have been doing. She knows. She's just always waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Maybe she could come and spend a weekend with us or something," Maggie said. "Just her. Something so that she feels more included or something."

"Maybe," Shelby said. "It'd have to be something we talk to her about."

"That's a lovely idea," Rebecca said. "We could have her over for a weekend as well. Do you think she'd be up for it?"

"I don't know," Shelby said. "I'm sure she would. It would all depend on when and why and things like that. She'd question it, I think, and would probably be unsure of the whole idea even if she was excited about it."

They all agreed to talk it over with her when the time was right. The room grew quiet as the conversation trailed off and each of them surreptitiously glanced at a clock to check the time. 9:47.

Jesse and Rachel sat center stage eating from the picnic basket Jesse had packed for the occasion. There was a lot of bottled water and fruit to hold them over.

"This was a great idea, Jesse," Rachel said. She was still wearing a long duster coat and hat like the ones Eponine wore in Les Miserables.

"Thanks. I thought you'd enjoy it," Jesse said. He had on a Captain Hook jacket and the hook prop rested at his side. "I can't wait until I can do this for real. In New York on a real Broadway stage."

"Me either," Rachel agreed. "I was actually kind of surprised you went to school in Los Angeles instead of New York."

"I got a full scholarship," he said. "But like I said before, I'm hoping I can transfer to NYU. I have applied and started to fill out forms for more scholarships and financial aid. UCLA has a great program, but it's not New York."

"I understand."

"It is really nice out there though and I'm learning a lot," he confessed. "I'm really torn about what to do."

"I don't know what I'll do if I don't get into a school in New York City," Rachel said. "It's the only thing I've ever planned to do."

"Then you'll do it," Jesse said. He lied down on the stage and put his hands behind his head and looked to the lights in the ceiling. Stage light was way better than starlight. "I know you will, Rachel."

Rachel took off her hat and lied down next to him and rested her head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around her.

"Do you really think we'll make it, Jesse?"

"It's an inevitability," Jesse said. "You're going to live on stage and so am I. They're going to write glowing reviews for us and people will wait at the stage doors just to see us. We'll sign as many autographs as is needed, of course." Jesse did love an audience.

"We'll play all the great roles," Rachel continued for him. "Maybe even together. You'd make a wonderful Curly to my Laurie in _Oklahoma_. And later on I'll play Evita. But in between I'll originate an amazing role that I'll always be remembered for. They'll trot me out at the Tony's when I'm ninety and make me sing my signature song and the room will listen with hushed excitement until I'm finished and the applause will be thunderous."

"The young kids won't believe that they really got to see you sing that song," Jesse said. "Our caricatures will be up at Sardis before we're thirty. We'll end up playing opposite the best in the business. The people we've only dreamed out. And they'll tell us that yes, we do deserve it. We do belong there."

"Thank you for bringing me here, Jesse," Rachel said.

"My pleasure," Jesse said. "Thank you for accepting my apology, Rachel. It means a lot to me to know that I've got you as a friend. You understand me so much better than just about anyone. You understand when I say that I don't just want to be on stage."

"You have to be on stage. I know. Me too," Rachel said. She turned to her side and leaned up on her arm so she could kiss him. "Jesse, I know this is just a short thing because you won't be home that long, but will you promise me that we'll continue to talk when you leave. As friends."

"I'd love that," Jesse said. "I hope we'll be friends for a long time." He kissed her once more before she settled back down and rested her head on his chest once more. She closed her eyes and soaked in the moment.

It was a few minutes before Jesse said, "We should probably get going."

"In a minute," Rachel answered, her eyes still closed.

When the grandfather clock in Shelby's house started to chime eleven the conversation grew quiet and all five adults glanced towards the front door and expected it to swing open to reveal Rachel standing on the other side. The eleventh chime came and went and still the door didn't budge. No one said anything and soon tried to return to the conversation. What was a couple of minutes anyway? They could be stuck at a red light or behind a slow driver.

At ten after, Shelby got up and went to the kitchen so she could look out the window and into her front yard where she expected to see Jesse's car idling at her curb. They were probably sitting in the car kissing. When no such scene could be found, Shelby went back to the living room and resumed her spot on the couch.

At eleven-thirty, Paul was up pacing the room making everyone else more anxious.

"You guys do not have to sit up and wait with me," Shelby said hoping they would all agree to go to bed.

"Are you kidding?" Sam said.

"I want to be able to strangle that Jesse kid when they get back," Paul said.

"They probably just lost track of time," Shelby said though she too was angry. "It happens."

"Well it shouldn't happen," Rebecca said. "You gave her a specific time to be home."

"I know, Mom," Shelby said. She didn't need all of them focusing their anger on her right now and she hoped that once she found Rachel she would be able to get them to go to sleep so that she could deal with her on her own. But knowing them as she did, Shelby wasn't sure how likely that was.

At midnight a distant sound caused Rachel to stir and she opened her eyes and looked around. It took her a second to place the sound until it hit her that it was her phone. But where was it? By the props? She'd left it back stage. The phone stopped and then she heard a different sound. Jesse's phone which was right next to hers.

"Oh my god," she said when she realized what was going on. She grabbed Jesse's wrist and looked at his watch. "Jesse, wake up!" Rachel yelled. "Jesse, we fell asleep. My mom is going to be so mad at me."

Jesse sat up as she was scrambling to get to her feet because her phone was ringing again. She tripped over the long coat she still had on once before she reached her phone and answered it.

"Mom?" Rachel answered.

"Rachel, are you and Jesse ok?" Shelby asked her relief at hearing Rachel's voice evident.

"We're fine," Rachel said. "We just-"

"Then you better get home right now."

**A/N – Thanks for reading everyone. Please leave me a review. **


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N – Thank you all so much for all of the reviews and for everyone who is reading. You guys are the best. And thanks so much for all of your input. The fact that so many of you are involved and give me your opinions and ideas really means a lot to me. Happy Fourth, everyone! **

**Disclaimer – I still don't own Glee. **

Rachel's leg bounced nervously in the car as Jesse drove them back to Shelby's house. She was wringing her hands together and cursing the red light in front of them. She couldn't believe she had done that on her first date since she moved in with her mother, especially with her whole family there. They'd all been so excited for her and she'd screwed it up.

"Don't worry, Rachel," Jesse said as he glanced over at her. "It was an accident. Shelby will understand."

"I don't know," Rachel said. She was extremely anxious about coming face-to-face with Shelby especially after what happened the last time she had broken her mother's rules. But she wouldn't do that this time, right? Not with everyone there, right? Rachel wrung her hands even harder when the light changed to green and the car moved forward again.

"Didn't you tell her what had happened on the phone?" Jesse said.

"I didn't get a chance," Rachel answered. She told me to get home and that we would talk about it when I got there. She sounded pretty mad."

"We'll just explain it again when we get there," Jesse assured her. Jesse had to admit that he was a little worried as well, but not like Rachel seemed to be. He cast her another glance before turning into the neighborhood.

"They should be home in a few minutes," Shelby said to group that was still up and waiting for Rachel to get home. "She said something about it being a bit of a drive."

"Where did he take her?" Paul asked accusingly.

"I don't know, Dad," Shelby answered.

"I don't like that boy."

"You don't know him," Shelby answered. She felt like she was sixteen all over again and her dad was upset about one of her boyfriends. "You all don't need to be here; I can handle this."

"We just want to make sure she gets home safely," Maggie said.

They all turned towards the door when they heard a car pull up outside. In a couple minutes there was the sound of a key in the door and it slowly opened to reveal Jesse and Rachel on the other side. The young couple stepped inside out of the cold air and Shelby got up to meet them with her hands on her hips.

Rachel took a couple of tentative steps forward while Jesse shut the door behind them. She had been worried that everyone would still be up and there they all were staring back at her. Her grandfather and Uncle Sam looked angry. Nana and Maggie stood further back, but even they looked to be upset and Rachel ducked her head so she wouldn't have to meet their eyes. None of them had ever been angry with her before and she wasn't sure how to really handle it. She'd expected it from her mother, but it would be easier to explain to one person and not a room full.

Jesse stepped forward when Rachel didn't say anything and started to explain. "Shelby, it was an accident. We fell asleep."

Shelby opened her mouth to say something, but Paul beat her to it.

"You fell asleep? Where in the hell were you?"

"Grandpa, it's not like that," Rachel said meekly.

"We went to the Benton Community Theatre," Jesse answered. "Jamie left me the keys," he said to Shelby who knew the woman Jesse was talking about. "We were playing with the props and costumes and lied down next to each other to talk. Honestly, Shelby."

"Likely," Paul huffed.

"Paul," Maggie said quietly.

"Jesse, you'd better go," Shelby said. Rachel's eyes snapped to her mother and she wished she could read what the woman was thinking. Shelby hadn't really said anything and so Rachel didn't know if she believed them or not.

Jesse nodded and then looked sympathetically at Rachel. "Bye, Rach. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Jesse," Rachel half whispered because she knew she was now being left alone with the circling wolves.

As Shelby led Jesse to the door, Rachel took another few steps into the room but wouldn't look at anyone. She wished she had a room she could escape to right now, but her room was occupied. It was something she hadn't really thought about until now. Not only was her mother mad at her, but she was going to have to spend the night with her as well.

"Rachel, you were given a curfew for a reason," Rebecca scolded her.

"I know. It was an accident," she said softly as she looked up at the woman.

"How do you accidentally fall asleep together?" Paul asked.

"I would have thought you'd have been more responsible than that," Sam said.

"I am. We are," Rachel said as tears formed in her eyes.

"You didn't display that tonight," Paul said.

"Rachel, you knew what time you needed to be home," Rebecca said. "You should have planned better."

Shelby stepped back up next to Rachel and watched as the tears in her daughter's eyes spilled over onto her cheeks. Rachel was looking around the room, her eyes darting from one person to the next as they talked to her.

"I planned to be home on time," Rachel argued. "That's why this is called an accident." She hadn't meant it to sound as harsh or as sarcastic as it did, but Rachel's defenses are high.

"Rachel," Shelby scolded, but the girl didn't hear it because Paul yelled louder.

"You watch your tone, young lady," he said and Rachel shrank back. Do not take up an attitude to try and justify your lack of responsibility."

"I'm sorry, Grandpa," Rachel sobbed out, her tears now well beyond the scope of the scolding she was receiving.

Shelby put a hand on Rachel's back and tried to soothe her because she recognized that the girl was overwhelmed by the rest of the family. Rachel was a person who wasn't used to having grandparents or aunts and uncles around and while she'd learned to listen to Shelby, being chastised by the family she was still getting to know was becoming too much for her. Shelby was mad that her family would do this in the first place. It was not their place to try and discipline her kid unless Rachel was specifically in their care. Since they didn't see Rachel that often, it was easy for them to think of her as a normal teenager; one who would take this type of admonishment in stride and move on. But Shelby could see just how scared Rachel really was.

"Ok, that's enough," Shelby said to her father. "You do not get to do this. Rachel, go upstairs to my room and get ready for bed."

"Mom, I'm sorry," Rachel said to her. "Please let me explain."

Shelby turned her head and gave Rachel a look that said she didn't want to be argued with right now. Rachel only cried harder as she turned and made her way up the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Shelby asked her family when she'd heard Rachel enter her bedroom and close the door.

"Trying to make her understand that she has to listen to you," Paul said. "I thought she had learned that by now."

"She does listen to me," Shelby said.

"Not tonight she didn't," Paul said.

"Yeah, and I was going to talk to her about that," Shelby said. "You guys should not have jumped in like that."

"She missed her curfew," Paul said. At this point the others were content to stand back and let them argue.

"Oh who cares," Shelby said. "Sam and I missed curfew more times than I could possibly count. Jack and Michael will miss curfew one day. She's fifteen. Of course she missed curfew."

"So you're just going to let her get away with that?" Paul asked.

"No," Shelby said. "I'm going to talk to her. I was going to talk to her when she first came in. But I'm not going to scare her when I do it."

"I didn't scare her!" Paul defended himself.

"Yes you did," Shelby said. "You all did. Just tonight we talked about how she has a hard time calling you guys her family. She still has nightmares about me walking out on her. In the back of her mind, part of her still thinks I'm going to hand her back over every time I so much as say a cross word to her. Did you not see how she was crying? Did I ever cry like that when I came home for one of your scoldings? And trust me, most of the times I was late weren't an accident."

"I scared her?" Paul asked, softening.

"Shelby, that wasn't out intention," Rebecca said.

"I know that," Shelby said. "But it would have been really nice if you all would have just let me handle it and gone to bed like I asked. Tomorrow morning she's going to have a hard time looking at any of you."

"Let me explain it to her now," Paul said. "Go get her and bring her back down here so we can talk to her."

"No," Shelby said. "Because I've got to go up there and first calm her down and then still give her a talking to about being late. You can talk to her tomorrow." A cry from upstairs pulled all of their attention away and they all looked up. Shelby sighed because now Beth was awake too.

Rachel had changed into some shorts and a t-shirt and was coming out of the bathroom when she saw that Beth was sitting up in the crib and rubbing at her eyes and crying.

"Shhh," Rachel whispered to her as she went to the crib and picked the baby up. "Don't cry, Beth. Please." Rachel paced with her and Beth's crying tapered off as she rested her head against Rachel's shoulder.

"What's wrong? Are you hungry? I thought you were sleeping through the night now," Rachel said as her pacing continued. "I'd go and make you a bottle, but I don't know if I should go down there. Everyone is mad at me." Rachel's voice quivered as her tears formed again. Beth lifted her head from Rachel's shoulder and looked at her sister curiously. Rachel finally stopped her pacing and sat in the oversized chair in the corner and put Beth on her lap.

"And now I think Mom is mad at Grandpa," Rachel continued. "It was all an accident and I've made everyone mad. Why do I keep messing it all up?" Beth was looking intently at Rachel until the bedroom door opened and she turned and saw her mother coming in the room holding a bottle. Beth started to cry again and reached for Shelby who came over and took her from Rachel's arms and immediately cradled the baby and gave her the bottle.

"I didn't wake her up," Rachel said. "She started crying when I was in the bathroom."

"It's ok," Shelby said. "I know you wouldn't wake her up."

Rachel sat back in the chair and rested her feet on the ottoman and rubbed at her forehead with her hand. "I'm sorry, Mom. It was an accident. Jesse and I were just talking and then the next thing I knew I heard my phone ringing. I know everyone is mad at me and you looked mad at them and I screwed it all up again. I think I'm a lost cause."

Shelby sat down on the ottoman and put a hand on Rachel's leg and waited for the girl to look at her. Rachel finally turned her watery eyes on her mother.

"Rachel Barbara, you are not a lost cause," Shelby said.

"But your family is so angry," Rachel said.

"Your family," Shelby emphasized, "was mad, that's true. But that's the way it works when you break the rules, kiddo."

"I knew you would be mad," Rachel said. "I was hoping they'd all be asleep or something when I got home."

"I was too," Shelby said. "Here's the thing, Rach. Worry can quickly turn to anger in a case like this. And they all love you so much that it was natural for them to then want to lay down the law when you get home an hour and a half after you're told to be home. That's our family for you; always in everyone else's business. But I agree with you, I wanted to talk to you by myself when you came home. But they wouldn't go to bed until they knew that you were all right."

"They stayed up to make sure I was safe so they could yell at me?" Rachel asked.

"Basically," Shelby said.

"It's easier to yell than be worried," Rachel said. "Daddy used to yell at Dad when he would come home late. I could hear them. One time Dad was late getting home from a trip for work and Daddy was upset because he had wanted to be on the road hours before but he had to stay with me. Isn't that funny?" Rachel asked with no hint of humor in her voice.

Beth had made quick work of her bottle and Shelby now had her up on her shoulder burping her. She noticed that Rachel was no longer looking at her and was instead looking over her shoulder at the wall behind her.

"Imagine their joy when they figured out they could both just leave," Rachel continued. "They didn't have to yell anymore."

Shelby got up with the now yawning Beth and said another silent thank you to the fact that Beth had always been relatively easy to get back to sleep after her bottle. This was no exception and the baby's eyes were already fluttering closed when Shelby put her in the crib and gave her the pacifier. She then went back and sat on the ottoman again so she could talk to Rachel.

"Honey," Shelby said softly but Rachel didn't respond. "Rachel."

"What?" Rachel said as she jumped because she'd been startled. She had been lost in her thoughts and wasn't even really sure if Shelby had heard her talking or not. She wiped at the last of her tears as she focused again on her mother.

"Grandpa and the rest of them aren't mad at you anymore," Shelby told her.

"Ok," Rachel said and Shelby sighed knowing that Rachel didn't believe it.

"But I want to talk to you about it."

"It was an accident, Mom," Rachel said.

"I know that, honey. I believe you," Shelby said.

"Really?"

"Yes. But you have got to be more careful, young lady," Shelby said. "I know you're responsible enough to be trusted so don't make me change my mind about that."

"I won't. I won't ever be late again," Rachel said. She shook her head emphatically and then went back to rubbing her forehead.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Shelby said though she didn't believe it. Rachel would most certainly break her curfew again; it was like a teenage law of nature, but Shelby didn't want to plant that idea in her mind.

"But you are not getting off completely free in this case," Shelby continued and Rachel slumped her shoulders. "You're going to hang around here tomorrow and help me clean up when everyone leaves."

"But I was going to go to Quinn's tomorrow," Rachel said.

"Oh you were?" Shelby asked feigning shock.

Rachel nodded and gave her mom a pout.

"Then you better clean pretty quickly tomorrow," Shelby said.

"Mom," Rachel whined and then yawned.

Shelby only smiled, but it faltered when she noticed Rachel rubbing her head again. "Are you alright?"

"I just have a headache," Rachel said. "It came on suddenly when we were driving home but it was getting worse. I was going to get some aspirin but then went to get Beth when I heard her crying."

"I'll get you some," Shelby said. "You get into bed."

Shelby went into the bathroom and reached into her medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol. She almost popped the cap but thought better of it and put it back. She pulled out the PM version of the same medicine and shook out a couple of pills into her hand. She was going to help Rachel get some sleep tonight.

Shelby returned to the room and gave the medicine and a glass of water to Rachel who was sitting up in bed. Rachel settled down into the bed after she'd swallowed the pills and watched as Shelby returned the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When Shelby finally made her way over to the other side of the bed and climbed in Rachel was lying on her side facing her, but she wasn't asleep like Shelby thought she was.

"Jesse said he'd done a few musicals at the Benton Theatre," Rachel said. "I bet that was a lot of fun."

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight, Rachel?" Shelby asked. It had finally occurred to her that Rachel hadn't had anyone to talk to about the whole thing yet.

"Very much," Rachel said enthusiastically as she sat up in bed. "They have so many good costumes there. We acted out a bunch of stuff."

"It sounds really nice." Shelby listened to Rachel rattle off the details and as she did she helped Rachel shift positions so that the girl was leaning against her.

Rachel talked until she fell asleep and Shelby moved her until she was lying down on her side against her pillows and tucked the blankets around her.

"Mom," Rachel muttered and Shelby reached over and put her hand on Rachel's hip to let the girl know she was still close by. Rachel didn't say anything else and instead slipped back into her slumber. Shelby's hand stayed in place until she too fell asleep and her hand slipped from its spot.

Rachel slept soundly all night and for once Shelby was awake before she was. She was able to get up and ready for her day as well as getting Beth up without disturbing Rachel. Shelby smiled to herself as she left the room and made her way downstairs because that Tylenol PM was really doing the trick. Anything that got Rachel to sleep past six in the morning was worth it.

Shelby passed off Beth to Rebecca when she went into the kitchen to pour herself some coffee. Everyone else was already up and Jack and Michael were eating some cereal.

"Where's Rachel?" Jack asked around a mouthful of Lucky Charms.

"She's still asleep," Shelby answered.

"But Mom said she'd probably get up early," Jack said. "We were going to show her some good movies so she would know what they are."

"You shouldn't let her watch those bad movies, Aunt Shelby," Michael said.

Shelby laughed as she poured her coffee and sat down next to her nephew and ruffled his hair.

"She watches the ones she likes, buddy," Shelby told him. "You'll find that not everyone likes _Star Wars_ or _Transformers_."

"She likes girl movies, doesn't she?" Jack asked with a disgusted look on his face and everyone laughed.

"I'm afraid so," Shelby answered.

"Ew," Michael said. "But you're a girl and you like good movies."

"She's just an aunt; that's why," Jack explained.

Michael nodded his head as if that explained it all and went back to his cereal.

"Why is she sleeping so late?" Rebecca asked.

"She's just tired," Shelby said. "I'm sure she'll be up in a little while."

Rachel had gotten up but she'd yet to leave Shelby's room. She was still resting under the blankets and reading her book. She could hear that everyone was awake downstairs, but she didn't feel like getting up to join them. It would just be easier to stay where she was and not have to face the rest of the family. Rachel knew they wanted to leave early and it would be better if they just left and that way she wouldn't have to go down and see them while they were still angry.

Shelby returned to the room a half an hour later to check on Rachel smiled to herself as she saw the girl hastily trying to lie back down and pretend to be asleep.

"What are you doing?" Shelby asked.

"Sleeping."

"What else are you doing?"

"Reading," Rachel answered.

"Why are you still in here?" Shelby asked as she went to Rachel's side and moved the blankets back. "Everyone else is up."

"I thought they were leaving soon," Rachel said. "Nana said yesterday they wanted to get an early start."

"They are leaving soon, but they want to see you before they go," Shelby told her.

"Oh, well I just felt like lounging around for a little while and getting caught up on my book. Will you tell them I said goodbye," Rachel said.

"Why don't you just get up and tell them yourself?"

"I'm not ready for the day and haven't showered or anything yet and I don't want to hold them up," Rachel said. She opened her book back up and started to read once more.

"You're hiding from them," Shelby said.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. They are not still mad at you," Shelby said. "I told you that last night."

"How do you know?" Rachel asked.

"Do you think that I'm still mad at you?"

"No," Rachel answered.

"Then why would they be?"

"Because you're used to me and already know that I cause a lot of trouble," Rachel said. "But they all just found out."

"You do not cause a lot of trouble," Shelby said. "And all they found out last night is that you're just like every other teenager that's ever missed her curfew."

"I won't do it again, Mom, I promise."

"I know, Rachel," Shelby said.

"And I saw how mad they were and don't they think it would just be easier to walk away before they get involved?"

Shelby put her hands on the sides of Rachel's face and then leaned down and kissed her forehead. "They love you, honey. They want to be involved. And if you don't believe me, just wait. Nana is not going to leave without seeing you and she's eventually going to barge her way in here."

Rachel mumbled something that Shelby didn't catch as the woman was leaving the room. Shelby just gave her a smile before shutting the door and leaving Rachel alone again. Rachel went back to trying to read her book but she found herself having to read lines over and over again because she couldn't concentrate. She was afraid to go downstairs and see the family, but she also knew that her mother was right; Nana was going to come up there eventually and Rachel thought that would be terribly embarrassing. She resigned herself to getting up and threw the blankets aside so she could get out of bed.

Shelby was standing in the entryway to the kitchen leaning against the wall with her cup of coffee as she listened to Sam telling a story of a funny thing that had happened to him at work. Sam was perched on a counter while the other three sat at the table. Shelby heard a movement behind her and then felt Rachel leaning into and resting her head on her back. Shelby didn't move but instead tried to look over her shoulder at the girl.

"Rachel, is that you?" Paul asked and Shelby could feel Rachel stiffen. "Come in here."

Rachel leaned around Shelby and put her head on her mom's arm and looked into the room but not at anyone. Shelby put her arm behind her and moved Rachel so that she was standing next to her and not hiding behind her. Shelby left her arm around Rachel's shoulder and squeezed her tightly. Rachel reached over and took Shelby's coffee from her and took a sip. The mug gave her something to focus on instead of the other people.

"Rachel, about last night," Paul started, "I shouldn't have jumped down your throat and yelled at you like that. I was just worried about you."

The only acknowledgment Rachel gave was to nod.

"We just didn't expect that you would break any rules," Paul continued, "and I know that I shouldn't have butted in on what should have been a private matter between you and your mom. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"No, that's ok," Rachel finally spoke up. "I just don't want you guys to be mad at me anymore."

"We're not mad at you," Rebecca assured her.

"And I completely understand if you guys won't be able to come to the Sectionals performance now," Rachel said.

Shelby blinked back the tears that formed in her eyes as the realization of how Rachel viewed these matters hit them. In their eyes, they'd given a simple scolding and in Rachel's eyes she'd once again pushed away her family because of her behavior and she fully expected them to pull away because of it. She'd been bad so now they didn't have to care as much.

"Honey, of course we'll be there," Rebecca said as she got up from the table and moved over to Rachel. "We wouldn't miss it. Nothing you do is going to change that."

"Yeah Rach," Maggie jumped in. "We're bringing the boys too. If anyone can get them interested in music, it's you."

"We'll be there, Rachel, we promise," Paul said.

"If you do come, make sure you get there early and get a seat down front," Rachel advised. "Especially for Jack and Michael so they don't have to look over anyone's head to see the stage."

"There's no ifs, Rachel. We'll be there," Sam said.

"Ok," Rachel said and this time she smiled at them.

Rebecca pulled her away from Shelby and pulled her into a hug and started to cry. Shelby reached around and took her now empty coffee mug back so that Rachel could hug her grandmother back.

"Please don't cry, Nana," Rachel said as she started to get choked up. "I'm sorry."

"No, we're sorry," Rebecca said. "Don't ever question how much we love you."

Rachel was passed from person to person as they all got up to hug her. Paul was last and picked her up off the floor and held her. Rachel smiled at him when he put her back down and then left the room to go back upstairs and shower.

Two hours later the family had left and Shelby had Rachel cleaning all the rooms again.

"You do know that's only been four days since we did this and all of these rooms are still clean, right?" Rachel asked.

"You do know that if you want to go hang out with Quinn today you'll do a really good job the first time so that you do don't have to do it again, right?" Shelby asked.

Rachel huffed her annoyance at Shelby's sweet smile and threw a stuffed animal at her mother's retreating form.

Rachel put away the last of her cleaning supplies a few hours later and made her way down to the living room to find her mom. Shelby was sitting on the couch and Beth was sitting on the floor playing with her toys.

"Beth, if you make a mess in here you can clean it up," Rachel said and then flopped down on Shelby's lap causing the woman to let out an 'oof!' Beth didn't even bother to say something back and ignored her sister.

"All done, sweetie?" Shelby asked her tone overly sweet and sarcastic.

"Yes, Mother," Rachel matched her.

"Good girl." Shelby wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist and Rachel put an arm around Shelby's shoulder.

"What are you and Quinn going to do today?"

Rachel shrugged and said, "Nothing."

"Sounds like fun," Shelby teased. "Do you need a right over there?"

"No, Quinn is coming to pick me up," Rachel answered.

"When?"

The chiming of the doorbell answered her question and she gave Rachel a look. "Pretty confident you were all done, weren't you?"

"Come in," Rachel hollered to the front door. "I am all done." She smiled sweetly at her mother as Quinn stepped into the room.

"Hi, Quinn," Shelby said when the girl came into the room.

"Hey," Quinn greeted. "What's going on?" She made herself at home by lying down on the couch next to them and used a free spot on Shelby's leg as a pillow and draped her legs over the arm rest on the other side. Shelby ran her hand over Quinn's hair and smiled down at her.

"Nothing," Rachel said. "Except that my mom thinks I'm Cinderella."

"I'm sorry," Shelby said. "I thought Cinderella sounded better than grounded."

"Does that make Beth and me wicked step-sisters?" Quinn asked showing no concern for her friend's plight. She was not going to take sides in whatever was happening here.

At the mention of her name, Beth looked up from her toys and crawled over to the couch and raised her arms up to Quinn. Quinn complied and reached over and picked the little girl up and sat her on her stomach.

"Beth, you traitor," Rachel said. "Is no one on my side?"

"Your sister is a drama queen," Quinn said to Beth which caused Shelby to laugh and Rachel to cross her arms.

"I am not!" Rachel insisted. "I just have a…flair."

"Yes, for the dramatic," Quinn said. "But I have something I want to give you. And you'll even be able to use your flair for it."

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"I, umm, want to give you my part in the duet for Sectionals," Quinn said. She looked from Rachel's to Shelby's shocked and questioning faces and then looked away. "I just don't think I'm the right person for it and I know you would do really well and I want us to win. You have to take it, Rachel."

**A/N – Thanks for reading guys. Please leave me a review.**


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N – Sorry about the slight delay in getting this posted. I was out of town last week, you know, just living and loving life and I didn't get many chances to work on this. But here it is! Thank you so much for all of your reviews and kind words. I really do love getting to see what you guys think about each chapter. And I can't believe this is up to chapter 50. That seems crazy to me. Anyway, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. Although I've got a few things I'd love to tell Ryan Murphy. **

Quinn kept her eyes focused on Beth after her offer to give Rachel her part in the duet at Sectionals. Shelby looked at Rachel and silently asked the obvious question with her eyes, but Rachel just shrugged and turned her attention back to her friend.

"Quinn, what's going on?" Shelby asked. "I thought you were excited about the duet."

"I am. I mean, I was," Quinn answered. "And nothing's going on. I just don't want to do it anymore and I know that Rachel will be great."

"But Quinn, you've been working really hard on it," Shelby said. "You and Sam sound great. The competition is just a couple of weeks off so why would you want to give it away now?"

Rachel stayed quiet because she was dying for the chance to have more of a featured part than the few lines she sang during the group number and everyone knew it. She wasn't as vocal about it during rehearsals as they all feared she would be, but she still found ways to bring it up and make her comments nonetheless. Mr. Schue and the rest of the kids knew that Shelby had a lot to do with Rachel's new-found restraint because they had all been witnesses to Shelby being able to quiet her with just a look or a whisper in the ear. And by the same token, Rachel was happy for her friends that were being featured, but that didn't mean she desired it any less.

"I just am," Quinn answered Shelby. The woman wanted to roll her eyes at that response.

"That is not an answer, Quinn," Shelby told her. "The assignments have been given out and a lot of work has been put into the routines. You can't just decide at the last minute that you don't want to do it." Quinn averted her eyes from Shelby as the woman let the coach in her shine through. In Vocal Adrenaline, backing out of a song was unacceptable except in the case of illness or injury, neither of which Quinn was afflicted with as far as Shelby could tell. She had dealt with kids who tried to give back assignments before and now she would deal with it again.

"But-" Quinn tried to argue but she was cut off by Rachel.

"Is it Sam? Did you guys break up?" she questioned.

"What? No," Quinn said.

"Then why?" Shelby asked. "And no excuses."

Quinn once again looked away from Shelby and trained her eyes on Beth who was pulling at one of her bracelets. "It's just that we all know that Rachel is the better singer and she would be better suited to perform it at the competition."

Rachel had found herself unconsciously nodding along in agreement until her mother shot her an admonishing look.

"Quinn, where is this coming from?" Shelby asked. "Did Rachel say something?" Rachel's eyes widened and she shook her head knowing that her mother was ready to pounce.

"No," Quinn said. "Well I mean she always does, but we're all used to it."

"Rachel, what have I told you about that?" Shelby scolded. She wanted to get to see Rachel shine more than anyone, but Shelby also wanted her daughter to understand that the spotlight was not going to be hers every time and that no amount of whining or complaining would change that.

"I didn't," Rachel insisted. "I think Quinn is doing really well with the song. I've told her that too." She shot her friend a look and wondered if Quinn was trying to get her in trouble on purpose.

"It's not Rachel," Quinn said. "I just can't do it. I'm not the strongest singer. I knew I should have talked to Mr. Schue first. It wouldn't have to be Rachel; Mercedes or Santana can have it."

"What? No," Rachel said quickly. "That song would not be suited to either of their particular styles. If you give it away, it has to come to me."

"Ok enough," Shelby said. She'd had it with Quinn's non-answers and she could tell that Rachel was already planning the whole thing with her as the lead. "Get up, both of you."

"But Mom-"

"Why-"

They were both whining and Shelby shut her eyes for a moment in annoyance. She then put her hands on Rachel's waist and stood the girl up from her lap and then got to her feet as well. Quinn didn't make any move to follow suit and so Shelby reached down and lifted Beth from her perch and placed the girl in Rachel's arms.

"Rachel, take Beth and go to your room," Shelby instructed.

"Why?" Rachel continued to whine. "What did I do?"

"Nothing-"

"I don't know what's going on, but I shouldn't be sent to my room because of her," Rachel said.

"It's not my fault," Quinn said, finally sitting up. "I was trying to be nice."

"But you blamed me!"

"I did not!"

"Girls!" Shelby interjected. She wished she could tell them just how much like siblings they sounded, but she figured now wasn't the time. "Rachel, you are not in trouble; I just wanted to talk to Quinn for a few minutes."

"But I want to know what's wrong with her too," Rachel said. "Are you nervous about performing in front of other people?" Rachel asked Quinn. "You shouldn't be that nervous after all this time. Plus you were a cheerleader and have performed lots of times in front of large audiences so you really should be somewhat used to it. Of course, it is natural to get a little nervous before a performance, but not so much that it would impede your ability to perform."

"I'm not too nervous," Quinn said.

"Well then are you worried about your singing voice?" Rachel asked. "Because it really is very pleasant, Quinn. It has a really nice tone to it. It's nothing like mine, of course, but-"

"That's enough," Shelby stepped in and physically moved Rachel toward the stairs.

Rachel shifted Beth in her arms and gave her mother an innocent look. "What?"

Shelby rolled her eyes and pointed up the stairs. "Just go."

"I don't understand how I am always the one who ends up punished in these situations," Rachel said, the mischief evident in her voice.

"I'll show you punished," Shelby said as she took a step closer to her daughter.

Rachel backed up a step and quickly found her footing on the stairs and made her way up and Shelby smiled at her hasty retreat before turning her attention back to Quinn.

"Ok Quinn," Shelby said as she moved back over to sit next to the girl. "What's going on?"

"What if I'm not good enough and we lose?" Quinn said. "Everyone thinks this could be the year we make it to Nationals and I could ruin it all in the very first competition."

"Honey, these are normal worries," Shelby said. "I guarantee you that you are not the only one who feels this way. All of the performers from all of the schools competing feel this way."

"Rachel wouldn't."

"Sure she would," Shelby said. "She just hides it better."

Quinn nodded in agreement and sat back so she could lean her head against the back of the couch.

"I agree with Rachel, though," Shelby continued. "You've been in lots of Cheerios competitions, and even won Nationals with them. Weren't you nervous then?"

"Not really," Quinn shrugged. "Everyone knew that Coach Sylvester is the best and she didn't allow any of us to be nervous. And I guess I just care about glee more." Shelby smiled.

Quinn leaned over and rested her head on the woman's shoulder. "Shelby?"

"Hmmm?"

"My mom will be there."

Shelby nodded and felt like they might finally be getting to the real reason for all of this. "Of course she will. She was at Regionals last year too."

"But I just sang in the background at Regionals," Quinn said. "I didn't even have to dance that much because I was pregnant. I don't even think she came to see me perform; she just wanted to apologize."

Shelby was confused. Apologizing was a good thing, right? "She wanted to see you," Shelby finally said.

"But this time she's coming to see the performance and I might screw it up," Quinn said.

"Oh Quinn," Shelby said before turning to kiss the girl on the top of her head. "First of all, your mother is excited about the performance. Trust me, we've talked about it. She's so proud of you."

"I just want her to think that I deserved it," Quinn said. "And that I'm good at more things than just cheerleading."

"She knows that," Shelby said. "She told me that you used to sing to her when you were little and that she always loved that. She said she was glad when you joined the glee club because it would get you singing again."

"She never told me that," Quinn said.

"I know that she is going to love your performance," Shelby told her.

"But what if I-"

"You are not going to mess it up," Shelby cut her off.

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm not going to let you," Shelby said. She got to her feet and walked towards the stairs. "I've been working with you and I don't let my performers 'screw it up.'"

"But what if they do?" Quinn asked.

"They know better," Shelby said. She gave Quinn a look that dared her to argue with that logic.

"But what did you do if one of your performers started to feel like I do?" Quinn questioned.

"I made them work harder," Shelby answered with a pointed look at the girl. She was standing by the stairs and Quinn understood what Shelby's plans were.

Shelby crooked a finger at Quinn to beckon the girl to her and, "up to the music room."

Quinn got up and stood in front of Shelby and started to protest. "Right now? But it's a duet and we don't have Sam here."

"Which just means that we get to concentrate on only your part," Shelby responded. She pointed up the stairs and put a hand on Quinn's arm to try and turn her.

"It's not that I don't appreciate it," Quinn said, "but I don't want to take up your Saturday."

"I don't have anything better to do," Shelby assured her.

"But Rachel and I have plans," Quinn tried again.

"Yes I know," Shelby said. "To do nothing. Now go." She took Quinn by the shoulders and spun her around and planted a firm swat on the girl's rear causing Quinn to yelp and scamper up the stairs.

Three hours later Quinn was certain that she wanted to strangle whatever old, dead men wrote the song she was singing. She and Sam had been working with Shelby for a couple of weeks, but it had never been anything like this. At some point in their walk up the stairs earlier, Shelby had transformed into Coach Corcoran and Quinn was getting a full one-on-one practice session with the four-time national championship winner. Perfection was mandatory and Quinn now understood why Shelby's performers simply knew better than to mess up. Quinn was exasperated and Rachel was loving it. She was sitting off to the side behind Quinn taking notes.

Quinn had only sung through her part of the song a few times and Shelby spent every moment focusing on every minor technical detail that went into singing and performing. Shelby would make her stand up straighter or stop her after a couple words and tell her how to fix inflection or enunciation or where to breathe so that the melody flowed properly. Quinn felt like she had sung one line a thousand times and Shelby always found something to say or correct about it. Rachel had offered multiple times to demonstrate, but Shelby never let her. She didn't need Quinn still thinking that Rachel's way would be better and have the girl try and give Rachel her song again.

"Shelby, can we take another break?" Quinn asked.

"In a couple minutes," Shelby told her causing Quinn to slouch her shoulders.

Shelby took a quick glance past Quinn to the door behind her. Judy had come in and was standing by Rachel and motioning for the girl to stay quiet. Shelby had taken an opportunity to send Judy a text message about her conversation with Quinn and had asked her to come over and listen to her sing. She just didn't mention it to Quinn.

"Shelby," Quinn protested.

"Stand up straight now, Quinn," Shelby instructed and Quinn did as she was told. "You're going to take it from the top now and sing through your whole part."

Shelby played the piano and Quinn started to sing. She worked hard to remember to apply the lessons Shelby had been teaching her and she even started to smile when she realized her confidence was growing.

Judy put an arm around Rachel's shoulders and they both stood back and listened. A smile played on Judy lips and part way through the song she closed her eyes and let the song was over her. When she opened her eyes again they were glistening with unshed tears. Shelby's text message had upset her and she had come over at the time her friend and told her.

Quinn finished the song and smiled to herself before she caught Shelby's eyes and the proud look the woman was giving her. A clapping from behind startled her and Quinn spun around to find her mother and Rachel applauding enthusiastically.

"Mom. What are you doing here?" Quinn asked.

"Shelby invited me over to hear you sing," Judy explained. "You were wonderful."

"I, umm…" Quinn turned to look at Shelby who nodded her head in agreement with Judy. "Thank you," she finally added as she turned back to her mom.

"You really were good, Quinn," Rachel said. "Your tone was much richer than normal and you didn't-"

"Rachel, why don't you come with me so we can check on Beth," Shelby said cutting her off. "She should be getting up from her nap by now."

"But I've written down some points that I want to go over with Quinn," Rachel said, not picking up on Shelby's hint at all.

"We can do that later," Shelby said as she ushered Rachel out of the room and shut the door behind them.

"That looked like so much fun, Mom," Rachel enthused to Shelby. "Can I pick a song and you do that with me sometime?"

Shelby smiled at her as she pulled Rachel in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. Leave it to her daughter to find one of her one-on-one sessions fun. Most of her students used to groan and complain if they knew they were in for one of Coach Corcoran's technical tutoring afternoons. She'd made more than a few people cry.

"Of course, sweetie," Shelby said. "Come on, let's go look in on Beth."

Once they were alone inside the music room, Judy pulled Quinn into a tight hug and held her for a long few moments.

"Quinnie, why would you be worried about me seeing your show?" Judy asked after they separated.

"I didn't know Shelby would tell you," Quinn said instead of answering.

"She didn't go about trying to break your trust," Judy said. "She just felt I should know. She struggles so much with Rachel's self-esteem that she didn't want to see you going through it as well. I can't tell you how excited I am about your competition. I'm so proud of you, honey. Don't you know that?"

Quinn nodded and tears pooled in her eyes. "I just don't want to mess up in front of you." She almost added 'again.' "I want to do well for the team and for Rachel and Shelby. But most especially for you. You've been so strong these last six months when you finally stood up to Dad and came and found me. I didn't even realize how much I missed having you in an audience until you showed up and told me you'd seen me sing. But this time I know you're going to be there and everything is just so different from the last time we performed and I just don't want to mess up."

"Sweetheart," Judy said as she pulled Quinn close for another hug and rubbed the girl's back as she cried on her shoulder. "You're going to do great. From what I just heard, your song is going to steal the show."

"I doubt that," Quinn said. "The lines Rachel and Mercedes sing during the group number are going to steal the show."

"Not for me they won't," Judy said. She wiped the tears from Quinn's face and held her head so that the girl would look at her. "I love you, Quinn. And I am proud of you. You are not going to mess up on that stage or anywhere else."

"Thank you," Quinn said as a few more tears made their way down her cheeks. They both took a few moments to compose themselves before Quinn added, "I'm going to remind you of this if I mess up the song and we lose and the club wants to kick my ass."

"They'll have to come through me first," Judy said.

"No offense, Mom, but I'm pretty sure even Rachel could take you."

Judy stopped short and put her hands on her hips. "Even Rachel? Come on, Quinn, give me a little more credit than that."

"Fine," Quinn conceded. "But you'd have no chance against Santana."

"Well you're right about that," Judy agreed and Quinn laughed.

They linked arms as they left the room and headed back downstairs.

"Mom, why are we baking a cake again?" Rachel asked as she and Beth sat at the table watching Shelby gather up ingredients from various places around the kitchen.

"Tomorrow is Katie's birthday and she watches Beth for me whenever I need someone and so I thought it would be nice," Shelby said. "You don't have to help."

"In fact, that might be better for your kitchen," Judy said when she and Quinn entered the room. "Considering what they did to it the last time they tried to bake anything."

"That is very true," Shelby said with a laugh.

"I have a great idea for Sectionals," Judy said as she poured herself a cup of the freshly made coffee. "I think I'm going to make a big sign with Quinn's name on it so I can hold it up and yell for her when the song is over. I'll yell out, 'that's my daughter!'"

"Oh my god," Quinn muttered as she hopped up and perched herself on one of the counters.

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Shelby said with a laugh. She placed a few eggs and two containers holding flour and sugar on the table so she could wipe down the counter.

"Don't encourage her," Quinn said.

"Maybe I'll bring a cowbell too," Judy added and Quinn put her head in her hands.

"There are many occasions in which a cowbell is called for," Rachel said, "but our Sectionals performance is not one of them."

Judy and Shelby laughed and the doorbell rang in the background and Rachel got up to answer it. She opened the door to find Jesse waiting for her on the other side.

"Hey Rach," he greeted. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Rachel said. "Mom understood."

"Good." He stepped past her into the house when she moved to let him by. He leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss after she shut the door and then returned to his full height. "I can't believe how big she's getting," Jesse said looking at Beth. He held up a hand for him to hold and she held her arms out to him. He obliged by taking the baby and holding her.

"Jesse," Shelby greeted when the trio stepped back into the kitchen.

"Hi, Shelby," Jesse said.

"Jesse," Quinn said, doing little to hide her dislike of him.

"Quinn," Jesse matched her tone and they narrowed their eyes at each other.

"Jesse, this is Quinn's mom Judy Fabray," Rachel said as she tried to cut off the staring match. "Judy, this is Jesse St. James. He's the one I went out with last night."

"It's nice to meet you, Jesse," Judy said as she reached out to shake his hand.

"The pleasure is mine," Jesse said in a charming manner and Quinn scoffed. "I just came by to see Rachel. I didn't know she had company."

"You came to rescue her in case I had her locked away," Shelby said and Rachel blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, of course," Jesse said. "I wanted to see you before I left," he said to Rachel. "And I know your mom could never say no to me."

"I think I'm going to sick," Quinn said, not buying his charming act. Judy hit her on the leg.

"Is that a challenge?" Shelby asked as she stared incredulously at him with her hands on her hips, a dish towel hanging from her left.

"No of course not," Jesse said. He sat down at the table and set Beth in his lap while Rachel took another chair. "Just stating a fact."

Shelby swung her towel and whacked him in the back of the head. Rachel couldn't help but smile at their ease with each other and Jesse caught her look and returned it before looking back to Shelby. He had missed her. Rachel took a moment to contemplate the lasting role her mother had surely played in so many of her student's lives. They would never forget her.

"I really just came by to ask Rachel out again," Jesse said. "I'm flying back to California on Monday and I wanted to spend tomorrow with Rachel."

"I'd love to," Rachel answered.

"Well there you go," Shelby said. "And perhaps tomorrow you can remember to not have her home an hour and a half late."

Despite her dislike of Jesse, Quinn smirked at Rachel and nodded her head in approval. Judy took a different stance and sent a reproachful look Rachel's way. Rachel saw Quinn's look first and sent her a mischievous smile before noticing how Judy was looking at her she immediately wiped the smile off her face and looked contrite.

"It won't happen again," Jesse assured Shelby.

As the conversation continued, Beth started to squirm and Jesse helped her stand up in his lap and turned her so she was facing him. Beth didn't pay much attention to him because she found the objects on the table much more interesting. Jesse's attention was on Rachel as he listened to her talk about the upcoming Sectionals performance and he didn't notice what Beth was reaching for. When he looked back to her, he noticed too late that her tiny hand had a precarious grip on one of the eggs Shelby had left there a few minutes ago. She held it up to look at it before swinging her arm and crashing the egg down on Jesse's head. It broke and the yolk spread from his forehead and down his face. There were four gasps and one peal of laughter.

"Oh my god, Jesse," Rachel said as she stood up to quickly grab something to clean it up.

Quinn hopped down from the counter and took Beth from Jesse and held the baby up to her. Shelby's initial shock wore off and she looked to her daughter and Quinn to find them wearing matching troublemaker grins. She couldn't help but start to smile herself at Jesse's predicament. The egg was dripping down his face and onto his shirt and he was pouting like a little boy.

Quinn did nothing to hide her pleasure when she spoke.

"Payback's a bitch, St. James."

**A/N – I hope everyone liked this one. Please leave me a review. I wanted to wrap up some of this stuff before I get into the heart of what I've got planned for Sectionals. **

**Also, on an unrelated note, I've been tossing around ideas for other stories and I've got a few in mind. But I would love to hear some ideas that you guys might have. Rachel and/or Quinn could be any age because some of the things I've come up with involve a little Rachel with Shelby. So please give me any ideas for stories – past, present or future. And they don't have to include the world of this story, but they can. I offer no guarantees, of course, but I'd love to hear from you guys. Thanks!**


	51. Chapter 51

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages from the last chapter. You guys really are amazing. And thanks for reading the new stories I posted. And sorry for the slight delay with this one. I mean to have this new chapter posted yesterday, but I had a bit of a technical difficulty in that the file and I were in two separate locations (don't ask). But here it is! I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. And I take back some of the mean things I've been thinking about Ryan Murphy now that I know Idina is coming back. Here's hoping they don't ruin that character any more than they already have. But if nothing else, think of all the pretty, pretty songs we'll get. **

"Again," Shelby said from the director's table in the McKinley High auditorium.

There was a chorus of groans as the kids all moved back to their starting positions and waited for Shelby to give the cue to begin. They had been practicing for most of the Saturday; arriving at 7:30 that morning and now the sun was preparing to set behind the horizon. Sectionals was only one week away and the members of New Directions felt like they had been working around the clock to prepare. Even Rachel, who loved this type of rehearsal and perfection, groaned along with every else. They were exhausted and Shelby was relentless.

"Your mother is crazy," Santana said to Rachel.

"How many more times does she expect us to do this?" Mercedes asked.

"I don't know," Rachel answered. "But you guys asked for this."

"I'm willing to bet that none of the other teams at Sectionals will be as prepared as we are," Kurt said. He was still riding high off the praise Shelby and Mr. Schue had given him earlier about his solo.

"There's no way they could be," Puck said. "My mom isn't going to believe me when I tell her I spent my whole Saturday at school working on glee stuff."

"Mine either," Santana said.

"That's enough chatter," Shelby said. She cued Brad and the band and the routine started over again.

This was the first practice Shelby was conducting without Mr. Schue around. He'd been called away for a minor family emergency and had to be with his parents that day. Shelby talked him out of cancelling the practice and assured him that she wouldn't mind taking over for a day. She had been at other practices before, but she was careful to not step on Will's toes or usurp his position and made sure that everyone knew she was only there to help and that he would have final say. She also didn't let him get distracted or let the kids off too easily. They were there to practice, not socialize and she had figured out within fifteen minutes that they could talk Will Schuester into anything.

When the set ended, the kids were left standing on stage and waiting for Shelby to say something else. They all hoped that what she would have to say was that they were finished for the day and could go home.

"Let's go through it again," Shelby said. The groans filled the room.

"Someone needs to ask her if we can take a break," Tina said.

"I agree," Sam said. "I think she may have broken some child labor laws today."

But how to get her to let them rest for a few minutes was the real dilemma. No one was willing to simply raise their hand and ask. But they were willing to send one of their own to do it.

"Rachel, ask her," Puck said. "Just ten minutes."

"Why should I have to ask her?"

"She's your mom," Finn pointed out.

"Come on, Rach," Quinn said. "We're exhausted."

"I'm exhausted too," Rachel said. "But if we just keep going maybe we'll be done soon."

"I thought that same thing four hours ago," Artie said. "What could it hurt to ask for ten minutes? She'll listen to you."

Rachel found herself being edged toward the front of the stage by her teammates who each wore expectant and hopeful looks.

"Mom," Rachel said tentatively before adding a louder, "Mom."

"What is it?" came the reply from the midst of the dark auditorium.

"Would it be possible for us to maybe take a break?"

The question was met with silence and Rachel tried to peer past the hot stage lights. Shelby came into view a few moments later because she was walking towards the stage.

"Just for like ten minutes or something," Rachel hastily added when she saw her mother coming their way.

"You want a break?" Shelby asked. She could read the faces on the stage and they were all watching her with baited breath.

"Umm… yes?" Rachel was hoping that perhaps her teammates would jump in and say something, but they were too intimidated to do so.

"Fine. Rachel, get off the stage and come down here and sit down so you can have a break," Shelby said. "The rest of you take your places and we're going to do it again."

"No, but Mom, I'm fine," Rachel tried to defend herself.

"No," Shelby said. "You need a break. You asked for it. Now get off the stage."

"But-"

"Mercedes, you will sing Rachel's lines in the group number," Shelby instructed.

The kids were all giving each other looks that amounted to 'oh shit' but none of them spoke up.

"But, Mom," Rachel tried again.

"Now, Rachel," Shelby said. "Anyone else?" No one said a word.

Rachel shot a glare at her friends before stomping angrily off the stage. Shelby didn't miss the tears that were welled in her daughter's eyes when she pointed to the seat she wanted Rachel to sit in. Tears or not, Shelby was not above making an example out of her daughter. Shelby stood behind Rachel and waited for the rest of the students to take their places.

Rachel crossed her arms and fumed as the music started and she was forced to sit and watch Mercedes sing her part. She resolved right then and there to not even speak to her mother for the rest of the day.

The entire set did not go as smoothly this time because one team member was missing. The gap left on stage was glaring and the kids weren't sure if they needed to try and fill it or ignore it. Mercedes missed one of Rachel's lines and Kurt was left without a dance partner for a few measures. Shelby let them complete the entire routine, choosing the let them fall apart a little bit instead of stopping it. Brad smirked in appreciation of her willingness to teach them a lesson.

When the music ended Shelby started teaching. "How many of you think that went well?" No one raised their hands. "How many of you could tell right away that something was off?" This time there were eleven hands in the air. Rachel refused to participate and her arms remained crossed.

"How many of you wanted a break when Rachel asked for it?" Shelby questioned them. The hands were more hesitant this time, but they were raised. "And why couldn't you say that a few minutes ago?" Silence.

"Let me guess; you all talked Rachel into asking for something that you wanted because you think that I'll be more willing to give her what she wants," Shelby said. There were a couple nods. "But as you can see, that's not the case." She pointed to where Rachel was sitting.

"If you guys want something as a team then ask for it as a team," Shelby said. "Because when you take even just one member away, things don't work as well. Everyone understand?" There was a round of yeses.

"Coach Corcoran," Santana stepped forward, "can we, as a team, have a break, please?" Everyone immediately jumped in and showed that they agreed with Santana.

"Nope," Shelby answered. "That was supposed to be your last time, but since I had to take Rachel out I think it's only fair that we go through it a few more times with her back in place. Let's go through it again."

Shelby turned to Rachel and found the girl just staring up at her shaking her head. Shelby put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows.

"I almost stormed out of the room," Rachel admitted as she got to her feet.

"You better be glad you didn't," Shelby said. "Get back on stage."

Shelby cued them up and watched the performance as she made her way back to the director's table. When the routine ended she took a minute to look over the tired faces that were so hopeful that practice was finally over. She was ready to grant them a reprieve…almost.

"Again," Shelby called out and she smiled a devious smile as the room filled with groans.

When she finally did let them go, the kids dragged themselves out of the school and wearily made their way to their cars. She bet none of them would be going anywhere else but home this Saturday evening. Shelby offered the keys to Rachel, but the girl turned them down and opted for leaning her head against the cool window as Shelby drove.

"What are you going to do tonight?" Shelby asked her.

Rachel mumbled something that sounded like 'I don't know' but Shelby couldn't be sure. By the time she stopped to pick up Beth from sitter, Rachel had fallen asleep. Shelby talked to Beth for rest of the ride home and she listened to Beth babble about her day.

"Wake up, Rach, we're home," Shelby said after she'd parked in the driveway.

"Can I just stay here?" Rachel asked as she blearily opened her eyes.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea, honey. Come on inside. You can grab a shower and I'll make us some dinner."

"I've never been this tired before," Rachel said as she got out of the car.

"It's good for you," Shelby joked.

"According to who?"

"Me," Shelby said when they go inside. Beth was becoming cranky and Shelby decided to feed her before starting dinner. Rachel went upstairs to get showered and changed.

Twenty-five minutes later, Rachel still hadn't returned. Beth was finished eating and was falling asleep in Shelby's arms so she took her upstairs and got her changed and comfortable in her crib. Beth drifted off to sleep and Shelby went in search of Rachel. She didn't hear the shower running when she got to Rachel's door so Shelby lightly knocked a couple times. When she didn't get a response, Shelby opened the door just a bit so she could look in. She had to stifle a laugh at what she saw.

Rachel had never even made it into the bathroom to get to the shower. She was asleep and lying sideways, face-down on her bed with her feet dangling over the side as if she couldn't be bothered to move from that position when she flopped down.

Shelby stepped into the room and sat down on the bed next to Rachel and quickly removed the girl's shoes and socks. Rachel barely stirred when Shelby attempted to move her so that she was lying properly on the bed. She nudged Rachel up so she could pull the blankets out from under her and then cover her up. Shelby dropped a light kiss on Rachel's head and then left the room. She could worry about a shower and laundry in the morning. A quick glance at her watch told Shelby that it was only 8:15 and she made her way down the stairs with the promise of a night to herself in the air. It had been a while since she'd been able to soak in a bath with a glass of wine and a book. But those nights to herself had never seemed as satisfying until she got to enjoy one while her children slept nearby.

Shelby and Beth were already up and having breakfast when Rachel finally made her way downstairs the following morning. She had just gotten out of the shower and her hair was still damp and thrown up in a loose ponytail.

"Well good morning," Shelby said.

"I'm surprised I can even move this morning," Rachel said as she rested her head in her arms on the tabletop.

"Poor baby," Shelby joked and patted Rachel's head.

"Can you drop me off at Quinn's a little while later?" Rachel asked.

"Sure. What are you two up to today?"

"Not much," Rachel replied. "She's going out with Sam later so we're going to hang out for a few hours. She's probably not even up yet.

"Just let me know when you want to leave," Shelby said.

"I'd walk, but some crazy lady worked us to death yesterday," Rachel said.

"And here I thought that's what you wanted."

"Oh, it is," Rachel conceded. "But I didn't know the day after would feel like this."

"You'll get used to it."

"We're doing it again?"

"Every night this week," Shelby said. Rachel smiled despite herself.

Shelby dropped Rachel off at Quinn's house a few hours later and the girls were in Quinn's room attempting to do some studying. It wasn't much of an attempt, but at least the books were open.

"Tell me again why you need to see them," Quinn said.

"Because I want to invite them to Sectionals," Rachel said. "I know they more than likely won't show up, but I want to give them the details. I invited my dad in the mall the day after Thanksgiving."

"If you know they won't come then why bother asking them?" Quinn questioned. "You're just setting yourself up to get hurt."

Rachel looked down at her hands and fiddled with her ring. She didn't even really understand it herself and she didn't know how to make Quinn understand either. "It's just that they haven't seen me perform in a long time and I thought that since things were different now and I wasn't around, they might want to come and see me."

"But Rachel, do you need them there?" Quinn asked. "You've got your mom and grandparents and Sam and Maggie and my mom who are all going to be there."

"I know," Rachel said. "But maybe I can prove to them that I wasn't so bad after all."

"Rachel."

"No, I mean, I just want to talk to them," Rachel said. "They can help me understand. Dr. Woodward has told me that a lot of working through everything will start to come when I understand."

"Understand what?"

"I need to understand why they didn't want a daughter anymore," Rachel said.

"And you're going to get that understanding by inviting them to Sectionals?" Quinn asked.

"I might," Rachel shrugged.

"And so why do you need me to go?"

"Because my mom told me I'm now allowed to go and see my dads alone, but if I take you-"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Judy said as she walked into the room. She was bringing Quinn some clean laundry to put away when she heard Rachel's last line. "If your mother doesn't want you going over there, then don't go over there. I hardly think Quinn counts when your mother says you aren't to go alone."

"It'll be really quick," Rachel said.

"No," Judy said. "Neither of you are to go over there. Rachel, if you want to talk to them then arrange it through your mom."

Rachel wanted to argue, but she just nodded instead. She and Quinn exchanged a glance before Quinn said, "Ok, Mom."

Judy left them the room and returned to the laundry she was putting away. Rachel helped Quinn with her laundry before they went downstairs to grab some lunch. Judy listened to them chat about everything from Shelby's demanding rehearsal to Sam to school and everything in between.

"We're going out," Quinn told Judy when they had finished lunch.

"Where are you going?"

"To the mall," Rachel answered.

"I've got to pick up some stuff for my date with Sam tonight and I'm going to try and talk Rachel out of that new sweater she has her eye on," Quinn said. Judy laughed and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"I thought Sam was just coming over here to watch a movie," Judy said. "Since it's a school night."

"He is," Quinn said. "But I still need stuff."

"Fine, go," Judy said. "Be careful."

"Thanks, Mom. Bye."

Quinn's car pulled up in front of Scott Berry's house a few minutes later. "We can't take too long, Rachel," Quinn said. "Because now I'm going to actually have to go to the store and pick up whatever stuff I need for tonight."

"I'll try not to take too long," Rachel said. "Once we finish here, we can run to Dad's apartment and talk to him."

"Rachel, are you sure you want to do this now?" Quinn asked.

"Yes. I need to," Rachel answered.

"Ok," Quinn said as she turned the car off and they got out of the car.

Rachel walked confidently to the front door but then hesitated a few moments before knocking. The door swung open a few seconds later to reveal Henry on the other side. He was carrying a couple boxes, but put them down so he could let them in. Rachel wasn't able to hide her surprise as he led her and Quinn into the house.

"You have visitors," Henry said to Scott.

"Hi, Rach," Scott said. "How are you?"

"Fine," Rachel said. "Umm, what are you doing here, Dad?" she asked of Henry.

"I found some stuff of his in the basement and he just came by to pick them up," Scott answered.

"Oh. I just didn't see the car," Rachel said.

"I parked in the garage," Henry answered. "Old habit."

The two-car garage was one of the features her dads loved the most about the house and she remembers them talking excitedly about it when they had moved in there when she was six.

"Oh, right."

"Who is your friend?" Henry asked.

"This is Quinn Fabray," Rachel told them. "And Quinn, these are my fathers Scott and Henry."

"It's nice to see you again," Quinn," Scott said. "I remember you coming by one time before." Scott was being polite, but he and Henry were both suspicious of why she was there.

"Yes," Quinn said. "A few months ago." Scott brought it up as if Quinn had been over watching movies instead of trying to check on Rachel because they had found out about her wanting to live with Shelby.

"Well what brings you two by today?" Scott asked.

"Umm," Rachel said nervously as they stood there in the living room. "Dad, do you remember me telling you about the performance we have coming up when I saw you in the mall the day after Thanksgiving?"

Henry nodded at her before sitting down on the couch. Scott followed suit and sat in a recliner. Quinn stood off to the side and they all waited for Rachel to continue.

"It's our Sectionals performance," Rachel said. "Quinn is in the glee club with me." Both men glanced over to Quinn and she eyed them back. There was a definite tension in the air and Rachel was doing her best to not let it get to her.

"Anyway, I was thinking that maybe you guys would like to come and see it," Rachel said. "I'm not actually singing any of the lead parts, but Quinn is," Rachel looked at her friend proudly. "She's singing the duet. We do a group number and there is a solo and a duet. We're doing a few Broadway songs. I think you'd probably know at least one of them." She figured if she just kept talking they wouldn't be able to say no.

"Rachel," Henry said.

"It's this Saturday," Rachel continued. "It's being held not too far from here. We're competing against two other schools to get to see who moves on to the Regionals competition."

"Rachel," Scott tried this time.

"We have a really good chance of winning. In fact, I'm fairly confident that we will come in first place. We have a strong routine that we've been working really hard on."

Quinn felt terrible for her friend as she listened to Rachel ramble about the competition. From her perspective, Scott and Henry didn't seem at all interested in attending and Quinn could just tell that Rachel was being set up to be hurt once again. That was why she didn't want to go over there in the first place.

Shelby pulled her car into the driveway at Judy's house and carried the chattering Beth to the door and rang the bell. Judy was surprised to see her when she answered.

"Come in," Judy said as she led Shelby to the kitchen. She gave the woman a bottle of water and then took Beth to hold. Beth seemed skeptical at first, but sat contentedly with Judy after a while.

"I just thought I would stop by and see if Rachel needed a ride home yet," Shelby said. "I know that Quinn is hanging out with Sam tonight. Beth and I were on our way home from the mall and I tried to call, but Rachel didn't answer."

"They just left to go to the mall themselves," Judy said. "Something about Quinn needing stuff and attempting to stop Rachel from buying a new sweater." Both women laughed and Shelby shook her head.

"I guess we just missed them," Shelby said. "I probably drove right by them."

"I'll give Quinn a call and see where they are and how long they're going to be," Judy said. "And if you want to wait, you can just hang out with me. I'd love the company."

"That sounds like fun," Shelby smiled. "Let me run out to the car and get her diaper bag."

Judy picked up her phone to make the call after Shelby stepped out of the kitchen. Beth looked around anxiously for Shelby after she had left and let out a wail in Judy's ear.

"Shhh, she'll be right back," Judy said. She put the phone down without leaving a message when Quinn's voicemail picked up so that she could try and comfort the baby.

Shelby could hear Beth crying before she even got back in the house. She couldn't help but smile at the way Beth reached for her when she stepped back into the kitchen. Beth stopped crying as soon as she was back in Shelby's arms; almost as if someone had flipped a switch. She held onto Shelby while looking at Judy as if the entire thing was her fault.

"Quinn didn't answer either," Judy said.

Rachel had finally stopped rambling and was looking at her fathers hopefully. She was wringing her hands and cast an anxious look at Quinn before turning back to the men and waiting for an answer.

"Hon, listen," Scott said. "I can't that day. But I know you'll be great."

"Me either," Henry said. "It's just a bad time."

Quinn shook her head and muttered under breath and Rachel dropped her head.

"Why?" came the question that was laced with unshed tears. "Why?"

"Why is it a bad time?" Henry asked. "I'm just very busy at work right now."

"It's a Saturday," Rachel reminded them. "You don't have to be gone and working all the time. Most people aren't like that." She raised her head to look at them, her anger starting to shine through the walls she built when she was around them. She was so very tired of them using the work excuse for everything. She'd heard that more times she could count. She was supposed to be more important than work. "Can't you take just an afternoon off?"

"It's not that simple, Rachel," Scott said.

"Yes it is that simple," Rachel countered. "You call up and say, 'hey, I can't work this afternoon because I'm going to watch my daughter doing something she loves.'"

"Rachel, stop it," Henry said. "I don't like your tone."

"I don't care," Rachel cried out. "I don't care if you like it!"

"Rachel!" Henry admonished, getting to his feet. "You will not speak to us like that."

"Rachel, come on, let's go," Quinn said. She stepped over to try and diffuse the situation. "We'll just go," she said to the fathers. Rachel had other ideas though and she wouldn't budge. She didn't have to be scared of them now; scared of them leaving her all alone. She didn't have to pretend that everything was just perfect when it was all falling apart around her. She'd used up a lot of anger on her mother ever since she moved out and it was high time she shared some with her fathers.

"No," Rachel said. "I want to know why. I want to know why you can't come next Saturday. And I want to know why you haven't been able to see me in anything for the almost four years now. Did you not think I was good enough?"

"You don't understand," Scott said. "Everything is more complicated than what you seem to think it is."

"What's more complicated than taking a day to watch your daughter sing?" Rachel asked. "What's more complicated than staying home every night with your family instead of doing whatever you wanted despite the fact that there was a little girl who needed you." Rachel's voice broke as she spoke and her tears were free on her cheeks. "Will you ever come to watch me perform again?"

Shelby had coaxed Beth to sleep and the little girl was laid out on her blanket on the floor while her mom tried to reach Rachel again.

"I can't imagine why they're not answering their phones," Judy said. "Quinn's is usually attached to her hand. I've had to take it from her after she's fallen asleep sometimes."

"Maybe they just can't hear it," Shelby said. She could attest to ho w loud the mall had been that day.

"Yeah maybe," Judy agreed. "How are the rehearsals coming along? Quinn could barely move when she got home last night. She went straight to bed."

"So did Rachel," Shelby said. "They worked hard yesterday. It was productive though and, in my professional opinion, they've got more than a good shot at winning."

"I hope so. Quinn talks about it all the time."

"Me too. And so does Rachel," Shelby said. "Though I doubt they are worried about the same things. My dad has called three times to assure her that they'll be there."

"Your dad?" Judy said.

"Yeah…" Shelby said, confused. Judy was looking at the wall like it would give her the answer to a question she'd been trying to figure out.

"Your dad?"

"Judy, are you ok?"

"Shelby, I know why they're not answering their phones," Judy said. "I know where they are."

"Where they are? What are you talking about?" Shelby asked. "You said they went to the mall."

"I walked in on them earlier and Rachel was trying to convince Quinn to go with her to see her fathers," Judy explained. "Rachel said that she needed Quinn to go along because you had told her that she wasn't to go and see her fathers alone. I told them that they were not to go over there and that if she wanted to see them, she needed to arrange it through you."

Shelby's eyes darkened and she pulled out her phone once more to call Rachel. She once again received her voicemail and hung up before she could leave a message.

"I bet you anything they went over there anyway," Judy said.

"I would bet that you're right," Shelby said. "Did you happen to hear why she wanted to talk to them?"

"No, I missed all of that. I'm sorry, Shelby, I should have realized it sooner."

"It's certainly not your fault," Shelby said. "Can you watch Beth for me? I'm going to go over there and get them."

"Of course," Judy answered.

Quinn had given up trying to get Rachel to leave and had stepped back out of her way. The Berry men were both on their feet and towering over Rachel, but the girl was holding her own.

"Rachel, you know that it's not that easy," Henry said. "You know that we would never have been able to make it to every performance of yours."

"So you didn't come to any of them?" Rachel asked. "You haven't seen me in anything since I was ten and had a dance recital. You even recorded it. And why is it so hard? Please tell me so I can understand."

"We tried to work out a schedule of who would go and see what," Scott said. "But there were just so many things. We couldn't make it to everything."

"You didn't even try," Rachel said. "What was so hard for you? Being parents?"

"Don't you dare, Rachel!" Henry yelled. "You have no idea what we went through to bring you into this world. You have no idea what we changed and gave up for you. You have no idea how hard it was for us."

There was an insistent knock at the door that only Quinn seemed to hear because the other three were so involved in the scene that was playing out. She wasn't sure whether she should answer it or not and so she hesitated.

"If it was so hard for you then why did you just give up on me?" Rachel yelled back.

The knock was louder this time and Quinn turned towards the door as if she could look through it and see who was there. When it happened again, she decided to answer it if for no other reason than to get the knocking to stop.

"Shelby," she gasped out when she saw who was on the other side. "She said she needed to-"

"Don't," Shelby cut her off and moved past her into the house where she could hear the shouting. She had been able to hear it from where she had been waiting on the porch.

"I want to know why you and Daddy stopped wanting to have anything to do with me," Rachel yelled to Henry. "I want to understand what it is I did that made you turn away and leave me."

"We didn't," Scott said.

"Yes you did," Rachel said. The tears were streaming down her face. "You left me and I was all alone. What did I do?" Rachel looked down at her hands and her voice grew softer as her anger faded into despair and longing. "Please just tell me what I did."

"Rachel," Shelby spoke up.

All three members of the Berry family turned to see Shelby standing there with them in the living room. Rachel stood up straighter and sniffed back some of her tears.

"Mom." Rachel didn't know how Shelby knew she was there, but she could tell the woman was angry. She looked past Shelby to Quinn and could see the worry that lined her friend's features.

"Rachel, I want you and Quinn to go back to her house. Right now," Shelby instructed.

"Don't just barge in here and tell her what to do," Henry said.

"She is my daughter," Shelby responded with venom in her voice.

Rachel was too stunned to move and so Shelby helped her along by taking her arm and walking her and Quinn to the front door.

"Mom, I can explain," Rachel said as Shelby ushered them out the front door.

"You can try and explain later," Shelby said. "Right now your fathers and I are going to have a talk."

**A/N – Thanks so much for reading and I hope you guys liked this. Please leave me a review! Thanks!**

**Also, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the two new stories I posted. I really appreciated your feedback. Some people asked if I would be adding more chapters to Starting Tomorrow and I hadn't really planned on it. I was planning on continuing to write more one-shot stories in that world just to show moments from their life. And that way I can have Rachel's age move around. But we'll see how it goes. Anyway, thank you all very much for checking them out. I appreciate it. **


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages I've received. It means a lot to me to get to see what everyone thinks of every chapter. And I hope you all enjoy this one. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. If I did, I'm sure I would be able to keep my mouth shut a lot better than Ryan Murphy is able to.**

Rachel didn't move from her spot on the porch after her mother had ushered her outside and shut the door. She just kept staring at it like it was about to open at any second and reveal that everything was actually just fine. She wanted to go back in there and hear what was going to be said between her parents. She needed to know what was said and she didn't think it was particularly fair that she'd been kicked out. She needed the answers and she needed to hear it from her fathers. But she also had to concede that it didn't seem like they even understood her questions and she had to admit that she was becoming overwhelmed. The shouting match would not have continued much longer simply because she knew she wouldn't have been able to keep it up or one of her dads would have put a decisive stop to it.

Quinn stood out in the yard near her car watching her friend just stand there. She could tell that Rachel was still crying and Quinn was at a loss of what to say to her. She'd seen Rachel angry and she'd seen Rachel yelling and she'd seen Rachel scared, but she'd never seen her friend like this before. It had been hard to just stand there and watch when Rachel was speaking to her fathers. The gulf in communication between them was vast and the despair Rachel felt radiated from her. Quinn knew she was angry, but for the first time she really understood the helplessness Rachel felt about the entire situation.

It was true that Quinn understood what it was like to have your parents walk out on you and give up on you, but she had always been able to point to the reason. She had gotten pregnant and disappointed her parents. It was hurtful and wrong and it took her a long time to move past blaming herself, but at least she'd always had a reason. The why was the one thing that Rachel was searching for and it was what she needed, but it felt like she'd never get it. If Rachel could just have a definitive instance or moment to point to and say, that's it, it would help her to understand. It wouldn't make it feel any better and it wouldn't make any of it justifiable, but living in the unknown was agonizing. Rachel had nothing but her imagination to rely on to explain why it was she wasn't a good enough daughter for her fathers.

"Rachel," Quinn called out but the girl didn't move of respond. Quinn walked over to her and put a hand on her should and spoke again. "Rachel."

This time Rachel turned her head and looked into Quinn's eyes that were brimming with sympathy and their own unshed tears for her friend.

"We should go." Rachel could only nod.

Shelby returned to the living room livid and ready for a fight and found that both men had sat back down again and Scott was rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache that was settling in.

"Get out of my house, Shelby," Scott said when he looked up to see that she was still there.

"No," Shelby said. "Not until I say what I need to say."

"I'm not interested," Scott said.

"I don't care," Shelby said.

"Well I guess we can see where Rachel gets her new-found attitude from," Henry spoke up. "She was never like this until she met you."

"How would you know?" Shelby asked. "When's the last time either of you spent a significant amount of time with her?"

"We were both around," Scott said. "You don't know what things were like."

"And I don't care what they were like," Shelby responded. "Nothing would excuse the way the two of you treated Rachel."

"Do you mean how we raised her and sheltered her and fed her and gave her everything she could possibly want?" Henry asked.

"And how long did that last?" Shelby shot back. "Ten years? Eleven? At twelve she was old enough to leave alone while you two just went ahead and got on with your lives?"

"She was fine," Henry said. "She's always been so independent. She didn't say one thing about the whole situation until a few months ago when you came back into her life." His tone was accusatory and he was back on his feet. "What kept you from walking out on her this time?"

"She did," Shelby said. "The only reason I left her back in May was because I thought she had a really stable and loving home life and I didn't want to ruin that or take away from that. If I had known what it was really like for her here, I would have taken her in May."

"She did have a stable home life," Scott said. "We gave her everything she wanted."

"What she wanted was her fathers," Shelby said. "I have to laugh at how independent you seem to think she is. She is willful and stubborn, and yes, independent, but she is also scared and clingy and when she came to me, she was extremely lonely."

"I don't want to hear any more of this," Henry said. "You don't know the first thing about Rachel."

Shelby let out a shocked, mirthless laugh at Henry's words. "And you do? Then by all means, please enlighten me. I may not have been with her since she was born, but I know all about her."

"Shelby, don't play this game with us," Scott said. "You have Rachel and it's clear that you're influencing her to think the worst about us, so why don't you just leave and go and tell her how great you are and leave us alone."

"God, it really is all about you guys, isn't it?" Shelby asked. "Even now when you just witnessed first-hand how upset your daughter is you're worried about blame and how you look to her. The only feelings you should be worried about are Rachel's."

Shelby's mind wandered for a moment to her daughter and what she was thinking by coming over here today. Rachel hadn't said one word to her about wanting to see her dads since that day Shelby told her not to see them alone. She would have gladly set up the meeting and been there with her if Rachel had mentioned it. She could have been there to help her or hold her hand or anything else that Rachel needed. But she could ask about those things later. Right now, Rachel and Quinn had better be on their way back to the Fabray residence.

Quinn looked over at Rachel when they stopped at the red light before turning into her neighborhood. Neither of them had said a word thus far and Quinn wasn't sure what she could say to make Rachel feel better about her fathers. So she moved on to another important subject that was weighing on her mind.

"How do you think your mom knew we were there?"

Rachel turned and looked at Quinn and then shrugged. "I didn't mention them at all before I left the house. There was nothing to even give her a hint." Rachel couldn't quite rule out that her mother had implanted a GPS device under her skin.

"Do you think my mom knows?" Quinn asked. "We told her that we weren't going to go over there. Do you think she knows we lied?"

"I don't know," Rachel answered. "Do you think she suspected we would go there and then called my mom? Why do you think we had to go back to your house and not my house?"

Quinn shrugged this time and then looked forward when the light turned green. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. We've got to just pretend until we know what she knows."

"It's not like it's going to matter that much because she'll find out as soon as my mom shows up to get me," Rachel said and Quinn's shoulders sagged. Oh yeah.

Quinn pulled into her driveway and the two of them tried to wipe the worry from their faces and put on a show face for Judy. They could hear Beth crying as soon as Quinn opened the door and they both knew right then that Judy had to know because why else would Beth be there. Judy stepped out of the kitchen to meet them, the screaming Beth in her arms, and she did not look pleased.

"Where have you two been?" Judy asked. "And it would be in your best interest not to lie again."

"My dads' house," Rachel answered.

"Go into the living room and sit down, both of you," Judy instructed.

Rachel took Beth from Judy as she passed and started trying to comfort her. Beth had been like this for the past few days because she was teething which made her cranky. Judy was upset, but she was glad to have Rachel in the house to take the little girl because Beth didn't seem too keen on new people at the moment. Nothing she had tried had worked for the girl and she'd given up on trying to force a pacifier on her. Beth clung to Rachel and let her displeasure about the entire situation be known. Rachel could tell she was running a fever, but found that the infant medicine was not in the diaper bag. Rachel instead picked up a pacifier and Beth's blanket from the diaper bag and gave them to her sister. The items helped to quiet her for the moment, but Rachel knew that the cranky would win out again eventually.

"She's teething," Rachel said as she and Beth sat down on the couch next to Quinn.

"Where is your mother?" Judy asked.

"She said she wanted to talk my dads and made us leave," Rachel said.

"What were you two thinking going over there?" Judy asked. "Rachel, it's quite clear that your mother has told you not to go over there and I know I told both of you the same thing just a few hours ago."

"She said I couldn't go alone," Rachel said. "I had Quinn."

"Do you honestly think that Quinn is the person your mom was talking about when she said she didn't want you to go alone?" Judy asked.

"No," Rachel mumbled.

"Then why do it?"

"I had to," Rachel answered. "I needed to see them and talk to them."

"Well then, young lady, you should have talked to your mother about it and let her set it up," Judy said. "You would have been able to do what you wanted and neither of you would have gotten in any trouble."

"But it wouldn't be the same with my mom there," Rachel said.

"Why not?"

"It just wouldn't."

"Did it go like you had planned today?" Judy asked. It was a rhetorical question, meant to show Rachel that things don't always work out like you want, but Judy noticed when Quinn looked up at her. The girl had been quiet through all of this and as Rachel lowered her head away from her eye, Judy looked to Quinn and saw her daughter shake her head ever so slightly. Another look back at Rachel and Judy understood that things probably had not gone very well at all. She may have been upset at their disobedience, but in no way did Judy want to make Rachel feel any worse about the content of the ill-fated visit.

"I'm disappointed in you two," Judy said after a few moments of silence. "Quinn, you're grounded until Friday. And don't worry about talking to Sam; he called while you were out and I told him that you regrettably had to cancel."

"But, Mom-"

"Don't worry, I didn't tell him why," Judy said.

"Mom, that's not fair," Quinn whined.

Judy would love to know what wasn't fair about that. Why did kids always say that it wasn't fair when they were punished for something they knew they weren't supposed to do? Judy felt that she'd been really fair because she stopped the grounding before Sectionals next Saturday. She knew that New Directions was supposed to win and she wouldn't deny her daughter the chance to celebrate afterwards with her team.

"Please Judy, it's not her fault," Rachel said jumping in to Quinn's defense. "I made her go with me."

"Both of you knew that I said you were not to go over there," Judy said.

"I'll do her grounding," Rachel said.

"I'm sure you're going to have your own little punishment to deal with," Judy reminded her.

"I know. But I'll do hers on top of mine."

"Rachel, it's ok," Quinn said.

"That's very noble of you, but Quinn is grounded and that's that," Judy said.

"You're not going to make her miss glee practice are you?" Rachel asked, close to tears. She just couldn't make Quinn miss the week before Sectionals.

Judy looked into two pairs of pleading eyes and shook her head, "no, I won't make her miss glee. She'll go to school and then glee and then home. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Quinn said, relieved and upset all at the same time.

"Good. Now you go to your room," Judy said to Quinn. "And leave your phone here with me."

Quinn took a second to turn her phone off before setting it down on the coffee table and grumping her way out of the room and up the stairs.

"It's really not her fault," Rachel said, her voice trembling. "It's not fair."

"She had a choice, Rachel," Judy said. "You both did."

Rachel nodded, but looked away from Judy again and adjusted Beth on her lap. The little girl was struggling to keep her eyes open and Rachel lifted her so Beth could rest her head on her shoulder.

"Do you know how long your mom will be?" Judy asked.

Rachel shook her head, "I don't know. But I can walk home with Beth if it's a problem."

"Rachel," Judy chided, "you know better than that. But for now, why don't you go on up to the guest room and stay there." She couldn't send one to her room without doing the same for the other.

Rachel got to her feet and carried Beth up the stairs with her, stopping only to pick up the diaper bag on her way. She stopped at Quinn's door and looked in on her friend after knocking lightly.

"I'm sorry, Quinn," Rachel said. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen and for you to get in trouble."

"Don't worry about it," Quinn said shrugging. "It's not like I've never been grounded before. I'm sorry you didn't get any of your questions answered from your dads."

"I guess maybe I was just hoping for too much," Rachel said.

"Maybe one day," Quinn said.

"Do you ever feel like talking to your dad?" Rachel asked. It wasn't a subject she had ever broached with Quinn before and hoped her friend didn't take offense.

Judy was standing off to the side behind Rachel and neither girl knew she was there. She had heard them talking and had made her way upstairs to separate them, but stopped short when she heard Rachel's question. She had Quinn didn't really talk about Russell and she had to admit that she was curious to hear her daughter's thoughts on it.

"Not really," Quinn answered. "He made it very clear that he didn't want anything to do with me and I eventually stopped caring. Or at least I try to tell myself that I don't care. He was just so disappointed in me and he can't see past that. I ruined his family." Her voice broke on that last sentence and Judy started to step forward, but Quinn started speaking again.

"But I came to realize that the whole thing wasn't my fault," Quinn continued. "Yes, I had made a mistake," Rachel kissed Beth's head, "and yes everyone knew it. But he didn't act as a father should act. Puck helped me to understand that. And even though I was pretty angry at first, it meant everything that my mom came back to me."

Judy's chin trembled and a silent tear made its way down her face and she needed a few moments to compose herself before letting them know she was there.

"You can come in, you know," Quinn said to Rachel because the girl had continued to linger in her doorway.

"No she can't," Judy said as she stepped up behind Rachel. "She has her own room to go to." She sent Rachel on her way down the hall towards the guest room and then looked back at Quinn. Judy stepped into her daughter's room and shut the door behind her so they could have a long overdue talk about Russell Fabray.

Rachel went into the guest room, the very room she had stayed in months before on the night her family's secret came out, and sat down on the bed with Beth. The baby was almost asleep and so Rachel made quick work of changing her diaper and then laid her down in the middle of the bed and Beth gripped her blanket and got settled and it wasn't long before she was fully asleep. Rachel erected a barrier of pillows on one side of the bed in case the girl started to roll and then lied down on the other side. She watched Beth for a long time as her mind wandered to her mother and the talk her parents were having at that moment.

Scott glared at Shelby and she had no problem glaring right back at him. She was not intimidated by these men. The last time they really saw her, she was a scared twenty-two year old about to give birth and they had each carried around that image of her all these years. They had been surprised when Rachel told them that Shelby had been the hard-nosed coach of Vocal Adrenaline. The Shelby they knew had been fresh out of college and had her head in the clouds and filled with big dreams and plans. The Shelby that stood before them was a tough, take-no-prisoners mother bear.

"You really think we don't care about Rachel's feelings?" Scott asked, incredulous.

"No, I don't," Shelby said. "And I think you know it. If you did you never would have made her feel terrible when she came to you and said she wanted her parents back."

"She said she wanted to leave us," Henry said. "How did you expect us to act? How do you think you would feel if she sat you down one day and said that she was ready to move away from you? You would be angry too. So please, tell me what you would have done."

"I would have fought for her," Shelby exclaimed. "I would have been beside myself at the thought of my child having to tell me she needs to live with someone else because she doesn't think I care anymore. Did you ever even try and understand why?" Shelby asked.

"Does it even matter why?" Scott asked. "We let her go. That's what she wanted."

"She only wanted that because she could see that you two would never change," Shelby said. "She wanted her fathers. She wanted her family back."

"Her family never left her," Henry said. "We were always right here. Yes, we left her alone sometimes and yes, we missed her precious recitals, but we did everything else for her."

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Shelby said. "She was twelve years old! What could you possibly be doing out of town all week that was more important than being home with her?"

"Our jobs are very busy," Scott said. "She was handling it."

"She was handling everything by herself while you two went your separate ways and moved on with your lives," Shelby said. "Did you ever even sit down to try and figure out where she fit into all of that?"

"She fit right here at home," Scott said. "We both always made it back home."

"But for how long?" Shelby asked. "What did you do for her while you were home? Did you know any of her teachers? Her grades? Did you know that she was bullied almost daily and didn't have any friends?"

"She had that glee club thing," Scott said. "She's always had activities and been involved."

"Did you know she had tonsillitis earlier this year or that she was three years behind in her vaccinations?" Shelby asked.

"She never told us any of those problems," Scott said.

"She shouldn't have had to tell you any of that," Shelby countered. "If you had been around you would have known those things."

"We get it, Shelby, you're perfect and we're terrible," Henry said sarcastically. "But you have Rachel now and we didn't try and stop that. So why are you both coming over here now and bringing this all up? Did you send her over here before you to weaken our defenses or something?"

"No, I didn't send her over here at all," Shelby said. "I actually told her she wasn't allowed to see either of you alone."

"You told her she couldn't see us?" Scott asked. "You can't do that. We are her fathers and she has every right to see us if she or we want."

"But do you want to see her?" Shelby asked. "I told her she couldn't see you because every time she does, she ends up back at my house upset and in tears over your visit. Do you guys even have an idea of what your phone calls did to her on Thanksgiving? She was so confused as to why you were interested again."

"I just wanted to wish her a happy Thanksgiving," Scott said. "There's nothing wrong with that. She knows we love her."

"No she doesn't," Shelby said.

"What does that mean?" Henry said. "She's our daughter; of course we love her."

"Well then you two have a funny way of letting her know that," Shelby said. "I'm certain you had no idea that she goes to see a therapist once a week. Did you know that that independent daughter of yours wakes up in a panic from her nightmares because she dreams about people walking out on her and leaving her alone? I couldn't get her to talk to me about it until I found her looking in my bedroom just to make sure I was still there. And the best part about that was that I had to convince her that it was ok to find me after a nightmare because she's under the impression that she's not allowed to seek solace for her fears."

Scott sat down.

"I have to work every day to try and make her understand that I'm not going to leave her alone as well," Shelby continued. "Every time she gets in any type of trouble she inevitably tells me that she's sure I'm going to send her back. My parents are still trying to convince her that they will be coming to her glee club competition this Saturday because she broke a rule when they were visiting and so she thinks they are off the hook for going and supporting her."

Henry turned away from Shelby and rubbed his head.

"Because to Rachel it's not just that people can't make her recitals, she feels she deserves it when someone doesn't show up," Shelby said. "It's the price she pays for being who she is."

"She invited us to that competition this Saturday," Scott said. "That's why she came over."

"Let me guess, you told her you couldn't make it," Shelby said. The silence was her answer and she shook her head.

"What do you mean, she thinks she deserves it?" Henry asked.

"Rachel is convinced that she did something wrong when she was younger and that's why you two left her," Shelby answered.

"What?" both men asked.

"And the worst part about it is, she can't remember what it was," Shelby said. "So she's in a constant state of worry thinking that the next thing she does will be the wrong thing and that'll be what makes me leave her too. She racks her brain trying to figure out what it was she did wrong so she'll finally have a reason for why her fathers and the only parents she had ever known seemingly walked out of her life. According to Rachel, she is a problem."

"I – we never wanted her to feel like that," Scott said. "She's perfect."

"She would disagree with that," Shelby said. "She's still stuck as that twelve-year-old who thinks this entire situation is her fault."

"Why would she think that?" Henry said as he moved and sat down on the couch.

"She says you used to fight over who had to do things with her," Shelby said.

"We fought over everything," Henry corrected.

"She's a kid," Shelby said. "She only knows how it related to her. She says you would argue over things like who had to take her to dance class or who was getting her from school or who had to attend what concert. And then it faded out and you stopped doing any of those things. Knowing her now, it's easy to see how she would misconstrue those actions. She probably got in trouble for something silly and then the next thing she knows, you two were gone."

"She always said she was fine," Scott said. "Or we just figured she could handle it. I was just so happy."

"Me too," Henry admitted. "And it had been a while. It became easier to leave each time because she just didn't act like she needed us."

"What about when you were home?" Shelby asked.

"I remember her having nightmares," Scott said. "She would knock on the door in the middle of the night but we were both working long hours and would send her back to bed. Jesus…" he trailed off.

"I guess it all became routine," Henry said.

"I guess it would be easier to do nothing than to try and make it work," Shelby said. She was disgusted with these guys. She could see it finally sinking in, but it was almost as if they were still reticent to do anything about it. Hiding your feelings was certainly a trait Rachel had taken from her fathers. They shut her out enough times and so she started to pretend to be ok and that everything was normal because that's how they were acting.

"Rachel deserved better than that," Shelby said. "She deserves better than that now. She came over here begging to know why she was abandoned and all you can give her is that it became routine. You were too happy away from your family to try and make your family life better. And not once did it occur to either of you to even stop and consider her happiness. This is going to be awesome to try and explain to her. Do you get why I didn't want her over here alone?"

"We'll talk to her and try and explain it," Henry said.

"You're damn right you will," Shelby said. "And I will be there. And maybe her therapist if it's something I can clear through her."

"We don't need your righteous anger, Shelby," Henry said.

"You need someone's," Shelby said. "Because without it, both of you are going to completely lose the greatest thing you've ever had in your life. Eventually that child is going to give up on you two the same way you gave up on her."

Shelby left the Berry house, slamming the door a little harder than she probably should have and got in her car. She drove off in a huff and pulled into a shopping center a few blocks down to gather her thoughts and rein in her emotions before stopping to get Rachel and Beth. She didn't know what she was going to do with Rachel for her disobedience when all she wanted to do was hold her daughter and tell her that everything would be alright.

Shelby got a quick rundown of the events from Judy before heading upstairs to retrieve Rachel. Beth and Judy seemed to have come to an understanding because at the moment, Beth's incoming teeth didn't seem to bother her and she was playing on the floor in the living room.

Shelby knocked on Quinn's door and entered when the girl called out. Quinn was sitting on her bed reading a book when Shelby stepped through the door.

"Shelby," Quinn said. She closed her book on her finger to mark her space.

"The partner in crime," Shelby said, giving Quinn a half smile.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said. "She said she needed to go over there."

"Consequences be damned, right?"

Quinn looked away and down at her hands.

"Quinn, listen," Shelby got her attention and waited for the girl to look at her. "Thank you."

"But-"

"Even though you both knew that you weren't supposed to go over there, thank you for being there with her," Shelby said.

A small smiled played on her lips when Quinn said, "You're welcome."

The door to the guest room was slightly ajar and Shelby peeked in and saw that Rachel was asleep on the bed. Shelby wasn't surprised considering the workout that Rachel had gone through the day before plus the emotional stress of the day. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. She needed to get Rachel up so they could get home, but Shelby was content to just watch her sleep for a few minutes.

Shelby moved some of the pillow wall Rachel had built earlier and sat down on the bed next to her sleeping daughter. She moved some of her hair back from Rachel's face and leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. She smiled at the fact that Rachel didn't even stir.

"Honey," Shelby said. She gave Rachel's shoulder a light shake. "Rach."

Rachel stretched her legs out from their curled up position and then reached and arm over to feel the space next to her.

"Beth!" Rachel said as she sat up and looked around frantically for her missing baby sister. It barely registered that she had been covered with a blanket. "Where's Beth?" she asked looking at Shelby.

"Relax. She's downstairs with Judy," Shelby said. "She said you've been asleep for about an hour and a half. She came and got Beth a while ago."

"Oh," Rachel said as she sank back down to the bed and lied back down. "That scared me." She pulled the blanket back up over her shoulders and Shelby watched in amusement as she seemed to start to drift back off to sleep only to realize that her mother had been sitting there. Rachel craned her neck to look up at Shelby and then quickly sat back up.

"Mom. What are you- How long have you been here?" Rachel asked.

"Just a few minutes," Shelby answered. "I woke you up so we could leave."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said contritely.

"We'll talk about it at home," Shelby told her. "Let's go."

The ride home was short and silent except for Beth's babbling and Rachel quickly disappeared into her room when they reached the house. She wanted to talk to her mom about what was said between her fathers, but Rachel was pretty sure Shelby wanted to talk about why she was over there in the first place and so she hid up in her room. She didn't figure it would be long before her mother came searching for her. And she was right because fifteen minutes later Shelby knocked on the door and entered the room with Beth. Beth was happily chewing on a cold teething ring and offered Rachel a smile.

"If you wanted to go over there why didn't you just say something?" Shelby asked. She sat down on the bed with Rachel and sat Beth next to her.

"You said I couldn't go alone," Rachel answered. "So I took Quinn."

"What I actually said was that I wanted you to wait until I had talked to them before you saw them again," Shelby reminded her. "And that I would go with you when you wanted to see them."

"I didn't want you to come," Rachel said quietly. She looked away from Shelby and tried to concentrate on anything else in the room that allowed her not to see the hurt on her mother's face.

"Why not?" Shelby asked. She was doing her best to keep the emotions out of her voice for Rachel's sake.

"I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to say everything I wanted if you were there," Rachel said. "You would stop me or step in. And I thought my dads would be more willing to talk to me if you weren't around. I invited them to Sectionals, but they said they couldn't come. And I was finally able to ask them why they left, but I don't think they understood the question and we started yelling at each other."

"Rachel, I would have been there for you in any way you needed me," Shelby said. "I know you need to ask those questions."

"That's just it," Rachel said. "You were there for me today. You showed up as it was starting to get out of hand and I know I couldn't have talked to them like that for much longer. And they were getting angry. You took over when I needed someone to. I should have taken you with me because then at least I may have gotten to stay and hear the answers. Will you please tell me what they said? Please."

"Rachel, when are you going to learn that you don't have to do everything on your own?" Shelby asked. "And more importantly, when are you going to learn that you can't do everything on your own?"

"I know that," Rachel mumbled.

"You say you know it, but you certainly don't like to demonstrate it," Shelby said.

"It's just easier on your own sometimes," Rachel said.

"Then why is it you always realize after it's too late that it would be better for you if you had someone there who could help you?" Shelby asked.

"Because having people who are willing to help me still feels new," Rachel said.

"You know, Rach, I would buy that except that today you were reminded and specifically told that you and Quinn weren't allowed to go over to your dads' house," Shelby said. She wasn't going to let Rachel off the hook through pity. "Judy told you to talk to me and she told you no and you did it anyways. That's just you doing whatever you want in direct defiance of what you've been told."

"But if Judy hadn't overheard us and if you hadn't stopped by there, neither of you would have ever known," Rachel said in teenage annoyance.

"Oh so it's perfectly ok to break the rules as long as you don't think you'll be caught?" Shelby asked. "Perhaps you need a reminder about the fact that I'm your mom and what I say goes."

"No," Rachel said quickly. "I don't need a reminder. I'm sorry, Mom. I just- I got it in my head that I had to go and see them today and nothing was going to stop that."

"Then you won't mind dealing with the consequences that go with it since nothing could be done to stop it," Shelby said.

Rachel looked down at her hands and shook her head.

"Good. You're grounded through Friday like Quinn is for ignoring Judy and disobeying her," Shelby said.

"Ok," Rachel said. She'd expected something like this.

"I'm not done yet," Shelby said and Rachel's head shot up so she could look at her mom. "For me, you're going to write."

"Write?"

"Yes. You're going to give me an essay on this situation," Shelby said. "You're going to write about what you hoped to gain from it and how you could have gone about it differently. You're going to write about listening and the consequences of ignoring others for what you want. You're going to write about the position you put Quinn and Judy in and how that could have been avoided. You're going to write about why it is you like to refuse help and how all of this could have been avoided if you had just asked. You can include anything else you think is relevant to this. I don' care about the tone or anything like that," Shelby said. "Write what you're feeling whether it's anger or frustration or contrition or anything else. But you are going to write it. And it is going to be at least ten thousand words."

"Ten thousand words!" Rachel exclaimed. "That's more than twenty pages. That's crazy."

"It's going to be at least twelve thousand words," Shelby amended and Rachel's eyes went wide, but she didn't say anything else. "You are going to give it to me no later than Saturday morning."

"How am I supposed to write it if I can't use my computer?" Rachel asked.

"We've got plenty of paper and pens and pencils," Shelby said. The essay was a way to make Rachel really think about her actions and the situation as a whole and it would give Shelby a better insight into how to proceed with Rachel and her fathers. This would force Rachel to deal with what she does and how she behaves as well as with her feelings. Writing was something that Dr. Woodward had suggested Shelby try with Rachel, but Shelby hadn't dreamed she'd use it as a punishment. In this case though, it really seemed to fit.

Shelby picked up Beth and got up from the bed and made her way to the door. "We'll leave you alone to think about it for a while."

"But what if I don't finish it by Saturday morning?" Rachel asked.

"If it's not done by then I guess you really will need that reminder that I'm the mom and you will listen to me," Shelby said. "And then you'll finish the essay." Shelby left her shocked daughter alone in her room.

Rachel did the dishes that evening after dinner and then got changed and ready for her early bedtime before seeking Shelby out to talk about what her dads may have said. She found Shelby in her room looking down at Beth who was in her crib.

"Mom?" Rachel said as she walked up to stand beside her. "Can we talk about my dads now? What did they say? Did they tell you what I did that made them leave?"

Shelby started up Beth's mobile and a soft melody filled the room and the baby's heavy eyelids started to win out. She then led them out of the room and over to Rachel's so they could talk without the worry of waking Beth up.

"Rachel, your dads were surprised to learn you think you did anything wrong," Shelby said. "They said it wasn't your fault at all. They are to blame, honey, not you. They know that."

"Then why?"

"They said they thought you were doing fine and were ok with them being gone all the time," Shelby said. She was trying to say it as gently as possible without sugarcoating anything.

"They thought I was doing fine?" Rachel said. "All alone?"

"They were selfish, Rachel," Shelby said. She wasn't really sure what was worse; thinking you did something wrong to drive them away or knowing that they just ignored you for what they wanted.

"But why didn't they care about me?" Rachel asked as tears sprang up in her eyes. "I love them."

"And they love you," Shelby said. "They want to talk to you to try and explain and help you understand."

"When can we talk to them?" Rachel asked.

"As soon as we get it arranged with everyone's schedules," Shelby said. "I know none of this makes any sense, but Rachel it's not your fault. Please stop blaming yourself."

"I don't know if I can," Rachel said. She stepped forward and hugged Shelby and buried her head in her mother's shoulder. "Why couldn't they ever be bothered to do anything with me?"

Shelby rubbed Rachel's back and placed motherly pats on her bottom in an attempt to soothe her. She could feel Rachel's tears wetting the collar of her t-shirt and wanted more than anything to be able to comfort her. "We can call Dr. Woodward and have her there if you want and she can help you too."

Rachel nodded and held tighter to her mother. She loved the feeling of being held by her mother. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Most times the only reason anyone notices me is so they can do something mean."

"That's not true," Shelby said. "There are so many people who notice all of the wonderful things about you and love you for them."

"Thank you for talking to them today," Rachel said.

"I'm right here for you, honey."

"I know," Rachel replied as she stepped back from her mom. "I think I'm going to go to bed now if that's ok."

"Sure." Shelby grabbed a tissue and dried Rachel's eyes and then kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, Mom," Rachel said. Shelby placed another kiss on Rachel's head before leaving.

When Shelby left the room Rachel sat down at her desk and pulled out some paper and a pencil. She began furiously writing as fast as she could until her tears started and blurred her vision. By the time she gave up and went to bed, Rachel had already written four pages of her essay.

**A/N – I hope you guys liked this one. Please leave me a review and let me know. **

**Next up we should finally be getting to Sectionals. Thanks, guys!**


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N – Look, I'm early with an update for once! Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages I've received. You guys are just incredible. Here is Sectionals. I hope you guys like it!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. I do own a Glee t-shirt though. **

"Rachel," Shelby called out looking for her daughter, but she got no answer. It was Wednesday evening and they had just returned from glee practice half an hour ago and Shelby desperately needed to go to the grocery store before she ran out of coffee… and some other important things like baby food and Rachel food. The late practices were catching up with all of them and there was just no putting off a trip to the store any longer. Because there was no way she was running out of coffee.

"Rachel," Shelby yelled again.

"What?" she heard back.

Shelby followed the direction of the voice up the stairs to the music room and found her eldest daughter lying on her back in the middle of the floor staring up at the ceiling. Rachel's arms were spread out beside her and her ever present spiral notebook looked like it had been tossed over to the side. Rachel had been working on Shelby's punishment every night and she'd taken to keeping the notebook with her. It had started as a trick to sit and watch TV with her mom. She'd pretend to write while watching whatever movie her mother had on. It had taken Shelby two days to pick up on that trick though Rachel claimed she just liked being close to her mom while she was writing. The way she stomped off when Shelby sent her out of the room proved otherwise.

"What are you doing?" Shelby asked.

"Did you know there's a small square on the ceiling that's not the same color as the white you have up there?" Rachel asked. "Did you miss a spot when you were painting?"

"What?" Shelby asked. She stared at Rachel for a second like the girl had grown two heads, but then turned her gaze to the ceiling when Rachel pointed it out.

"See? It's actually kind of distracting once you've noticed it," Rachel said.

Shelby had to agree and she spent a few moments looking for any other discrepancies before she remembered why she was up there.

"I need you to watch Beth for a little while," Shelby said as she turned back to Rachel.

"Why?"

"Because I need to run to the store and it's easier without having Beth with me," Shelby answered.

"I'm busy," Rachel said.

"Yeah, you look real busy."

"Can't you just take her with you?" Rachel whined.

"No," Shelby said. "She can stay here with you."

"But Mom," Rachel said, her whine more pronounced.

"Rachel," Shelby said using a tone that indicated she didn't want to hear anything else about it.

It was a tone Rachel chose to ignore. "You know I'm busy. It's because of your writing assignment." Rachel had been meticulously counting the words on every page so she could keep track since she didn't have a computer program to do it for her. The longer she wrote the more ridiculous she felt the whole thing was and she was convinced she wasn't going to finish it in time. The more she wrote, the more annoyed she became with the whole thing and the more she took it out on her mother. The feelings that were being brought to the surface through her writing were not helping either. The anger and hurt Rachel conveyed on paper was starting to translate into small everyday things and they were escalating. And nothing annoyed her more than having to count the words.

Shelby gave her child a hard look and grew even more frustrated as Rachel continued to look away, seemingly ignoring her. "I'm not going to argue with you about this," Shelby said. "You are going to watch your sister and that's final. I want you to give her a bath and then get her ready for bed. And then I want you to get yourself ready for bed. Understand?"

"It's 8:15!" Rachel said, incredulous.

"Do you understand?" Shelby asked again. Rachel's attitude had been getting steadily worse as the week progressed and Shelby was nearly at her wit's end.

"Yes, Mother," Rachel sassed back to her.

Shelby squatted down and sat Beth on the floor next to her sister. "Rachel, you are walking a fine line and if I were you, I'd use the hour or so I'm gone to figure out how to get back on the right side of it."

Rachel gave no response and continued to look away until Shelby stood up and left. Beth only sat still for about a minute before she crawled over to Rachel and tried to climb up and sit on her stomach. Beth loved this game and Rachel was normally a willing player.

"Beth, no." Rachel sat up enough to pick the baby up and move her back a few feet. Unfazed, Beth tried again and again Rachel moved her away. By the fifth time Rachel had enough and sat up and moved the baby away from her. "Beth, stop it!" she yelled.

The tone and volume of Rachel's voice startled the little girl and Beth wasted no time starting to cry. Rachel stood up and moved away from her and stepped out of the room and onto the stairs. Beth didn't move from her spot on the floor and just simply sat there and cried. Rachel stepped close to the wall and rested her forehead on it and listened to Beth's wails.

Rachel stayed in that position for close to a minute before finally stepping back into the room. Beth looked at her with such sadness and when she held her arms out to her, Rachel felt her eyes fill with tears as well. She reached down and scooped up the baby and held her close. Beth rested her head on Rachel's shoulder and held onto the sleeve of her t-shirt with her tiny fist.

"I'm sorry, Beth," Rachel murmured as she rubbed the baby's back trying to soothe her. "I'm sorry."

Beth started to calm down after a few minutes and Rachel made her way down to the second story and started a bath. Beth loved her baths and Rachel was glad to sit and let her play for a while before washing her up and getting her dressed for bed. Beth was lying on Shelby's bed and Rachel stood over her bringing her hands down and lightly tickling the baby's ribs. Beth would squeal with delight and kick her feet.

When the phone rang, Rachel picked Beth up and kissed her head and then answered the phone. The reply she received was not from a person, but was instead a recording. Rachel was about to hang up until she realized it was a personal message and not one of the mass automated callings.

"Ms. Shelby Corcoran," the recording said, "this is a courtesy call reminding you of your appointment for Beth this upcoming Saturday at two p.m. We look forward to seeing you at-"

Rachel hung up before the woman's voice could get out where the appointment was. Rachel didn't care. This Saturday was Sectionals. Sectionals started at one. How could her mother have made an appointment for Beth right in the middle of the Sectionals performance? It must be pretty important, Rachel reasoned. Well, certainly more important than she was. Of course it was. No wonder Shelby had insisted that her family show up. That way she didn't have to. Even with all of the work her mother had been putting in at the practices and with the individual performers, it still wasn't that important. It's not like it was with Vocal Adrenaline when she had to be there. Rachel bet that Shelby thought she'd be able to slip out and go to the appointment and come back and not have anyone know she was gone. After all, she'd seen the show many times in rehearsals so it's not like she'd be missing anything.

Beth started to babble and drew Rachel's attentions away from her thoughts. Rachel just stared at her for a few moments before walking over and putting her in the crib. She laid the baby down and gave her the blanket and pacifier and told her to go to sleep. Rachel hadn't heard the front door open when Shelby came back in because she was too busy trying to get Beth to cooperate. Every time Rachel laid her down, she sat back up.

Rachel picked Beth up and laid her on her back one more time. "You can't always have everything you want, Beth and right now you have to go to sleep."

Beth was becoming as agitated as Rachel was and they were both caught off guard when Shelby entered the room.

"I see that you were only able to follow half of my instructions," Shelby said when she saw that Rachel had not gotten herself ready for bed.

"Beth took a long bath," Rachel said. "I'm going now."

She moved past Shelby without a second glance and didn't stop when her mom said her name. Shelby was about to try again when Beth started to cry and being so unceremoniously dumped in her crib. Shelby picked her up and held her close and started to hum to her. Rachel peeked back in the room when she returned from her trip to the music room to retrieve her notebook and saw Shelby swaying slightly in a dance with Beth in her arms. She stepped away from the doorway and went into her own room and closed the door to further shut herself off from them.

Rachel let out a sigh as she rolled over in her bed once again and tried to find a comfortable spot. She was doing her best to will herself into going back to sleep; a trick she'd been trying to pull off for what felt like an hour now. Her mind was racing and would not let her rest. She finally relented and opened her eyes to look at her clock. It was just after four in the morning and she groaned and shut her eyes once more. She knew she needed her sleep because of the Sectionals competition later that day, but she just couldn't force herself to drift off.

Her disappointment had grown in the past two days and she found herself only talking to Shelby when she had to. She kept herself shut up in her room and working on that damned essay. Even so, she was still about twenty-five hundred words short and it was due to her mother this morning. She was never going to finish it, but she'd come to find that she didn't care. She had said so much and she was tired of feeling like she had to squeeze out more and more just to meet some stupid number.

For her part, Shelby had let Rachel be. She wanted to talk with her and figure out what was going on but when they weren't talking they weren't arguing and that would have to do for now. Shelby could tell that Rachel was feeling the stress of Sectionals coming up because the girl had started to double her effort during glee practices, if that was even possible. Rachel came home exhausted and disappeared into her room. Shelby would look in on her after she'd fallen asleep and whisper her goodnights.

Rachel threw her blankets back and sat up in bed. There was no sense lying around anymore and since it was Saturday morning, she wasn't grounded any longer and could go downstairs and watch a movie. When Rachel got up to get dressed, she looked through the break in her curtains and saw snowflakes reflecting off the moonlight.

"Oh," she said with wonder in her voice when she pulled the curtains back and saw a steady snowfall illuminated by the bright full moon. It was a gorgeous early December storm; the first of the season and Rachel immediately amended her plans of watching a movie to going out in the snow.

Rachel added a hoodie to her sweats and made her way downstairs. She grabbed a hat, jacket and boots out of the closet and slipped out the front door. She was about to step off the porch, but stopped because she couldn't bring herself to ruin the pristine blanket that covered the ground. It was just too pretty. She sat down in a chair on the porch instead and let her mind wander out into the moonlight.

Shelby silenced her alarm at six-thirty and propped herself up in bed so she would actually get up. She had decided to get up early and make a nice breakfast for her and Rachel and she knew she would have to get up early in order to do it before Rachel got up. She wanted the girl to start the day off right since the competition was later and Shelby thought it would give them a chance to talk. There were some things about Sectionals that she wanted Rachel to know before they got there and Shelby wanted to make sure the girl understood.

As she was getting ready for the day, Shelby looked outside and saw the snow and smiled.

"Oh," she said. The backyard was completely covered and beautiful. She loved the snow and couldn't wait to take Beth out because it would be her first time. And she hoped whatever was going on with Rachel could be resolved so she would play with them too.

The first thing Shelby noticed when she walked in the kitchen was one of her knit caps on the counter. And a box of tea bags next to it with an empty mug next to that. She quickly deduced that Rachel was already up and, by the looks of the footprints near the door, had already been outside. Shelby assumed that Rachel must already be back upstairs and so she put the tea bags away and left the mug in the sink before taking the hat to the closet to put it away. She grabbed a pair of boots and slipped them on so she could go out onto the porch and have a look around.

Rachel glanced up at her mother when Shelby opened the door and stepped outside. She wanted to smile and she wanted to exclaim about the snow, but instead she just looked away.

Shelby, however, was less concerned about Rachel's lack of enthusiasm in this moment than she was about the fact that her daughter didn't have a hat or gloves on. The boots were sitting on the porch and Rachel had slipped her feet out of them and pulled them up in the chair with her. She was wrapped in a blanket and shivering.

"Rachel," Shelby said stepping over to the girl. "What are you doing out here without a hat and gloves on?" She put her hands on Rachel's ears and they were freezing. Her hands, ears, and nose all had a red glow to them and she kept sniffling to keep her runny nose in check. "Get up and come inside."

Rachel slipped her feet back into the boots and followed her mom inside, the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders.

"Mom?" Rachel chattered out as Shelby helped her step out of the boots and led her into the kitchen. "Are you going to be there today? Please tell me now so I know. I keep holding out hope, but I know-"

"Of course I'm going to be there," Shelby said. "You know that."

"Do you promise?" Rachel asked.

Shelby got down to Rachel's eye level and said, "I promise I am going to be there."

Rachel let out a relieved smile and ducked her head as she continued to shiver. She had decided she had to ask because she didn't want to have to deal with the disappointment she'd felt the last two days once she got to the auditorium. She just needed to know one way or another and she'd been too angry to ask before. But if her mom promised than she supposed she didn't have anything to worry about.

Shelby pulled the blanket tighter around Rachel's shoulders and then hugged her and rubbed her back to try and warm her up a little bit. "Of all days you decide to sit out in below freezing weather without a hat and gloves on, you do it on the day you've got to go out and sing later," Shelby lightly scolded. She stepped back and took Rachel's hands between hers and rubbed them as well.

"I had a hat on for a while and I drank some warm tea with honey to keep my throat warm," Rachel said. "But I took my hat off when I came into bring the empty mug inside and I must have forgotten it when I went to grab the blanket."

"Just how long have you been sitting out there?" Shelby asked.

"Ummm, since four something," Rachel answered.

"Four something!" Shelby exclaimed. "Rachel!"

"I couldn't sleep. And you should have seen the snow in the moonlight earlier," Rachel said. "And then it stopped snowing just before sunrise. It was so pretty, Mom."

"Upstairs, right now," Shelby commanded.

"Why?" Rachel asked as the blanket was taken from her shoulders and she was turned and led out of the kitchen by her mother who had a firm grip on her arm.

"So you can get in the shower and start to warm up," Shelby answered. "You're in no way dressed anywhere near properly enough to have been sitting in the cold for close to three hours. What am I going to do with you, Rachel?"

"Nothing?" Rachel said. She hoped.

Shelby didn't let go of her until they were in Rachel's bathroom and she reached in and turned the shower on. "Get in there and get warmed up," Shelby instructed.

"I'm not that cold anymore," Rachel said though her runny nose and shivers betrayed her.

"Why would you sit outside all that time?" Shelby asked.

"I love the snow," Rachel answered. "And I wanted to clear my head." And for the most part, Rachel felt it had helped. Once she'd given up on trying to find more words to stuff into her essay, she'd been able to let go of some of the anger at her mother that had been building all week and that had allowed her to ask about Sectionals. She hoped she would be able to explain about the essay later.

"Honey, next time you want to clear your head do someplace that's not going to end with you sick or freezing," Shelby said.

Shelby left her to her shower and went back downstairs so she could prepare breakfast and go about getting ready for the day. They arrived at the competition places hours later, Rachel riding with the team and Shelby driving over in her own car to greet her family.

The Corcorans had all made it in safely from Columbus and Rachel had greeted them in the audience before the competition started. New Directions would be the second team to perform and so had to sit in the house and watch. Rachel's family was about midway back from the stage with Shelby taking the aisle seat and the rest filing in the row beside her. Judy sat there as well and turned to offer Quinn a wave which she returned with an eye roll and a smile.

Scott Berry entered the hall and did his best not to make any noise as he found a seat during the song. He towards the back and looked over his program and saw that Rachel's team was listed second. After a few moments he looked over to survey the room to see if he could spot Rachel when he instead spotted Henry sitting about six rows in front of him.

The applause was strong when the first group finished, but Rachel had had no problem picking out flaws in their performance and she hoped the judges would notice it too. When the lights came on, Mr. Schue had everyone get up so they could file out and go backstage. There was a twenty minute break so they could get ready and take their places. Shelby turned in her seat and smiled at Rachel as the group was headed out. Rachel waved and ducked her head and let the feeling of having her family there was over her. It was going to be a great performance and her mom would be there to see it.

Shelby turned back around and picked up a conversation with Rebecca and missed the moment when Rachel spotted first Henry and then Scott as she was walking towards the back of the hall with her friends. She stopped for a moment causing Santana to crash into her.

"Keep walking, munchkin," Santana said.

Henry caught her eye and gave her a tentative wave and as they got closer, Scott stood up and smiled at her. Rachel waved and was finally ushered out of there by Santana who had grown tired of walking behind her slow-moving friend.

"What's wrong with you?" Quinn asked when they entered the green room.

"My dads are here," Rachel answered. "I saw them. I can't believe they actually came."

"That's great, Rachel," Quinn said. "Maybe something Shelby said to them clicked."

"What if they don't like it? Or me?" Rachel asked.

"Stop it," Quinn said. "Don't even go there right now. We can't have you freaking out on us just before we go on stage."

"I'm not freaking out," Rachel said. "I'm calm. I'm calm. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm freaking out," Quinn said.

"No, you can't freak out," Rachel said.

"No one can freak out," Mr. Schue said to the room. "We have nothing to worry about, guys. You know this stuff inside and out and you're going to be great. Everyone just relax and have fun."

As the New Directions started to take their place backstage, Shelby leaned over and whispered to her mother.

"I'll be back in a little while." Shelby slipped out of her seat and made her way up the aisle.

Rachel stood alone center stage and looked to her friends to the right and left of her. They were still back stage and waiting for their cues. She took a few deep breaths and waited for the curtains to open.

As the curtains parted, Rachel took the few moments before the spotlight would hit her to scan the audience. She looked to where her dads were sitting, and could just make them out because they were too far back and the hall was dark. Her eyes moved to much closer to the stage and she saw Judy and her aunt and uncle and then cousins and grandparents and she smiled her thousand watt smile and looked to her mother's seat. Her face fell and her eyes immediately started to well when she saw that it was empty. Rachel's breathing grew more erratic and she was about to look back towards Mr. Schue when the spotlight came on and illuminated her for the entire crowd to see. She forced her smile back in place because there was no way she could fall apart now. Her show face was on display for the crowd even as she pushed down the lump in her throat and refused to let herself cry. Everyone waiting for her and the show must go on.

Rachel's clear voice sang out in a cappella, "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes." She sang the opening stanza from "Seasons of Love" from _Rent_ in a beautiful, clear bell tone that sent chills through the audience members. When she finished the last line of the first part, "seasons of love," the music started and Quinn and Sam came out onto the stage from either side while she held the note. Rachel backed away, going between them before they met center stage, and exited to the left.

"Do you love me?" Sam spoke over the music.

"No, I don't," Quinn answered before she started singing. "But somehow I can see just exactly how I'd be. If I loved you…"

Quinn and Sam were able to give the song a new feel while not losing any of its classic qualities. As they sang, the rest of the members of New Directions were paired off and danced around them. The lighting was soft and magical and when the background vocals picked up, the song soared throughout the room.

Rachel danced with Puck and every time he spun her around she looked to her mother's seat and each time she got the same results; it was empty.

Quinn and Sam started to dance as they held the last notes of their song and as they faded out, a loud applause erupted in the auditorium. Quinn couldn't keep the smile off her face when she caught sight of Judy looking back at her with tears in her eyes.

When the music started again, it was Kurt's turn and he stepped forward and started singing "Annie's Song" by John Denver. "You fill up my senses like a night in the forest…" This was a song Kurt had suggested when Rachel presented her idea of having love as the theme. True, it wasn't Broadway, but it was beautiful and well within Kurt's range. He had known it since he was a little boy because he used to hear his father singing it to his mom.

Rachel's idea had been to show love in different stages, hence the seasons of love. "If I Loved You" from _Carousel_ was about two people who are falling in love and struggling to admit their feelings to one another and so they beat around the bush by speaking in what ifs and maybes. "Annie's Song" was about a mature love and the beauty, excitement, and comfort that came from knowing someone that deeply. Rachel's first verse of "Seasons of Love" was to set the stage and the New Directions went back to it when Kurt's song had ended to thunderous applause.

Each member of the team who hadn't sung already got a couple of solo lines during the closing song and they danced throughout the song before ending in a straight line across the stage for the last few lines. The audience jumped to their feet and applauded and cheered when it was over. Every member of New Directions was beaming except for Rachel who could no longer hold back her tears at the sight of her mother's empty seat.

She did her best to dry them as they were bowing and the room could only assume she was just overcome with emotion at a job well done. The team was celebrating when they made it back to the green room and Rachel did her best to push back her emotions and join in. She refused to let her heartbreak take away from this moment for everyone else. It wasn't fair to them or to her. She'd earned this celebration and it had been snatched away from her.

"Don't cry, Rach," Artie said. "It was great."

"I'm just so happy," Rachel lied and plastered on a smile. She made a quick escape to the restroom and touched her make-up and put her show face back on. She was used to saving her pain for the solace her room.

The team didn't bother to go back out to the audience while the third group performed and instead listened over the speakers in the room. They were good, but not as good as the New Directions and as the performance lingered on everyone started to throw out their predictions of a first place finish.

Rachel felt like the judging took way too long, but at long last they were called back to the stage for the presentation of the trophies. Rachel stood in the front by Quinn and smiled. It faded a bit when she saw her mother sitting in her seat and pointing something out to her father. Shelby met Rachel's eye, but wouldn't wave because it would be unprofessional to wave to a performer on stage. She wasn't even sure if Rachel would have seen her anyway because the girl looked away so quickly.

New Directions took first place much to their and the audience's delight. It was a well-deserved win and they relished in it. There was jumping and squealing and a standing ovation before everyone was finally ushered off stage. There were immediate plans for a celebration dinner at Breadstix. Shelby wouldn't be able to attend it, Rachel told them and so Mr. Schue respectfully backed out as well since the only other adult wouldn't be there and told them to have their fun.

The group scattered when they got to the lobby because everyone wanted to find their families. Quinn melted into Judy's arms and Rachel could overhear the woman remarking how the whole thing had been filmed and she couldn't wait to get a copy.

"Rachel."

"Daddy," Rachel greeted, unsure of their protocol now. Did she hug him? "Thank you for coming."

"You were wonderful, sweetheart." He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and breathed in his cologne that immediately took her back to when she was younger and would fall asleep in his arms.

"You really were fantastic," Henry said, joining them. He too pulled her close for a hug and she squeezed her eyes shut and held onto him.

"Thanks, Dad. I'm glad you came. I know you were busy," Rachel said.

"I wanted to see you."

"We both did," Scott agreed.

Shelby stood with her family on the other side of the lobby and watched the exchange between Rachel and her fathers. She was happy for Rachel and skeptical and cautious all at the same time. They waited until the Berry men had said their goodbyes and went their separate ways before making their way over to Rachel. Shelby got to her first.

"You were wonderful, Rach," Shelby said wrapping her in a hug that Rachel didn't return. Shelby noticed and eyed the retreating form of Henry Berry suspiciously.

"Thanks," Rachel said when she pulled away. She wondered which time her mother was talking about. Which practice had she been wonderful in?

Rachel was passed from family member to family member and her response was much more enthusiastic towards them. The boys gave her big hugs and she eventually ended up being hugged by Judy who told her how great she had been.

"We've got to meet the bus," Quinn said.

"Oh yeah," Rachel agreed. "I'm sorry I can't hang around, but we're doing something as a team."

"Go, go," Rebecca said. "Enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you for driving all this way in this weather to see me," Rachel said to her grandparents and aunt and uncle. She wanted to ask them why they would let her mother leave like that, but she couldn't get the words out.

"It was our pleasure," Paul said. "Now go on and enjoy your celebration."

"Be home by eleven," Shelby and Judy called out to their daughters as they were walking away but only Quinn looked back to acknowledge them.

It was fifteen minutes until eleven when Rachel finally opened the front door and entered the house and shook the cold off. The snow was holding strong and there was a few inches accumulated now. She had been determined to stay out until the last moment and was only home now because Quinn had to have time to get home by her curfew as well.

"There you are," Shelby said from the couch. Beth was asleep and she was watching the early news. She turned the TV off and stood up to meet Rachel.

"You said by eleven."

"I know," Shelby said. "I guess I just assumed you'd be home earlier."

"Oh." Rachel started for the stairs but was stopped.

"You were really wonderful today, honey," Shelby told her. She had assumed that Rachel would want to talk about this in extreme detail, but the girl had barely even looked at her since the show ended.

Rachel wouldn't meet her eye and just nodded once in response. "I'm going to go bed."

"Rachel," Shelby called after her daughter and then started to follow her up the stairs. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Rachel entered her bedroom and shut the door before Shelby could get there.

"Rachel, talk to me," Shelby said. "What's the matter?"

The bedroom door opened and Rachel stood there holding her spiral notebook that contained her not quite completed essay.

"You lied to me," Rachel said.

Shelby barely had enough time to register those words because Rachel was speaking again.

"Here's your essay," she said as she put the notebook in Shelby's hand. "It doesn't have enough words because I gave up on it. Like you did."

"Rachel, what-"

Rachel stepped back into her room and shut the door while her mother was still speaking and Shelby heard the click of the door locking. Rachel's tears started again as she put her back to the door and slid down until she was sitting on the floor and leaning up against it.

"Rachel? Rachel, I want to talk to you," Shelby said. She tried the handle once, but it was indeed locked. "Rachel, open this door."

"Go away."

**A/N – Thanks for reading and please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. I really appreciate it. **

**Guys, I've loved the debate about whether or not Shelby should make it to Sectionals. You all have such good ideas and it's really awesome to know that you're invested in the storytelling. Thank you so much. This has been my Sectionals plan for a while and I hope it all works for you guys.**

**The Sectionals songs were "If I Loved You" from **_**Carousel**_** (it really is the perfect love song) and "Annie's Song" by John Denver. If you don't know either of those songs please, please look them up and listen to them. They are gorgeous. And I'm assuming just about all of you know "Seasons of Love" from **_**Rent**_**. I'm not one for typing out a lot of song lyrics and so that's why I wrote it the way I did. I hope it all made sense. **

**And full disclosure: I hate the snow and the cold weather. I wouldn't sit out in weather like that for three minutes let alone three hours. If it had snowed like that where I live Sectionals would have been cancelled and I would have battened the hatches and waited until it was safe to venture out again. **


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N – Thank you all so much for the reviews and messages. I appreciate them so much; I don't think you guys even really understand. I tried to have this out to you a little sooner than now, but it was Shark Week. And well, it was Shark Week. I was busy, guys. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. Or Shark Week. **

Shelby tried the handle to Rachel's door again and shook it a little. "Rachel, talk to me right now. Open this door." She didn't know what had the girl so upset, but walking away and locking her door like this was completely unacceptable.

There was no response from her daughter and Shelby felt her frustration rising. She stepped away from the room and quickly went back to her own and glanced in at Beth. The baby was still fast asleep and Shelby wanted to make sure she stayed asleep so she shut her bedroom door to keep any noise out and then went back over to Rachel's and knocked.

"Rachel, I mean it," Shelby said.

Rachel wiped at her eyes and then defiantly held her head high as she sat with her back to the door. "I don't want to talk to you," she said.

"I don't care what you want right now," Shelby said. "Open this door."

"Isn't there something more important you should be doing right now?" Rachel asked. "I'm sure Beth needs you."

Shelby stared at the door incredulously for a few seconds as she tried to figure that one out. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Because you broke your promise," Rachel said.

"What promise?"

Rachel shook her head angrily. How could she not even know what promise?

"It doesn't matter," Rachel said. "Can you just leave me alone?"

"Oh clearly it matters, Rachel," Shelby said. "Or you wouldn't have locked your door. It would be in your best interest to unlock it right now, by the way. And no, I will not leave you alone; not when you're like this."

"You're the one who always wants me to express my feelings," Rachel said. "That's what that stupid writing assignment was about, right? Well, right now I'm feeling angry and I want you to leave me alone."

Shelby glanced down at the notebook in her hand and squeezed it in frustration as she tried to stay calm. "I am sorry that you're feeling angry right now, but I would like to know why and what I can do to help you. So open this door. Right now."

Rachel got to her feet and turned and glared at the door as if she could see through it and was looking at her mother.

"No," Rachel said and Shelby narrowed her eyes. She did not appreciate being told no. "I'm going to bed."

"Like hell you are," Shelby mumbled to herself as she turned on her heel and made her way downstairs. She'd had just about enough of this.

Shelby stopped at the decorative table in her hallway and pulled open the drawer. It was a junk drawer more than anything and she rummaged through batteries, pens, sticky notes and various other items before she found what she was looking for. The previous owners of her house had given her the set of keys to the rooms when they closed and she'd tossed them in this drawer thinking she would never really need them. That was, however, before her children.

Rachel had changed into a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt and was in her bathroom washing her face. She didn't know how much sleep she would get, but telling her mother that she was going to bed seemed to have worked because she hadn't heard anything else from her. Of course she couldn't hear much over the running water in the sink.

Shelby shut Rachel's door behind her and made her way to the bathroom, dropping the girl's notebook on her desk as she went. Rachel had a towel to her face drying it and so she missed when her mother stepped into the bathroom and picked up her hairbrush. Rachel gasped in surprise when she lowered the towel and saw that her mother was looking back at her in the mirror.

"Mom-"

Rachel tried to turn around, but Shelby was quicker and grabbed her arm and kept her facing away. She bent Rachel over slightly and then paddled the girl's backside with the flat end of the brush three times, hard.

"Ow, ow! Mom!" Rachel cried out as she rocked up on her toes and bounced a bit. Her hands immediately reached back to rub the sting when Shelby let her go and put the brush back on the counter.

"Get out here," Shelby said and Rachel followed her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

"How did you-"

"Do you really think that I don't have keys to the rooms in my house?" Shelby said holding up the key ring for Rachel to see. "Don't ever lock me out like that again."

"It's my room," Rachel said.

"It's my house," Shelby retorted. "And my rules. And I told you to open the door."

"You say a lot of things and so I'm just not sure what to believe anymore." Rachel shot back.

"Rachel, I have had enough of your attitude," Shelby said. "You have been like this all week and I am sick of it. So unless you want to go to bed sleeping on your stomach you will cut the crap and actually talk to me. Tell me what is wrong and why you are angry and I will do my very best to help you. But I will not listen to any more of your attitude and talking back."

Rachel stood up straighter and dropped her hands to her sides but she didn't drop her mother's stare. Shelby could practically see the wheels turning in her mind.

"Talk to me," Shelby said again.

Rachel remained silent for a long, tense moment as she seemed to weigh her options. She consciously shot down some of the retorts that came to mind and, if this was a lighter moment, would have told Shelby how proud she would be of Rachel's ability to keep her mouth shut. But finally she relented.

"You promised you would be there," Rachel said in an even tone.

"At Sectionals?" Shelby asked, confused. "I was there."

Rachel shook her head and gave her mother a look that wavered between being really angry and really sad. "You left."

"No, I didn't," Shelby said. "I was there the whole time."

"No you weren't," Rachel said. "You got a phone call the other day while I was watching Beth reminding you of an appointment the two of you had today. It was during Sectionals. That's why I asked you about it this morning and you promised. But when I got up on stage and looked for you, you were gone."

Shelby closed her eyes in understanding, "Rachel."

"Everyone was there except for you," Rachel said. "Even my dads came. But I was looking for you."

"Honey, I was there," Shelby said. "I cancelled Beth's appointment Thursday when they called again."

"I didn't see you," Rachel said as fresh tears formed in her eyes.

"I was standing in the back," Shelby said.

"Why?" Rachel choked out. "You were supposed to be in your seat. I knew where you were sitting."

"I hired the same guy I always used for Vocal Adrenaline to film and photograph the performance," Shelby explained. "I always watch from the back because I can see it as a whole and see the audience reactions. It helps for future competitions. I told you this morning that I would be doing that."

"No you didn't," Rachel said.

"Yes I did," Shelby said. "I got up to make breakfast for us so we could talk about it, but then I found you sitting out in the freezing weather and wanted to make sure you got warmed up and then…" she trailed off and thought for a second. "I forgot. I got distracted and forgot. Oh, Rach, I'm sorry. I meant to explain it all to you."

Rachel shook her head at that information and a tear slipped down her cheek. "I needed to see you. I was supposed to be able to see you."

"Honey, I'm sorry," Shelby said. "I thought you understood."

"I thought you understood how important it was for me to see you there," Rachel said. "If the guy films everything for you than surely he knew what to do. And why couldn't Mr. Schue stand in the back and watch? It's his club. You were just supposed to be my mom today."

"Rach, I was," Shelby said. "I saw every moment of it. You were brilliant."

"I was doing everything I could not to lose it," Rachel said. "I noticed you were gone just before the spotlight hit me. But the show must go on, right? I learned years ago to perform through disappointment. But today was supposed to be different."

"Rachel, it was. You're whole family was there," Shelby said.

"Except you."

"I was there," Shelby said. She felt helpless in this moment because Rachel was so upset and it was her fault. And worst of all, there didn't seem to be anything she could do to change it.

"I was supposed to be able to see you," Rachel said. "Don't you remember me telling you how I used to pick out random people in the audience and pretend they were there to watch me perform? I could see them."

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Shelby said earnestly. "It was just habit to watch from the back and I thought you understood. But you're right; I do remember you telling me that. I should have stayed in my seat where you could see me. I wasn't thinking about that."

"You weren't thinking about me?" Rachel asked. It was this instance that made her break her mother's gaze and lower her head.

"No, Rach," Shelby felt tears in the corners of her eyes at Rachel's despair. This was the very thing she was supposed to be protecting her from, but she was the one doing it. "I was thinking about you."

Rachel shook her head and Shelby stepped forward and bent her knees so she could get at eye level with Rachel, but the girl ducked her head and refused to meet her gaze. She tried a different tactic and stood back up and put a hand to Rachel's chin and gently lifted her head. Rachel kept her eyes averted and her chin trembled.

"Hey," Shelby said softly. "Look at me." It took a few moments, but Rachel finally did look over at her. "Don't change my words around. There wasn't a person in that auditorium prouder today than me. When you started to sing… You had the whole crowd in the palm of your hand. I hired the photographer for today too and not just the video because I wanted pictures of you but I didn't want to have to be the one to take them because I wanted to focus on you."

"I wish I could have seen you," Rachel said as her tears slid down her cheeks and into Shelby's hand that was still holding her chin. "I needed to see you."

Shelby pulled her close when Rachel's cries intensified and rubbed her back to try and soothe her. Rachel buried her face into Shelby's shoulder and let the rest of her pent up anger and disappointment out. Shelby rocked her while murmuring, "I'm sorry," over and over.

When Rachel finally let go of her mother and stepped back she wasn't sure what to say next. She was still upset at the knowledge that she'd always associate that Sectionals performance with the feeling that her mother wasn't there, even if she knew otherwise. She was supposed to have been able to feel joyful while performing and she'd been on the verge of tears the entire time. It would be one of those heartbreaking moments she'd pull from years from now when she was dying on stage. Rachel was nothing if not dramatic.

"Rachel, I'm sorry," Shelby said again sincerely. "I never should have planned to be in the back. I wish I could take away the hurt you must be feeling. There was nothing in that room more important to me than you. I was so thrilled to get to watch you perform. You were enthralling."

"It's ok," Rachel finally said. "You were there. I just couldn't see you like I expected."

"That won't happen again, honey. I promise," Shelby said.

"And I won't lock you out again," Rachel mumbled as she looked down at her hands.

"No, you won't," Shelby agreed. "Rachel, look at me. I want you to talk to me when you are angry or upset," she said when she had the girl's attention.

"But I was angry at you," Rachel said.

"Which is all the more reason you should talk to me about it," Shelby replied.

"But I didn't want to talk to you. I was mad at you."

"So you'd rather throw a tantrum that gets you in trouble first and then still have to talk about it?" Shelby asked, hoping Rachel would see how childish locking her out had been. Childish like a teenager, Shelby knew. They liked to tell you how grown up they were, but it was just too easy to see the fact that they were still children, even if they didn't want to admit it to themselves.

"It seemed like a good way to make you go away," Rachel said and she went back to looking at her hands.

"I'm never going away," Shelby said. "Do you think one locked door would keep me from trying to get to you when I know that you're hurting or angry?"

Rachel shrugged and said, "I didn't know; I'd never tried it before."

"Well I wouldn't try it again because I just might take the entire door off completely next time," Shelby threatened.

Rachel's eyes widened and she nodded her understanding.

"Good."

"Mom?" Rachel asked. "How did the pictures of Sectionals turn out?"

"I don't know yet," Shelby answered. "I haven't looked at them yet. Justin emailed me the link to his site so I could see them, but I was going to wait and look at them with you."

"Oh. Can we do that?" Rachel asked.

"Of course. I'll pull it up first thing in the morning."

"No, now," Rachel said. "Let's go and look at them now."

Shelby glanced at the clock and saw that it would be midnight soon and then back at her daughter. "Ok, let's go look at them."

Rachel sat next to her mom as Shelby opened the email from the photographer and clicked on the link to take them to his site and the page with the Sectionals pictures. Shelby opened a slideshow and the first picture was of Rachel just before she started singing. The girl's internal battle wasn't anywhere to be seen on her face because her smile was firmly in place.

"Look at you…" Shelby said. Rachel guided the mouse and clicked next.

There were a few hundred pictures and Shelby had to admit that the photographer had certainly outdone himself. It only took a couple of clicks for Rachel to get really into looking at them.

"There's Quinn and Sam. They were really good."

"Oh, look at Kurt."

"That color really suited Tina; I think she looks the best out of all of us."

"Look at how Santana is looking at Brittany."

"You've got to tell everyone's parents about these so they can get some too."

At some point Rachel had decided she was too far away from the screen and moved forward and sat on Shelby's lap. Shelby adjusted so she could see around her as they continued through the pictures.

One picture made them both stop and stare. It was a picture of Shelby standing in the darkness with her face illuminated by the lights from the stage. She was smiling broadly even as tears were present on her cheeks. Shelby choked up at the sight of the picture; she didn't even know the camera had ever been trained on her. Rachel turned and looked at her when she felt Shelby start to cry.

"Mom?"

"You were wonderful today, Rachel, and I was so proud," Shelby said. "I wanted to shout out, 'that's my little girl!' I'm so sorry you thought that I wasn't there and that I would leave during your performance."

"Please don't cry, Mom," Rachel said as her own eyes started to fill. She threw her arms around Shelby's neck and held onto her tightly. Shelby clung to Rachel and the roles were reversed as she cried into her daughter's shoulder. "Mama, please."

"I won't let that happen again," Shelby said. "I'll be there for every performance you're ever in."

"You're going to get pretty tired of having to see the same show over and over again when I'm on Broadway," Rachel said trying to get her mother to laugh.

It worked and Shelby sat back and dried her tears. "Until then, at least," Shelby said.

"Ok," Rachel agreed. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, sweetie."

They both turned their attention back to the pictures and continued to click through the rest of the slideshow. Rachel started to yawn pretty deeply though she showed no signs of wanting to put off the rest until tomorrow. At they couldn't just click through the pictures; Rachel had to talk about each one. It was almost one in the morning when they looked at the last picture and Rachel looked back at Shelby.

"Do you have the video yet? Can we watch it?" She covered her mouth as she yawned again and stared at her mother expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"I don't have it yet, and even if I did, I think it's bedtime," Shelby said. "I should get it sometime on Monday."

Rachel held Shelby's hand as they walked back to the bedroom. The girl was headed for her bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face again when she noticed her mother picking up her notebook.

"Is this really not complete?" Shelby asked.

Rachel spun around and put her hands behind her forming a classic pose for a kid who thinks they may be in trouble.

"No. It's not as many words as you said it had to be," Rachel said. "But I tried."

"Until you gave up on it?"

Rachel opened her mouth to spin a reason and try and talk her way out of it, but nothing came out. Perhaps the simplest answer was the best in this case. "Yes."

Shelby nodded and took a few steps towards Rachel and kissed her on the forehead. "We can talk about it tomorrow. Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Mom."

Shelby took the notebook with her when she left the room and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief as she continued getting ready for bed.

Rachel awoke to the sound of someone banging on her bedroom door. She rolled over and looked at her door in a confused manner. Why would anyone be knocking on the door this early in the morning? She looked over at her clock and saw that her alarm hadn't gone off and it was actually after ten.

Beth sat on the floor outside of Rachel's room and reached out to hit the door with her palm once more. She continued for a few more hits and then discarded her pacifier so she could talk. She was quite serious about this door being opened. She knew her sister was in there and she needed someone because right now Mom was being boring and putting away laundry. Beth hit the door again.

"Beth, no," Shelby whispered when she came out of her room and made her way towards her escapee daughter. "Let Rachel sleep." Beth hit the door again for good measure.

"What?" came the tired voice from inside the room.

Shelby put her hands on her hips and stared down at her little troublemaker. Beth smiled at her.

"What?" Rachel called out again.

"Elizabeth Shelby, what am I going to do with you?" Shelby asked, trying to appear stern. Beth was unfazed by the use of her full name.

"Mom, is that you?" Rachel asked. She thought she could hear her talking.

"Well, young lady, since you already woke her up, I suppose you can go in," Shelby said. She opened the door slightly and could see Rachel rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Beth crawled into the room and made her way towards the bed. Shelby watched from the doorway just out of Rachel's line of sight. The baby made her way around the side where Rachel was and pulled herself up so she was standing with the help of the side railing. Rachel saw the movement and glanced down at her little sister incredulously.

"You woke me up," Rachel said. This was a detail Beth was not concerned with. "And somehow you were magically able to open the door." She looked to the doorway and couldn't see her mother but knew she was standing there. Rachel leaned over and picked Beth up and put her in the bed. She got up so that she could sit with her back to the headboard and put Beth on her lap so they were facing each other.

"If you had just let me get up with my alarm like I normally do you wouldn't have had to wake me up," Rachel continued, loud enough to make sure Shelby heard it.

Shelby rolled her eyes and stepped into the room. "You get up at six on the weekends and you didn't go to bed until after one. I wasn't about to let you get so little sleep again after the day you had yesterday, especially since you were up and freezing outside at four something yesterday morning."

"You waited until I fell asleep and then turned my alarm off?" Rachel asked as Shelby crawled in the bed with them.

"Yes," Shelby answered. "I didn't have to wait very long because you were out as soon as your head hit the pillow. And look how long you slept so clearly you needed it. You'd still be asleep if Beth hadn't started banging on your door."

Beth gave the hint of a smile and ignored the accusations.

"But I feel like I've wasted the whole day," Rachel whined and leaned over into her mother and closed her eyes.

"What did you have planned to do today?"

"Nothing. But that's not the point," Rachel said.

Shelby just shook her head; she couldn't argue with that logic. She felt Rachel start to settle in and turned and kissed the top of her head.

"We will leave you alone if you want to go back to sleep."

"No, I'm awake," Rachel mumbled.

Beth looked up at her sister and decided she would take care of this. She grabbed onto Rachel's shirt and pulled herself to where she was standing on wobbly legs between Rachel and Shelby. She held on tight because she couldn't stand on her own yet. But she could give kisses. Of course she didn't quite have the kissing thing quite right because she mostly just put her open mouth to your cheek and left some drool for you, even more so now that she was teething. But in this moment, she knew Rachel needed a kiss and now that her sister was leaning down resting on Mom's shoulder, she was right at Beth's level.

Rachel started to squirm when she felt Beth drooling on her face and scrunched her eyes even tighter and whined, "Mom!"

Beth pulled back and smiled as Shelby laughed and picked her up and moved her out of Rachel's way. Rachel sat up and used her hand to wipe her face off and then she wiped her hand on Shelby's shirt.

"Ew!"

"It's just a little drool," Shelby said.

"On my face!"

"I think she wants you to get up," Shelby told Rachel.

"There are better ways to say so," Rachel said.

"Dress warmly when you get up," Shelby said as she picked up Beth and stood up from the bed.

"Why?"

"Because we're going to play in the snow," Shelby said excitedly as she left the room.

Forty-five minutes later Shelby had them all bundled up, after having to send Rachel back up to add some more layers ("I said dress warmly"). Beth was tentative at first and wasn't quite sure what to make of her first snow. Shelby took one of her little mittens off and Beth reached out to touch it. She picked up a handful of the fresh powder and immediately put it in her mouth. She went back for seconds but this time got more of it on her face than in her mouth. She smiled and then dug her hand in farther in the snow as if to test how deep it was. She pulled her hand out a little bit later and clenched it against the cold. Shelby wiped it off and then put the mitten back on and passed her to Rachel so she could go back in for her camera.

When Shelby returned to the back yard, Rachel and Beth were both sitting right in the snow and Rachel was packing snow around Beth's little legs and Beth was having fun trying to brush the snow away. Shelby took a ton of pictures and then Rachel came and relieved her so she could play with Beth as well and get some pictures of them. It wasn't very long before Rachel abandoned the camera and joined them out in the snow. She made a snow angel that Beth crawled through and started a snowman that didn't get past a little pile of snow.

Snowballs, however, were flying. Rachel was the first to throw one and she hit Shelby square in the back with it. She then held up Beth as a shield so her mom wouldn't throw one back, but Shelby tossed it anyway and hit Rachel on the shoulder. Shelby got her again when Rachel sat Beth on the ground and kneeled to make some more ammo. Shelby gathered up an armful of snow and dumped it on Rachel's head while the girl was busy packing the snow in her mittens. Shelby laughed when Rachel twisted to try and avoid the snow that had made its way past her collar and down her back.

The whole playtime only lasted about twenty-five minutes and Shelby couldn't help but smile at the sight of her daughters with wet hats, chattering teeth, and red noses. But the smile they both wore was fantastic.

Shelby ushered them inside, but not before working to brush them both off so as little snow as possible would be tracked through the house. After Beth had been warmed up and given a hot lunch and put down for a nap, Shelby made two cups of hot chocolate and sat down at the kitchen table with Rachel. She then set Rachel's notebook between them on the table and the girl eyed her warily over the top of her mug.

"Let's talk about this," Shelby said.

"Ok," Rachel agreed cautiously.

"I read it," Shelby told her. "And I used your numbers to count the words. Why did you stop?"

"It was too much," Rachel said. "The whole assignment was too much. The word count and the feeling like I have to say the right thing. I was so stressed out."

"But you were able to portray a lot, Rachel," Shelby said.

"I know, but that's because I had to. You were going to be angry if I didn't. Dr. Woodward talked to me about writing and I always took it as something I could do if I wanted," Rachel said. "I felt so much pressure when I knew I had to."

"That type of pressure is not always bad," Shelby said. "And you certainly know what it's like to perform under pressure."

"Yeah, but I like doing that."

"So it's ok as long as it's something you enjoy?" Shelby asked. "Life's not always like that, kiddo. I made you write because you needed an outlet to get your emotions out and I'm fairly certain that's not something you're going to do unless you're forced to."

"I get my emotions out," Rachel argued. "I talk to Dr. Woodward."

"And you act out at home," Shelby said.

"Maybe I'm not ready to let all of it out," Rachel said.

"Maybe not. But honey, there is so much brewing in you all the time that you've got to let it out," Shelby said. "You've been a ticking time bomb all week."

"I was just mad about having to do all of that writing and all of that counting," Rachel said. "After a while I was just writing to meet the word count. I was so relieved when I decided to just stop. Well, that and I was mad at you and stopping seemed like a good way to get back at you," Rachel admitted.

Shelby eyed her and couldn't stop a small smile from playing on her lips. She remembered numerous times when she'd ignored her parents' wishes just to stick it to them and apparently her teenager was no different.

"I will admit," Shelby said, "that twelve thousand words was too much."

"It was crazy!" Rachel said but looked away when she realized that maybe she'd said that a little too strongly.

"But I want you to recognize that the writing does serve a purpose and helped you to get some of those feelings out in the open. Anger and fear and everything else." And it had been a pretty effective punishment if Shelby did say so herself.

Rachel thought about it and finally nodded her head. "You're right."

"Rach, can I take this in and give it to Dr. Woodward?" Shelby asked. "I think it would be something she'd be interested in reading."

"Ok," Rachel agreed.

"Do you want to talk about anything you wrote?" Shelby asked.

Rachel shook her head. "Not right now. You read it and so you know already and I just-"

Her words were cut off by the ringing of the doorbell and Shelby got to her feet to answer it. She had hoped Rachel might want to talk about it, but Shelby understood why she didn't.

"Quinn, hi," Shelby said when she opened the door.

"I need Rachel," Quinn said.

"Is something the matter?" Shelby asked as she stepped to the side and let Quinn in.

"Yes," Quinn answered earnestly and Shelby looked concerned as she shut the door.

"Rachel," Quinn said when she entered the kitchen and sat down in Shelby's spot that she had just vacated from the table. "We're going to New York City in ten days."

"I know," Rachel said and her eyes lit up. "I'm so excited."

"Me too. But I have a problem," Quinn said. "Ooh, hot chocolate." Quinn took up the mug that distracted her, Shelby's mug, and took a long sip. "This is amazing."

"Thanks," Shelby said sarcastically, but Quinn missed it. How did her drinks always end up being taken by kids in this house? "What's your problem, Quinn?" Shelby asked after she sat in a different seat.

"I was looking through things I thought I might need to take with me and I realized that I don't have a thing to wear while we're there," Quinn answered.

Shelby stared at her incredulously for a few seconds and then rolled her eyes. That was her big problem.

"We need to go shopping," Quinn said to Rachel.

Shelby was about to ask if she was serious until she saw Rachel nodded along.

"I agree with you, Quinn. I think I could definitely use some new items for our trip," Rachel said.

"Let's go to the mall," Quinn said.

"Ok," Rachel said.

They were both on their feet and Quinn was waiting as Rachel grabbed her jacket and purse.

"Let me get Beth ready and we'll come with you," Shelby said. She didn't need anything, but New York shopping with the girls could be fun. At least she thought so until she saw how both girls had stopped what they were doing and were staring at her.

"Umm…" Rachel said.

"Oh right," Shelby said. She got it. She was the mom and that wasn't cool for this trip to the mall. They didn't want a mom and a baby hampering them in any way. "On second thought, Beth and I will just stay home."

The girls' activity started up immediately and they were almost out the door when Shelby stopped them.

"Rachel, wait. Take my credit card." She quickly got her purse and pulled the card from her wallet and held it out to her daughter. "Don't go crazy or anything, but get yourself some stuff."

"I've got some money, Mom," Rachel said. She was getting used to Shelby paying for everything, but it still felt awkward sometimes if they weren't shopping for something specific. She was just used to paying for all of her wants.

Rachel took another step towards the door, but she felt her mother grab the back of her jacket and stop her.

"Rachel, take the card and buy yourself some things for the trip," Shelby said and she slipped the credit card into the back pocket of Rachel's jeans. "You better come home with some purchases on there."

"I need some new boots," Quinn called out to them and then laughed.

"Purchases that aren't Quinn's boots," Shelby said. Rachel smiled and then nodded and Shelby released her hold on the girl's jacket and sent her out of the door with a swat. "Drive carefully, Quinn."

**A/N – That's it for this chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. **

**I agree with Rachel; twelve thousand words, especially hand written, is madness. **

**And just a note on Beth's full name… In my head, Shelby's middle name is Rebecca and the tradition in Rebecca's family is that a daughter is given her mom's name as a middle name. And Shelby carried that on in naming Beth. I just thought I'd give you a glimpse into the parts of this story that go on in my mind that you guys don't ever see. **


	55. Chapter 55

**A/N – I'm so sorry for the delay, guys. I just had an extremely busy week. But here's the next update. I hope everyone likes it. Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages. All of you are really incredible. And I want to give a special shout out to three awesome people from tumblr. Thanks! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. I wish they'd let me hang out for a day though. Preferably when Idina Menzel is on set. **

Rachel opened the front door as quietly as possible and set her bags from her shopping trip with Quinn just inside in the foyer. She turned and waved goodbye to Quinn who was backing out of the driveway and tried to work out just how she was going to get her purchases up the stairs unnoticed. She wasn't really sure why she was trying to hide because her mother was going to find out how much she'd spent regardless of how sneaky she was, but she could at least delay it. She hadn't meant to do that, but she'd been caught up in the experience with Quinn who kept reminding her that she had Shelby's credit card and the woman had insisted she use it.

Rachel pushed the bags ahead with her feet and then shut the door behind her.

"Rachel?" she heard Shelby call out from the living room. Crap!

Maybe if she left the bags there for a second and went to talk to her mom… That might work. However, when she had been pushing the bags with her foot, Rachel hadn't noticed that her left foot was now inside one of the handles. Her foot didn't make it far when she attempted to step over the bags and she tumbled over them landing face first on the floor, banging her knee as she did.

"Ow," she whimpered.

"Rachel!" Shelby called out as she got up from couch and headed towards the front door. She cast a quick glance at Beth who was playing with some blocks and then focused on Rachel. "Honey, what happened?" she asked she got close and saw her daughter sprawled out on the floor.

"I tripped," Rachel replied. She brought her left foot forward with the bag still attached to it.

Shelby got down next to her and removed the bag from her foot and then helped Rachel sit up. The girl brought her knee up and started rubbing it though it didn't do much to stop the pain through her jeans.

"I'm going to have a bruise," Rachel lamented.

"That's better than the busted face you could have had," Shelby told her. "Why did you drop all the bags by the door?"

"I don't know," Rachel mumbled.

"Well, it looks like you got some stuff," Shelby said.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said quickly and looked down at her lap.

"Why?" Shelby asked confused.

"I spent way too much money," Rachel confessed.

Shelby eyed the four bags that were on the floor and then looked back at her daughter who still had not lifted her head to look at her.

"How much is too much?" Shelby asked. Rachel mumbled a reply that Shelby couldn't make out so she put her hand to the girl's chin and made her lift her head. "How much?" she asked again. It wasn't an unkind question, but more out of curiosity.

"One hundred thirty-seven dollars and eighty-four cents," Rachel said sadly.

Shelby bit back her smile as she sat back and looked to the bags again. She made more than that from one student in just one hour of private lessons. Shelby had paid off the house two years ago with the help of all of the bonus money she received from Vocal Adrenaline and her SUV had been a gift from the Booster Club. So considering she gave lessons for most of the day while Rachel was in school, Shelby was not hurting.

"I'm sorry," Rachel continued on quickly. "But Quinn was so excited and we went to all of these different stores and she kept pointing out things we needed, but I told her I would rather wait and be able to buy things in New York City, but she was right, I did find some things I liked. I put most of it back though, Mom, but I know I spent too much. I understand if I can't get very much in New York. I was going to take some of my own money too. They'll be a couple things I have to have, but I'll get those, I promise."

"Whoa, slow down," Shelby said.

"I can take the stuff back," Rachel said. "I don't think I really needed any of it anyway."

"Rachel, you're not taking anything back," Shelby said. "That's not too much money."

"I never spent that much at one time on clothes," Rachel said. "I had to buy groceries sometimes and I wanted to save money too. I usually only bought one thing at a time. A sweater this time or a pair of shoes and then I'd wait and go back again later and get something else. That was one of the worst parts about getting slushied all the time; the stains can be really hard to get out."

"How much money did your dads give you when they went out of town?" Shelby asked. The way Rachel had talked about it in the past, Shelby had just assumed that the girl had been given quite a bit by the men to last her while they were gone. Rachel always made it sound like she had a substantial savings.

"Seventy-five dollars," Rachel answered.

"You had to buy groceries and your own clothes on seventy-five dollars, what? A week?" Shelby asked.

"And save," Rachel added. "Just every time they were gone. Sometimes a week or every two weeks. They were good about not forgetting to give me money but I did most of the grocery shopping for a while. And I'm little so I didn't need new stuff that often. And my sweaters don't cost too much."

"How much do you have saved?" Shelby asked.

"Almost two thousand dollars," Rachel answered. "I put everything I could into a savings account. Daddy opened one for me when I was little and would get money for my birthday and stuff. That's a good amount to take to New York City with me when I move there."

Shelby didn't want to break it to Rachel that two thousand dollars would barely last her a month in New York City so she let it go for now. It surprised her even more that Rachel didn't really have that great of a concept of money in the first place. She had a child's view on what was 'a lot' of money which, if she thought about it, made sense. To a twelve-year-old, seventy-five dollars would be a lot of money. She learned that she couldn't spend too much on clothes or she couldn't buy food so any amount over the cost of one sweater or a pair of shoes was too much. She made a mental note to start to seriously discuss finances with Rachel.

"Honey, you didn't spend too much money," Shelby assured her.

"But over a hundred-"

"Rach, trust me on this, ok?" Shelby said.

"So you're not mad?"

"No, I'm not mad," Shelby told her. "Show me what you bought and then we can go back and get the things you put back."

"No, I got enough," Rachel said.

Shelby was about to argue, but let it go for now. She wanted Rachel to be excited over the things she did get and not worry about what she left behind.

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief as she stretched her leg out so she could flex her sore knee and then reached for the bags. Beth crawled around the corner with a wooden block still in one hand and made her way over to Shelby and then sat between them.

"I bought a dress and a pair of shoes to go with them," Rachel started. She pulled out a dark green dress and then opened the box so Shelby could see the pair of black flats.

"That's very pretty," Shelby said. "You'll look great in it."

"Thank you. And I got another pair of jeans which are a little nicer than the others I have," she said as she pulled the pants from the bag. "And then I found three new pairs of socks," and she pulled out some more of the knee-highs she sometimes wore with her skirts and sweaters. "And a new headband."

"Is that it?" Shelby asked.

"I also found this for Beth," Rachel said. She showed off a blue romper with gold stars on it and smiled at her mother.

"It's very cute," Shelby agreed.

Beth made a grab for it and Rachel gave her the outfit so she could hold it. The baby excitedly hit the block on the floor and smiled at her sister.

"What's in the last bag?" Shelby asked.

"Oh, just another sweater and skirt I saw. It's got a puppy on it!" Rachel said. "I don't think it was Quinn's favorite outfit, but I liked it. But I bought it with my own money so you don't have to worry about that."

"Rachel, please save your own money," Shelby said. "Let me take care of it."

"I do have to be more careful because I'm not getting money from my dads anymore," Rachel said.

"How about I start an allowance for you?" Shelby said. "I wanted to earlier but you're always so adamant about not taking money."

"No, that's ok," Rachel said. "You do everything else."

"I'm supposed to do everything else, honey. That's my job," Shelby said. "And this way you'll have your own spending money and you won't have to touch the savings you have and you can add to it. And if you and Quinn want to go shopping and I'm not around you've got your money, but if we go together, I'll take care of it. Unless I think it's too much, and trust me, honey, you won't be taking advantage of anything because I won't be shy about telling you if I think it's too much," Shelby said as if she was reading Rachel's mind. "I'll just be the annoying mom and say no and you and your friends can go and gossip about how unreasonable I am."

"I wouldn't do that," Rachel said with a smile.

"You say that now," Shelby said.

"Are you sure you want to give me an allowance?" Rachel asked tentatively.

"Of course."

"When would it start?"

"Next week because you just spent you allowance plus more for this week," Shelby answered.

Rachel huffed and crossed her arms though she was smiling.

"Thanks, Mom," she said as her demeanor changed and she looked down. "I've been worried."

"About what?" Shelby asked.

"I just want you to know that I can take care of myself."

"I know that, Rachel. And I want you to know that you don't have to," Shelby said. "You don't seem to realize how much joy it brings me to be able to take care of you, monetarily and otherwise."

"I've been thinking about what would happen if I ran out of my money before I got to New York to live," Rachel said.

"Honey, I don't want you worrying about that, ok?" Shelby said. "That's a few years off. So you just let me worry about that."

"But-"

"Rach."

"I have to worry about it," Rachel said. "It's my dream."

"I know it's your dream. And I will make it happen for you," Shelby said. "You will get your chance to live in New York City. I promise, Rachel."

Shelby leaned across Beth who had one leg through an armhole of her new romper and placed a kiss on Rachel's forehead. Rachel wrapped her arms around Shelby's neck and held her tightly. Beth didn't take too kindly she being squished and started banging her wooden block on the floor and, in one unfortunate blow, on the knee Rachel banged when she fell.

"Ow, Beth!" Rachel squealed out. "That really hurt!" She pulled her knee up close to her chin and rubbed it.

"That wasn't very nice, young lady," Shelby said and she picked Beth up and moved her back to her toys in the living room, freeing the romper from her grasp as she did.

Rachel reached into one of the bags and pulled out a small bag with the last item she hadn't mentioned yet and then put everything else back. When she started to stand up Shelby was back at her side to help her. The woman had her lie down on the couch and then she rolled the left leg of Rachel's jeans up past her knee where she could see a good bruise was already forming.

"Don't touch it," Rachel said as she sat up and tried to shoo Shelby's hands away.

"I'll get some ice," Shelby said.

Rachel lied back and rested her head on a pillow and shut her eyes only to be shocked a few moments later when she felt the freezing ice pack on her knee.

"Mom, it's cold," Rachel whined. "Take it off."

"No. It'll help to prevent it from swelling," Shelby replied.

"But it's too cold. Can't you prevent it from swelling some other way?"

"Gosh, I'm sorry," Shelby said. "I completely forgot the anti-swelling spell I used to know."

"Mom," Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Just leave it there and don't think about it. I'm going to start some dinner."

"Wait, Mom," Rachel sat back up and just couldn't help it when the ice pack slid out of place. Shelby put it back. "I bought one more thing."

"Oh?"

"It's for you. I know it's probably really silly and you probably won't like it and that's fine, but here."

Rachel pulled out a bracelet from the bag she'd found in a department store. It had three different colored beads on it and three charms, one to correspond with each color.

"I was able to tell them what I wanted and the lady made it for me," Rachel said. "The colors are Beth's, mine, and your birthstones and the charms are our initials. R, S, and B."

"Rach," Shelby said as tears formed her eyes as she looked it over.

"You don't have to wear it or anything if you don't like it."

"I love it," Shelby said and she pulled the girl to her and held her tightly. "Thank you so much." She finally let Rachel go and held her wrist out. "Put it on me."

Rachel complied and smiled when she knew she'd judged the size right. Shelby hugged her again and kissed her head. She wiped her eyes and declared that she was now going to make dinner and that Rachel should just lie there and relax. Rachel smiled when Shelby left without returning the ice pack to her knee because it had fallen off in all the hugging. But Rachel didn't notice that Shelby went up the stairs and not to the kitchen.

Shelby returned a couple minutes later and found Rachel still lying on the couch as she flipped through the channels on the TV with the remote. She picked up the ice pack and placed it back on her daughter's knee. And then she took out an ace bandage and began to wrap it so the pack stayed in place.

"Mom," Rachel complained but Shelby just secured the bandage and kissed her head despite the pout.

"Watch Beth for me." This time she went into the kitchen.

"So she can assault me again?" Rachel asked to Shelby's retreating form.

Shelby looked in on them half an hour later and found that Rachel couldn't hold a grudge against Beth for long because the baby was now asleep and lying on top of Rachel with her head on her chest. Rachel was also asleep and she had her hands wrapped around Beth holding her in place. The TV had been abandoned on a late afternoon football game which surprised Shelby, but if Rachel was using it as something to fall asleep to, it had worked. And most importantly, the ice pack was still wrapped securely around her knee which meant that Rachel hadn't messed with it. Shelby smiled and went back to the kitchen.

In the days that followed, Rachel's excitement about the trip to New York City reached a fever pitch. By the time they had picked up Quinn and were on their way to Columbus to go to the airport, Rachel was on her third cup of coffee.

"What time is the flight again?" Rachel asked.

"For the six thousandth time, it's at 10:45," Shelby answered.

"Are we going to make it to the airport in time?"

"Yes," Shelby said. "It's only 6:30 and we're almost to my parents' house. We'll get Beth settled in and we won't stay that long. You'll get plenty of time to complain at the airport about why we have to wait so long."

"I'm not complaining," Rachel said. "I just want to be prepared. There could be traffic or your car could get a flat tire or Nana might make us sit there-"

"Or aliens could abduct you and then your mom and I would get to go to New York by ourselves," Quinn said from the backseat. Her eyes will still closed because she'd been dozing off since they had picked her up at an ungodly hour of the morning. "You'd probably talk your way out of it though."

"Fine, be unprepared," Rachel said.

"At least I'll be rested," Quinn said.

"No one is stopping you from sleeping, Quinn," Rachel said.

"Seriously?" Quinn asked finally opening her eyes and lifting her head. "If you-"

"We're here," Shelby cut them off as she pulled onto the street where her parents lived.

Rachel smiled and was practically bouncing in her seat while Quinn tried to shake the sleep off.

"Good morning, girls," Paul said when he came out to greet. Rachel went to greet him while Shelby collected Beth and Quinn helped her carry in everything she'd packed for the baby. It would probably take three trips.

"I didn't realize Beth was a twin," Paul said.

"What?" Shelby asked.

"It looks like you brought enough for more than one baby," her father teased. "She could survive a year on all that stuff."

"She needs all of this stuff and who knows what could happen," Shelby said. "I just want you guys to be prepared."

"You're just like Rachel," Quinn said as she passed by them to go into the warm house.

"What?" both Shelby and Rachel said at the same time.

It took an hour for Shelby to get everything unpacked and to explain every detail about Beth and her habits to her parents. Rebecca gently reminded Shelby that this was not the first time they had watched Beth, but Shelby carried on with her instructions. Rachel was pacing like a mad person and Quinn was content to stay out of the way.

When they were finally ready to go, Rachel gave Beth a kiss on the cheek and doled out two quick hugs to her grandparents and bolted from the house. Quinn did the same, but was calmer about it. Shelby held Beth like she'd never see her again and the baby seemed to sense something was off and she rested her head on her mother's shoulder and held tightly to her shirt.

"You be a good girl, ok," Shelby said and then kissed Beth's head. "Mommy'll be back before you know it. You're going to have so much fun."

Beth picked her head up and placed one of her open mouth kisses on Shelby's cheek.

"I love you too, buddy," Shelby said.

Beth smiled and then put her head back on the shoulder and Shelby swayed with her to an unheard tune.

"Shelby, at least give me the keys so I can unlock the car door for Rachel and Quinn so they don't freeze out there," Rebecca said with a smile. "If you're going to take this long."

"I just need to say goodbye," Shelby said.

"She'll be fine," Paul said.

"I know," Shelby replied though her eyes were glistening with tears. "But four days is a long time. I'll see you later, honey," Shelby said and gave the baby another kiss. She kissed her four more times before passing her off to Paul.

"Bye, Mommy," Paul said and he helped Beth wave at her mother. The little girl was smiling when Shelby stepped outside.

They made it to the airport with no problems and, after going through security, Rachel hit up Starbucks for another coffee and then set about complaining about the two hours they'd have to wait to take off. Shelby breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally airborne because it was only then that Rachel stopped her chatter and put her headphones in to listen to her iPod. Quinn did the same and Shelby got the chance to put her head back and close her eyes.

"Mom! Look!"

Shelby was startled awake by her daughter's excited voice and the hand shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked at Rachel to try and figure out what she was talking about. The girl was staring out the window and Shelby leaned over so she could see what Rachel was looking at and smiled when she saw the New York City skyline in the distance.

"We're almost there," Shelby said.

"They announced that we'd land in about twenty minutes," Rachel confirmed.

When they landed Shelby ushered them to the baggage claim and Rachel waited in agony for hers and Shelby's bags to finally make it to the carousel. Quinn's had been one of the first out and the blonde took great joy in teasing Rachel about how she was holding them up.

"I'm just saying that if your bag wasn't taking forever, we could already be out there in New York by now," Quinn said.

"They're doing this on purpose," Rachel accused.

"Oh my god, what if they lost your bag?" Quinn asked in an exaggerated tone.

Rachel's eyes went wide and she looked up at Shelby with horror written all over her face.

"Quinn…" Shelby shook her head and shot the grinning blonde a look. "There are plenty of people still here, Rachel. The bags will be out any second."

Thankfully they did appear within the next couple of minutes and the trio was able to grab a cab.

"Where to?" the cabbie asked once the suitcases had all been put in the trunk and the three of them were settled in the back seat with Rachel in the middle.

"Times Square!" Rachel blurted out excitedly.

Shelby corrected her and gave the man the name of the hotel. Rachel leaned over both Quinn and Shelby as she tried to take in every sight as they drove. She became downright giddy when they entered Manhattan and had to sit in traffic. Quinn was smiling too as she craned her neck to see out the window and Shelby sat back and was satisfied to watch their reactions.

They checked into the hotel and made their way to the room and Rachel was half convinced the elevator was going slow on purpose. The room was a suite with a sitting room and two bedrooms and Shelby looked around it approvingly. The girls would share the room with the two double beds and she would take the other room with the king sized bed.

"Wow, this room is amazing," Quinn said.

"This is where Vocal Adrenaline always stayed when we were in New York," Shelby told them. "When I called, they gave me a good discount and set me up with this suite. The hotel wouldn't want to lose the business of the Carmel High Booster Club."

"But you don't even teach there anymore," Quinn said.

"But I still have plenty of contacts," Shelby responded.

"That's awesome, Mom," Rachel chimed in. "But can we go out now?"

"Oh, you wanted to go out and look around?" Shelby asked innocently. "Now? We just got here. I think maybe we should all rest for a little while. A couple hours should be good."

"Mom!" Rachel whined. She didn't know if she'd be able to stand it much longer.

"Come on," Shelby said with a laugh. "Let's go before you explode."

Quinn and Shelby grabbed their cameras as Rachel led the way from the room. The hotel was only a few blocks from Times Square and that's where they headed.

"I love it here!" Rachel exclaimed when they were out on the street.

"We're just out in front of the hotel," Quinn said.

"I know. But it's just so… New York!" Rachel explained.

Shelby took a picture of everything Rachel pointed out and got as many pictures of the girls as she could. When they entered Times Square Rachel's face lit up even more and Shelby sneaked around in front of her to snap a couple of pictures. Quinn's expression was similar and Shelby quickly took out her phone to take a picture of them and then sent it off to Judy and her parents. Judy responded with a 'have fun!' and Paul sent back a picture of a napping Beth in return.

"This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen," Rachel said. She looked up at the famous Coca-Cola sign and turned to look in every direction. "I can't believe I'm really here."

"Believe it, honey," Shelby said as she wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulders. She looked up at the bright signs with the same wonder as her daughter and Quinn captured the moment with her camera.

They spent the rest of the day around Times Square. Rachel wanted to see every Broadway theatre and go in every single tourist shop even though they all sold the same thing. She got two New York t-shirts and multiple magnets and show cards and a poster. Quinn was just as enthusiastic and got into the souvenir buying as much as Rachel and Shelby couldn't help but indulge them. Judy had given Quinn money, but she'd also given some to Shelby before the trip. Shelby had tried to refuse, but Judy made her take it to help pay for the hotel room and the Broadway tickets Shelby had purchased as well as providing extra spending money for Quinn. Any qualms Rachel had about using Shelby's money seemed to be gone for the moment as she spent her time looking through old music memorabilia in yet another shop.

"That's quite a pair you've got there, Mom," the older lady behind the counter said to Shelby.

"Yes they are," Shelby replied, not bothering to correct her. "It's their first time here."

"I could tell. There's a special type of excitement when it's your first time in the city," the lady said.

"Yes there is," Shelby agreed.

Across the room Rachel jumped excitedly and pulled up the old record she had found so Shelby could see it. It was the original Broadway cast recording of Funny Girl. Rachel had the CD, but not a record. Shelby gave her a thumbs up indicating that she could get it.

"Thanks, Mom," Rachel called out.

Shelby turned and smiled at the lady as if it was the best thing she'd ever heard.

They had dinner at a small Italian place that Shelby knew served vegan food. Rachel and Quinn decided it was quite possibly the best restaurant they had ever been to. After dinner they wandered all around Times Square again so they could see it at night when it was all lit up. Shelby took many more pictures and only thought about getting back to the hotel when she could tell that the cold was starting to get to them, herself included. And Quinn looked like she was winding down. Rachel looked like she'd be awake for six more days.

"We can't head back yet," Rachel said. "I've been on the lookout all day for Bernadette Peters or Patti LuPone or Brian Stokes Mitchell or any of my other favorites and I haven't seen any of them yet. What if Barbra Streisand is in town?"

"Rach, it's almost eleven," Shelby said. "You can pick up your celebrity lookout again tomorrow."

"Yeah, it'd just be rude for you to accost a celebrity this late," Quinn said.

"I would not accost them," Rachel defended herself. "I would simply want to explain to them in detail the reasons why I think they're wonderful."

"Like I said," Quinn replied.

Rachel huffed and tried to cross her arms, but it didn't quite work with the bags she was holding. Quinn laughed and shifted all her bags to one hand so she could throw her arm around Rachel's shoulders and the two started to walk in the direction of the hotel. Shelby took the opportunity to snap a picture of them from behind as they walked through Times Square.

They took turns showering when they got back to the hotel and soon they were all lounging around and looking over the things they had purchased as well as discussing the plans for the following day. It was after midnight when Shelby was finally able to get them into the room they were sharing and into their beds. Quinn shut her eyes as soon as her head hit the pillow, but Rachel was sitting up cross-legged in bed in the dark.

"Quinn, we're seeing _Wicked_ tomorrow," Rachel said excitedly.

"I know," Quinn mumbled.

"It's going to be so amazing."

"Uh-huh."

"We should have time to see Central Park tomorrow too," Rachel continued. "I can't wait to see it."

"Me too. Goodnight," Quinn said.

"I can't sleep yet," Rachel said. "How can you be tired?"

"Because we've been up since four in the morning," Quinn answered. "Go to sleep."

"I'm not tired."

Rachel's chattering continued much to Quinn's dismay.

"Rachel, please," Quinn said after five more minutes.

"What?" Rachel asked. "Quinn, tell me what you want to do while we're here."

"Sleep," Quinn muttered.

The door to the room opened letting in the light causing Quinn to squint. Shelby had been able to hear Rachel's chatter and Quinn's begging in the next room and had hoped her daughter would give up and go to sleep after a few minutes, but that didn't look like it would be the case.

"Shelby, make her stop," Quinn pleaded in an exhausted tone.

"Mom, what do you want to see tomorrow?" Rachel asked.

"We talked about it all earlier," Shelby answered. "Come with me."

Shelby took Rachel's hand and led her from the room and shut the door behind her and she could have sworn she heard Quinn breathe a sigh of relief. Shelby took her into her own room and pointed to the bed.

"Get into bed, Rachel. We're going to sleep," Shelby told her.

"I can't sleep, Mom," Rachel whined. "This is the city that never sleeps."

"The city may not sleep, but you certainly are," Shelby said.

Rachel sat on the bed, but Shelby made her lie down and then she flipped the light off and got in the other side.

"Mom, I'm really not that tired," Rachel said though she yawned just after.

"Close your eyes, Rachel," Shelby instructed.

Rachel did but asked, "What time did you set your clock for?"

"Shhhh," Shelby said.

"But-"

"Rachel," Shelby said. She put her hand out and rested it on Rachel's waist because the girl was laying her side facing her. "Quiet."

Rachel pouted but settled into her pillow and pulled the blankets closer. A few minutes later Shelby realized she hadn't received a response and opened her eyes to peer over at Rachel. The girl was asleep and gripping the blanket like she always did at home. Shelby smiled tiredly and removed her hand and got comfortable. She drifted off thinking about how she was going to need a vacation when she got home because of the pace she knew Rachel would keep the entire time they were here. But she couldn't wait to share the rest of the city with her daughter.

**A/N – Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading! More NYC shenanigans to come. **


	56. Chapter 56

**A/N – Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages you guys leave for me. And thank you to everyone who reads and for the alerts I'm still receiving. It just amazes me after all this time. You guys are great!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Shelby was glad to find Rachel not only still in bed, but still actually asleep when she turned to look at the girl. It was a little after eight and Shelby was taking her time waking up and she smiled at her daughter's peaceful face and mussed hair. Rachel's exhaustion must have finally won out because if Shelby had had to bet, she would have guessed that Rachel would have been out of bed and on the go by six.

She quietly slipped out of the bed and changed before leaving the room and Rachel to her sleep. Shelby knew the girls had a list of things they wanted to get done today, but it could wait another hour or two. She listened at the door to the room Quinn was in to try and determine if the girl was up. When she didn't hear anything, Shelby opened the door slightly and looked in to see that Quinn was also still fast asleep.

Shelby returned to the sitting room and found a pad of paper and wrote out a quick note to the girls explaining that she was going to get some coffee and breakfast and would be back soon. She returned thirty-five minutes later from a local bakery that she had found in her research that served vegan food. She was loaded down with three cups of coffee, two cups of juice, a glass of milk for Quinn, and a bag full of assorted pastries, muffins, and bagels.

"Hey," Shelby said to Quinn when she stepped through the door while doing a precarious balancing act. "Good morning."

"Morning," Quinn said. The blonde quickly went over to help Shelby with her load and they set the food and drinks on the table.

"When did you get up?" Shelby asked noting that the girl was still in her pajamas.

"About ten minutes ago," Quinn answered. "I saw your note."

"Is Rachel up?"

"I haven't seen her," Quinn shrugged. She removed the lid from the milk and took a sip. "Thanks."

"Of course," Shelby said. "Grab something to eat and I'll get Rachel."

Shelby opened the bedroom door while Quinn started to go through the bag to find something she wanted. She closed the door behind her and smiled because Rachel was starting to stir, but wasn't quite awake yet. It was a simple thing, but Shelby liked the idea of getting to wake Rachel up. It wasn't something she got to do very often, if at all, and there was something so parental about having to get your teenager out of bed.

Shelby moved the covers back some as she crawled into the center of the bed and placed a light kiss on Rachel's temple. She sat down next to her and leaned back against the headboard and moved the hair out of Rachel's face.

"Rachel," Shelby said softly.

"Hmmm…" was all Rachel got out.

"Honey, it's time to get up," Shelby said. She shook her shoulder gently. "Quinn is already awake."

"Ok," Rachel mumbled.

"The city will be there whenever you're ready," Shelby told her.

"I'm ready," Rachel said.

There was a delayed reaction to Shelby's words and it took about five seconds for her to fully wake up, but when she did Rachel sat up straight and looked around with wide eyes and crazy bed head. Shelby held back her laugh.

"I'm ready," Rachel said again, now suddenly alert and awake. "What time is it?" She looked to her side of the bed for a clock but didn't see one so she turned to look around Shelby.

"Nine o'clock!" Rachel exclaimed. "I was supposed to be up hours ago. I have a schedule and everything planned out." She was doing her best to kick off the blankets and her eyes were still staring at the offending time on the clock. "How could you let me sleep so late? We've wasted so much time."

The bathroom was on Shelby's side of the bed and, in an effort to save even just a few seconds, Rachel started to crawl across her mother to get out of the bed. She didn't make it very far because Shelby grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back so that Rachel found herself lying face down across her mother's lap in the center of the bed.

"Whoa, calm down, Rachel," Shelby said. "Just relax. We've got plenty of time to do everything. And I know you're eager but you've got to learn to control your excitement just a little bit or you might find yourself in some positions that you don't want to be in. Do you understand?"

Rachel did relax into the mattress and she nodded while she yawned as she felt her mother give her bottom a few soft pats.

"Good girl. I went and got us some coffee and breakfast so come out and have some before you get dressed," Shelby instructed.

"Ok," Rachel said.

Shelby held her in place for a few more moments before she delivered a playful swat and said, "Alright, go on."

Rachel immediately jumped into action and scrambled off the bed, still crawling over her mother as she did. Shelby just laughed and got out of the bed herself as Rachel disappeared into the bathroom. That may be as relaxed as the girl was going to get this entire trip.

Rachel joined them out in the sitting room a few minutes later and they all ate while discussing what to do first. Shelby fixed Rachel's coffee the way she knew the girl liked it and then gave her the secretly decaffeinated cup.

"I think we should do the Behind the Emerald Curtain thing at the Gershwin this morning," Rachel said.

"But maybe we should wait until after we see the show," Quinn suggested.

"Yeah, but if we see it beforehand we'll be able to look out for certain things they tell us," Rachel said. "Besides, I think I've already seen just about every YouTube video that there is for Wicked."

"I haven't," Quinn said.

"We can wait until tomorrow if you want to, Quinn," Shelby said. "It's a really cool little tour and it'll be nice either before or after seeing it."

"You've done it before?" Rachel asked.

"Yep. I've been behind the curtain at the Gershwin a couple of times," Shelby said.

"Are you sure you want to see it again?"

"With you two? Absolutely," Shelby said.

"We can see it today," Quinn said. "Rachel's right; it'll be cool to get to see the things they point out to us."

"That settles that then," Shelby said. "That'll be our first stop."

They arrived at the Gershwin an hour later and purchased their tickets to the behind the scenes tour and looked around the lobby for a few minutes as they waited for it to begin. Rachel put her ticket away so as to be able to keep it and Quinn did the same. Shelby pocketed hers and watched and waited until Rachel finally caught sight of the merchandise that was for sale and made a beeline to it.

"Mom," Rachel started but Shelby cut her off.

"We'll get stuff after the show tonight so that we don't have to carry it around with us all day," Shelby told them.

"There are a few things that are only available for the tour," the helpful young man behind the counter said and Shelby shot him a look. The girls both ended up with a Behind the Curtain t-shirt.

The tour took about an hour and a half and when it was over they made their way towards Rockefeller Plaza. It was particularly cold today and the wind was blowing just hard enough to where it crossed into uncomfortable. All three of them were bundled with hats and gloves and warm jackets. Shelby wouldn't let Rachel wear any of her skirts because she said it was too cold and so they all had on jeans and sweatshirts. They would dress up for the theater that night, but right now it was more important to be warm and comfortable.

"Wow, look at the Christmas tree," Quinn said when they arrived at the Plaza. "Can we come back at night some time and see it lit up?"

"Of course," Shelby answered. "Go get in front of it and I'll get a picture."

Quinn smiled and made her way over to the large tree that took up residence there every holiday season. Shelby positioned the camera but noticed that Quinn wasn't looking at her yet. The blonde girl stood gazing at the tree and some of its ornaments and Shelby and Rachel watched as she closed her eyes.

"What is she doing?" Rachel asked.

"Saying a prayer," Shelby responded.

"Oh," was all Rachel said.

When Quinn did look back at them she was smiling brightly and Shelby snapped a beautiful picture. It would look even nicer when they came back later that evening after the lights have been turned on.

"Go join her," Shelby said to Rachel.

Rachel happily agreed and bounded forward and Shelby took one of the two friends together.

"Can we go ice skating?" Quinn asked after they'd made their way back to Shelby.

"Can you ice skate?"

"Of course," Quinn answered as if it were a silly question.

"And you?" Shelby looked to Rachel.

"Yep," Rachel said.

"It's been over a decade since I've been ice skating," Shelby said.

"We'll help you," Quinn said.

"Yeah, Mom, it'll be fun," Rachel said.

"Ok," Shelby conceded.

"But how about we go to the observation deck first and look around and then we go skating?" Rachel said. "I've heard it's really quite a sight to see."

"That sounds cool," Quinn said.

"I don't know," Shelby said.

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"I'm just worried about time and stuff like that," Shelby said. "It's awfully high and there could be a long line and the elevators could be out and we could have to walk to the top."

"Are you scared of heights?" Quinn asked with a crooked smile on her face.

"What? No, of course not," Shelby said much too quickly. "It's just that there is no reason to be that high unless you're in the safety of a plane or indoors. Anything could happen up there. And it's windy and might not be safe."

"It's ok to be afraid," Rachel teased in a placating tone.

"We won't let you fall," Quinn added.

Shelby did nothing to hide her disdain as she looked from one innocent face to the next. Their halos were about to fall off their horns.

"Please, Mama," Rachel said, falling back on a name she'd been using more often recently.

Rachel stepped up to Shelby and put her arms around her mother's waist and rested her head on her shoulder. Shelby did not return the hug and she knew this manipulation for what it was.

"Please, Mama," Quinn copied Rachel and also stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Shelby and Rachel and put her head on the other shoulder.

Shelby looked around at some other people who were smiling at the small scene before finally relenting and returning their hugs.

"Fine, you schemers, let's go."

The observation deck gave them one of the best views that can be seen in New York City and Rachel took great pleasure in pointing things out to them. Shelby stayed back near the building while Quinn and Rachel roamed free and took in the sights. Quinn took pictures of the city and Shelby took pictures of them looking at the city. After ten minutes Shelby was really starting to feel anxious and after twenty she was well past being ready to leave.

"Girls, we should probably-" but Shelby was cut off by Rachel's excited exclamation.

"Look at the Empire State Building!" Rachel said. She had her hands pressed flat against the Plexiglas that surrounded the edges. She looked for all the world like a small child. "I can't wait to go to the top of that." Shelby groaned and Rachel couldn't stop the devilish smile that played on her lips.

"Rachel, step back some," Shelby instructed. She knew it was an unnecessary instruction as soon as she gave it because Rachel wasn't a small child and there was certainly no way she could fall, but the irrational fear and worry had won out.

"Mom," Rachel rolled her eyes as she looked over her shoulder at her mother. "Come out here and look. If you look straight down you can see the people in the skating rink." Rachel stood on her tiptoes and leaned against the glass some more and looked down.

"I'll stay over here, thanks," Shelby said.

"This plane of glass feels a little loose," Quinn said as she got closer to it and pushed on it a little bit harder.

"What?" Shelby quickly moved away from the wall and to the girls. "Come away from there, both of you." Her heart started to race.

"I think you might be right, Quinn," Rachel said. She pushed on the glass in front of her.

"Girls, I mean it," Shelby said.

"Let me see," Quinn said, coming over to where Rachel was and trying it out. "I think yours might even be worse."

The girls shared a conspiratorial smile before turning around leaning their backs against the glass and looking at Shelby. She was already coming closer to them. Quinn quickly held her phone up and snapped a picture of her and Rachel together with the Empire State Building in the background.

"Get off the glass," Shelby said, her voice rising in worry. "Get away from there." She took them each by the arm and pulled them away until they were standing on the other side of her.

"That glass is loose and you would just lean on it and take a picture?" Shelby said. "You could have fallen."

"We were just kidding," Quinn said. She and Rachel laughed. "Nothing is loose."

"Ha ha ha, that's funny," Shelby deadpanned. "Can we get back on solid ground now?"

"Sure, Mom," Rachel said. "You take the long way; Quinn and I are going to climb down the side."

Both girls started to step past her but Shelby caught their arms and turned them around. Rachel scurried on ahead to get the elevator which left Quinn as the only one available to receive the swat that Shelby doled out.

"I'm sorry, Shelby," Quinn said sincerely. "I promise I won't tell you the next time there's a potential of Rachel and I falling to our deaths."

Shelby narrowed her eyes at the girl and Quinn smiled sweetly, but wisely hurried on ahead to catch up with Rachel.

Once they were blessedly back down on the street, Shelby led the way over to the skating rink and paid for the three of them to go. It didn't take them long to get out onto the ice and Rachel and Quinn had no problems adjusting to the feel of the skates and the ice beneath their feet. Shelby, on the other hand, almost fell as soon as one blade hit the ice and each girl grabbed an arm to help steady her. They went around the rink slowly at first until Shelby assured them that she had the hang of it and they could go on by themselves if they wanted.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, go on. I'm remembering," Shelby said.

Quinn and Rachel let her go and skated on ahead. Shelby saw Quinn point something out and noticed how they both started to laugh. She looked in the same direction to see what was funny but all of a sudden found herself looking at the ice when she fell. Shelby looked around sheepishly to see if anyone had noticed, but people were just going around her. She carefully got to her feet and started to slowly move her feet again. She only fell twice more before the girls made their way around the rink and back to her.

"Are you ok?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Shelby answered. "Just rusty. How are you two doing?"

"This is so much fun," Rachel said. "I feel like we should be in a movie right now."

"I'm sure there's a movie filming somewhere," Shelby said. "Maybe we'll come across it later."

Shelby started to slip again, but Rachel grabbed her arm and the woman found her footing.

"Skate with me," Rachel said.

"I am," Shelby told her.

Rachel just laughed and held her mother's hand and helped her along. Quinn hung back and gave them their space. She didn't feel like a third wheel, but she also knew that it was important for Shelby and Rachel to have some of these moments to themselves.

"Are you having fun so far?" Shelby asked.

"This is the most amazing time I've ever had," Rachel said. "I don't know how I'm going to go back to real life after this."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll manage," Shelby laughed.

They made a full three laps with Shelby listening to Rachel talk animatedly about everything to do with the city before Shelby turned around and motioned for Quinn to catch up with them. The blonde did so, skating up to Rachel's other side and joining the conversation.

They had gained a steady rhythm and Shelby had only slipped a few more times as they kept a lazy pace around the rink. All of that changed when a younger kid who was clearly comfortable on his skates cut in front of Shelby at a high speed startling her. She tried to stop and lost her footing and tumbled to the ice. Her grip on Rachel's hand tightened instinctively and she pulled the girl with her. Rachel reached out and grabbed Quinn's arm and took her with them. They landed in a heap with Shelby on the bottom. There was a momentary stunned silence where none of them moved until Shelby tried to shift their weight from the bottom of the pile. Quinn moved back and helped to pull Rachel up so that they were kneeling on the ice next to Shelby.

"Mom, are you ok?" Rachel asked worriedly. "Are you hurt? Can you hear me? Mom?" Rachel started to shake her shoulder.

"I'm fine, Rachel," Shelby assured her as she sat up. "Just a bump or two. But where is that little punk?" she looked around for him.

"You'd never be able to catch him, Shelby," Quinn said seriously. "You can't skate that fast."

Shelby looked at her serious expression, save for the glint in her eye, for a moment before laughing and saying, "you're right. I don't know about you two, but I'm getting a little tired of the ice. Why don't we go and get some lunch?"

Both girls agreed and then stood so they could help Shelby to her feet. She moved stiffly and cautiously and knew she would be feeling later, and of course the cold didn't help.

They found an out-of-the-way restaurant and spent a nice lunch warming up and laughing over Shelby's freak out on the observation deck. Shelby took the good natured ribbing and was content in knowing that they were having a good time.

After lunch they decided to head to Central Park and Quinn spotted FAO Schwarz as soon as they got out of the cab.

"We have to go in and look around," Rachel said.

The park lay forgotten across the street as the group stepped past the famous toy soldiers and into the giant store.

"Wow…" Quinn and Rachel said together as they stood just inside the front door and looked around. Shelby swore she could see them morphing into ten-year-olds right before her eyes. She had a feeling that this would be more than just a passing visit.

They only stayed together for a little while as they started to explore the store. They naturally broke off from each other in order to look at things that interested them more. Shelby found presents for Beth, as well as Jack and Michael before eventually running back into Quinn who had a few things her in own basket.

"Have you seen Rachel?" Quinn asked.

"Not in a while," Shelby answered. "But she texted a few minutes ago and said she'd finally made it to the top floor. I bet she's waiting by the piano."

Sure enough, Rachel was standing by the floor piano made famous in the movie _Big_. She too had a basket with items in it and she didn't see her mother and Quinn making their way towards her. She was too caught up in watching other people play on the piano.

"What did you find?" Shelby asked her when she reached the girl. She looked down into the basket and snooped around.

"A couple of things for Beth. And for me too. This place is amazing," Rachel said.

"Have you tried the piano yet?" Quinn asked.

"Not yet," Rachel answered. "There's been a line."

"Get in line then," Shelby said.

"I was just waiting of you to get here," Rachel said.

"Your audience is ready," Shelby said and she shooed them off towards the line.

Rachel went first when their time came up and Shelby raised her phone and started to film her. Rachel started at one end of the piano and tapped her foot on the lowest note to hear it and then she started to sing to match. She walked up the scale, raising her voice as she did and then went back down the same way. A couple people clapped and Rachel offered a small curtsey. Quinn went next and just kind of tapped around until Rachel stepped up and whispered in her ear. They soon started an attempt at Chopsticks that didn't last long and dissolved into them giggling at missing notes and early beats. They moved away from the piano and Quinn wrapped her around Rachel's shoulder and Rachel did the same to Quinn as they walked back over to Shelby. The woman filmed until they go to her.

Quinn saw the camera and waved at it and said, "hi, Mom!"

They all laughed as Shelby turned the camera off and they made their way towards a register to pay. They bundled up again before heading back out into the cold and Rachel and Quinn started to walk towards Central Park.

"Hey guys," Shelby said. "Why don't we walk around the park when we're not all loaded down with bags? We should start to head back towards the hotel so that we know we'll have time to get there and then get ready before the show tonight."

"But it's only 2:45," Rachel argued. "The show isn't until eight."

"I know that, honey, but let's do the park when we don't have a time constraint," Shelby said. "We're going to a matinee tomorrow and we could go after that. That way we can take our time and not feel rushed."

"What are we doing when we get back to the hotel?" Rachel asked.

"I thought maybe we could relax for a little while," Shelby said. The many falls on the ice, especially the one with the girls, had left a few bruises and Shelby would like nothing more than to get off her feet for a few hours. Besides that, she was freezing and whether or not they wanted to admit it, the girls were too. But she could see Rachel's expression change immediately.

"I don't need to rest," Rachel said. "It's such a long time."

"Rach-"

"But, Mom," came the whine.

"Listen," Shelby said, "why don't we go back and drop our stuff off and you and Quinn can go out for a couple hours and then come back and we'll get an early dinner and then head to the show?"

Rachel and Quinn both smiled and nodded in agreement.

"We could go back to Times Square," Quinn said. "There were a couple of other things I wanted to look at."

"That's perfect," Shelby said. "It's only a few blocks from the hotel."

They took a cab back to the hotel and they stopped at a Starbucks and got some warm drinks before they went inside. Rachel and Quinn stayed long enough to finish their drinks and let some of the cold wear off of them before they ventured out once again. Shelby made sure they both had money and their phones and told them to be back in two hours so that they could start to get ready for their evening.

Shelby decided to take full advantage of the time alone and ran a hot bath. She eased into it when it was ready and let out a contented sigh as the warm water washed over her aching limbs. She hadn't remembered ice skating taking such a toll on her body the last time she did it. She was certainly glad for the break and found herself grateful she wasn't walking through Central Park right now.

Shelby spent a little over half an hour soaking in the soothing water before getting out and putting on some comfortable clothes and curling up in bed with the novel she'd brought with her. She was so engrossed that she didn't realize another thirty minutes had passed until her phone started to ring. She reached for it glanced quickly at the number and realized that she didn't recognize it. It crossed her mind to ignore it but she knew she wouldn't do that, not with the girls gone.

"Hello," Shelby answered.

"Hello? Is this Shelby Corcoran?" a woman on the other end asked.

"Yes," Shelby said. She closed her book and sat up straighter.

"Are you the mother of Rachel Berry and guardian of Quinn Fabray?"

"Yes," Shelby answered again. Her heart started to race and she got up from the bed and started to pace. "Who are you? What's wrong?"

"My name is Officer Barnstead," the woman said, "with the NYPD. We have detained your girls and we're going to need you to come and pick them up."

**A/N – I hope you guys liked that. Please leave me a review if you can. **

**Full Disclosure: I've never been to the observation deck at Rockefeller Plaza, nor have I gone ice skating there, but I plan to remedy those things when I go to NYC later this fall for a visit. I do love FAO Schwarz though and I walk around that place like a kid in a, well, toy store. **

**Anyone else feel the earthquake today? It was my very first one. And there's a hurricane headed my way. It is not my first one, however. I've lost count at this point.**


	57. Chapter 57

**A/N – Here's the next chapter! Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages. I really don't know if you guys will ever know how awesome I think you all are. Thank you. **

**I have a story recommendation for you. My friend is writing a really, really fantastic Rachel/Santana story called **_**After the Glitter Fades**_** and the author is Vivi Dahlin. Please, please go and look it at it. I promise that you won't be disappointed. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own glee or Wicked.**

Shelby stopped her pacing and stood still as she processed the officer's words. She wasn't exactly sure she had heard the woman right the first time, but as she played it over in her head she knew there was no mistake.

"Detained?" Shelby asked. "Detained where? What do you mean?"

Shelby moved to grab a pad of paper and a pen left on the desk by the hotel in case she needed to write down any information and then focused on what the woman was telling her. Her worried expression changed to one of anger the longer the explanation went on and Shelby finally dropped the pen back down to the desk. She didn't need to write anything down because she knew exactly where the girls were. And she was going to kill them.

"Thank you," Shelby told Officer Barnstead. "I'll be right there."

Shelby made quick work of throwing on some jeans and a shirt and grabbing her coat, hat and gloves and then left the room. It would not have been that long of a walk, but Shelby hailed a cab anyway so she could shorten the trip even further. She didn't really feel like letting her anger get the chance to boil even more.

"Gershwin Theatre, please," she told the cab driver.

Rachel and Quinn sat next to each other on folding chairs and did their best not to look at any of the people around them, especially not the police officer. They had tried to explain what had happened and promised to not do it again, but knew the arguing was futile once the officer had asked them for Shelby's number. The great day they had been having was about to get a lot worse as soon as Shelby walked through the door.

And enter she did about ten minutes later looking apologetic and angry all at the same time. Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but Shelby shook her head at the girl and Rachel wisely didn't utter a word.

A round of introductions were made and Shelby soon knew the officer as well as the man in charge of all operations backstage and the stagehand who had found the girls wondering around just forty-five minutes ago.

"I'm sorry," Shelby told them. "I don't know what got into them. They certainly know better than to trespass like this."

"I don't want to press charges," Tom, the stage manager said.

"I promise that I'll take care of it," Shelby said. Quinn and Rachel exchanged a look.

"They seem like good kids, if not excitable, and they tell me it was an accident," Tom went on. "But I couldn't ignore two people in here and not call the police."

"I understand," Shelby said. She wasn't quite sure it was an accident though. You don't accidentally open a door and sneak into a theatre. What could they have been thinking?

"Shelby," Quinn squeaked out. "It really was an accident. We were tricked."

"Tricked?" Shelby asked. "How were you tricked?" Shelby put her hands on her hips and looked down at the girls.

All eyes in the room were on them and Quinn looked over to Rachel who was looking right back at her.

"Rachel, tell me what happened," Shelby instructed. "If it is as you say it is, then the truth shouldn't be hard to tell. And if it's not…."she let that threat hang in the air.

"We wanted to look around and find the stage door so we would know where it was before we came and saw the show tonight," Rachel started. "And there was someone standing there when we found it."

"_There it is," Rachel said, pointing it out to Quinn. "It'll be so cool to meet the actors and get my playbill signed."_

"_Do all of the actors come out every time?" Quinn asked._

"_I hope so," Rachel shrugged. _

_The pair made their way closer to the stage door and looked at it like it was a great passageway into another world. Rachel could already see herself coming out of that door to crowds of cheering fans and signing autographs and taking pictures. _

"_Maybe I'll be able to talk to some of the people and they can give me some tips," Rachel said. _

"_Are you two seeing the show tonight?" a well-dressed man asked them. He had been standing near the stage door watching them. He looked to be in his early twenties and smiled kindly at them._

"_Yes we are!" Rachel told him excitedly. "It's my first time, but I know everything about the show." _

"_It's my first time seeing it too," Quinn said. "But she's the Broadway nut here."_

"_You'll love it," the man told them. _

"_We did the behind the scenes tour this morning," Rachel told him. "Do you work here?"_

"_Yes," he answered. "As a matter of fact, I normally do the tour, but I had this morning off. But that's why I'm here now; for the afternoon portion."_

"_Afternoon portion?" Quinn asked. "We never heard anything about that."_

"_It's the best kept secret in New York City," the man told them. "If you have your ticket from the morning you can come back in the afternoon and get to see how everything works backstage instead of just having to sit in the audience like you do during the regular tour."_

"_Really?" Rachel asked, practically jumping with excitement. _

"_Yep, that's why I'm here. I'm waiting for people to show up. It just costs a little bit extra."_

"_How much?" Rachel asked. She was already reaching for her money._

"_Fifteen dollars each," he told them. _

"_Rachel, wait," Quinn said. "Wouldn't Shelby have known about this? She said she's done the tour a couple of times. We should call her."_

"_But he said it's the best kept secret in New York City," Rachel said. "Maybe she doesn't know. Or maybe she forgot to mention it. But if she's already done it maybe she doesn't want to do it again."_

"_But if she doesn't know about it then she probably would like to do it," Quinn said. _

"_When does it start?" Rachel asked the man._

"_In the next five or ten minutes," he answered. _

"_I don't think she would get here in time," Rachel said. "Can we do it tomorrow?"_

"_Sorry. It has to be the same day you did the tour in the morning," the man answered. _

_Quinn and Rachel both looked at each other as they tried to make a silent decision. It felt a little off, but Quinn pushed that aside because it also sounded really cool. And she could tell that Rachel was already sold and ready to go. Neither had noticed that the man they were talking to had simply been tying his shoe when they walked up or that he wasn't wearing anything associated with the show like the tour guides that morning had been._

"_She did seem really tired," Quinn said. _

"_And she did tell us to have a good time," Rachel said. _

"_I've got my camera so I could take a ton of pictures for her," Quinn said. _

_They both smiled and turned back to the man. "We'll take the tour!" Rachel announced. _

_Rachel fished out her money and Quinn did the same and he held the door open for them. _

"_Just go right on in and I'll be there in a second. I've got to stand here and make sure no one else arrives. It looks like you two might just get a private tour." He collected their money and then let the door close behind them when they entered the theatre. He smirked as he pocketed the thirty dollars and started to walk away. "Stupid kids. God, I love tourists."_

"_Wow," Rachel said with wide eyes as she walked along looking in dressing rooms and checking out props. "This is amazing."_

"_Rachel, I don't think that guy is coming in," Quinn said. It had been ten minutes and they had been alone all this time. "I think we should call Shelby and ask her if this tour is real. I'm getting the feeling that we shouldn't be back here."_

"_Maybe we've just gone too far," Rachel said. "Let's go back to the stage door and see if he's there."_

"_How do you get back to the stage door?" Quinn asked. _

"_Easy, it's this… no that way," Rachel said unconvincingly. "Quinn?"_

"_Rachel, we need to leave," Quinn said quickly and Rachel agreed._

"_Hey!" the stage hand named Art called out to them. "What are you doing in here?"_

"_We were just... there was a tour," Rachel said, frightened. _

"_You two need to come with me."_

Shelby was rubbing her forehead with her eyes closed as she listened to their story. She believed every word. Tom and Officer Barnstead were doing little to hide their smiles at Shelby's reaction to the two wayward girls.

"I'm so sorry," Shelby apologized for them. "They just get excited. This is their first time here and this one wants to be on Broadway so badly she can taste it. But they should know better than this."

"No, it's ok," Tom said. "I'm glad to see young people excited about Broadway. Officer, the theatre won't be pressing any charges and I will escort these people out."

Shelby breathed a sigh of relief that came nowhere close to the relief Quinn and Rachel felt. Officer Barnstead gave them a quick warning on being careful about who they talk to and trust. Shelby hadn't realized she needed to have the 'don't talk to strangers' talk with the two teenagers, but now she would. The girls were able to relax a little bit when the police officer left and Shelby had them get up so they could leave.

"I'm very sorry again," Shelby said. She reached over to Quinn who was closest to her and tweaked her ear.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said.

"Me too," Rachel agreed.

Tom nodded to accept the apologies and then said, "Well since you're here and paid for a tour, how would you like me to show you around a little bit?"

Rachel's jaw dropped, "seriously?"

"Sure."

"We couldn't," Shelby said. "You must be very busy."

"No, it's fine," Tom said. "It'll just be about ten minutes." He loved his job and he loved getting to share it with people who were interested. The little brunette girl was practically jumping with excitement and her mother was not hiding her own excitement as well as she thought, he noted. "Come on."

Tom showed them the dressing rooms first, but didn't linger there since they were private areas. The next thing he came to was the props and Rachel went straight or the green baby featured at the very beginning of the show.

"It's so wobbly," Rachel noted. Quinn started to take pictures.

"Here, Mom, hold it." Rachel shoved the fake baby into Shelby's arms and the woman held it up so as to look in its face. "She kind of looks like you," Rachel said with a smirk. Shelby shot her a look and rolled her eyes.

Quinn wasn't missing a beat with her camera. She was excited about all of this too, but she knew this was truly Rachel and Shelby's thing and she wanted them to enjoy it.

They made their way over to the rows and rows of costumes that were waiting backstage for changes.

"Oh my god, is that the witch's hat?" Rachel asked. "The real one?"

"That's the one," Tom answered.

"Can I touch it?" Rachel asked reverently.

"Sure," he said. "It's pretty sturdy."

Rachel picked it up and it didn't take long for it to make it to her head. She put it on and it slid down on her forehead and past her ears.

"It's still a bit too big for you yet," Tom said. "You'd have to grow into it."

"Here Mom, you try," Rachel said as she passed the hat to Shelby.

"No, I couldn't."

"Oh try it on," Tom said.

Shelby did and was amazed at how comfortable the hat felt. She smiled at Quinn when the girl snapped a picture.

"It's a perfect fit," Rachel said in awe.

"It sure looks that way," Tom said. "You look great."

"And look, the broom!" Rachel said as she came across another gem. She picked it up and looked it over from top to bottom. "Look, Mom."

Shelby took the broom which only helped to compliment the look with the hat. Shelby couldn't help but smile and even let out a laugh of excitement. This was all so cool.

"Do the pose," Rachel encourage.

Shelby resisted for a few moments, but was soon holding her hand and the broom above her head and looking to the sky. Rachel clapped and jumped with excitement.

Tom took Quinn's camera and had them all stand together with Shelby still wearing the hat. He passed the green baby to Quinn and Shelby gave the broom to Rachel and Tom took a few pictures of them. He then returned the hat, broom, and baby to their proper locations and told them to follow him. They found Glinda's bubble next and they each took turns standing in it and getting pictures before Tom ushered them to their final stop. The group soon found themselves standing center stage looking out into the empty audience.

"Wow," Shelby said. She closed her eyes and could feel the rush of her old dreams coming out again. She could almost hear a full house applauding for her.

Rachel had the same look of wonder and Quinn stepped off to the side with Tom. He smiled at their expressions and whispered a question to Quinn and got a glint in her eye when she nodded at him.

"You two should do a song," Tom said.

"What?" Shelby asked as she was pulled from her daydream. "No. We couldn't."

"But Mom-"

"You both sing, right? Quinn told me you did."

"Yes, but-"

"Sing. Live the dream for a second," Tom said. "I was a struggling actor who found my niche backstage. But I have certainly taken the chance to sing on the famous stage at the Gershwin. It's just us here."

Shelby looked uncertain and Rachel looked like she might burst if her mother said no.

"Go on."

Quinn soon changed the setting on her camera so that she could record a video and made her way into the audience with Tom. Shelby and Rachel conferred for a minute before finally stepping away from each other and starting the song. Tom smiled at their choice.

Rachel started the Glinda part of "For Good" and Shelby stood back and watched with tears in her eyes. When she came in and started the Elphaba part, the tears made their way to her cheeks, but she didn't let them get in the way. She and Rachel sang to the back of the house about friendship and togetherness and forgiveness. It was truly a sight to see.

Shelby pulled Rachel close as their a cappella version ended and there wasn't a dry eye among them. Quinn let the video run a little long to capture their moment afterwards and then shut it off so she could stand and clap with Tom.

"That was beautiful. Truly," Tom said.

"Thank you," Shelby said. "For everything."

"It was my pleasure. There's nothing better than sharing a dream."

He led them backstage once more and towards the stage door. The reality of how they ended up there came crashing back to them when Tom spoke up before letting them leave.

"Girls, I know this turned out to be ok, but it very well could not have," he lectured. "You were trespassing and if it were any other theatre you could very well be in jail. I know you were tricked, but at some point naiveté is no longer an excuse. You have to be more careful. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Quinn and Rachel answered together.

"I'm very sorry," Rachel said. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," he said. "But remember that one act of kindness doesn't erase the trouble that got you here in the first place."

"They won't forget," Shelby assured him.

They said another round of sorrys and goodbyes and thank yous before finally leaving to head back to the hotel room.

"Ok, who is first?" Shelby asked when they entered the room and took their coats off. She stood with her hands on her hips and looked at the girls.

"Umm…" Rachel trailed off and her eyes darted from Shelby's to look over at Quinn and then back to Shelby.

"Quinn is getting one too," Shelby said.

Quinn's head shot up and she looked at Shelby's serious expression and then over to Rachel who looked worried. Rachel was wringing her hands and had looked away from her mother and it didn't look like she was going to be able to meet her gaze anytime soon. Quinn felt an earnest sense of dread pass over her as she tried to work out how to get out of this. No escape plan came to mind and she too dropped her head so she wouldn't have to look at Shelby. She thought maybe she should call her mom, but she had the distinct feeling that her mother would agree with Shelby in this instance.

"Well?" Shelby asked. "I can choose."

"I'll go first," Quinn said. She decided it would be better to get it out of the way instead of sitting in anticipation.

"Fine," Shelby said. "You go ahead and get in the shower and Rachel will get hers next. We've got to be back at the theatre in a few hours for the show."

Shelby put on an act and hid her smile when both girls snapped their heads up to look at her. She could see the relief wash over them.

"Right," Quinn said. "I'll get in the shower first."

"What did you think I meant?" Shelby asked innocently.

"Nothing," Quinn answered quickly. "Nothing. I'm going right now."

Rachel waited until Quinn disappeared before moving to sit next to Shelby who had taken a seat on the couch. Rachel sat down timidly and glanced up at her mother a couple of times before actually speaking.

"I'm really sorry, Mom."

"You are so incredibly lucky, do you know that?" Shelby said. "What were you thinking?"

"That we'd get to go backstage," Rachel said. "That man seemed so helpful. I got so excited."

"And what did I tell you this very morning about having to control your excitement?" Shelby asked.

"That it could land me in positions I didn't want to be in," Rachel said, looking away.

"Right. And it almost landed you in jail," Shelby said. "What would you have done if Tom didn't believe you?"

"I don't know," Rachel said, her voice watery now.

"How do you think the phone call with Judy Fabray would have gone if I had to tell her that her daughter had been arrested while in my care?" Shelby asked.

"Not very well," Rachel said. "I wasn't thinking about that. The man said he'd be right in. We tried to leave as soon as we figured it out," Rachel cried.

"Next time, take the time to figure out beforehand," Shelby said. "Would you have believed that guy if we were still in Lima?"

"Yes," Rachel said. "Why would he try and cheat us? We didn't do anything to him."

Therein lied the problem and Shelby rested her head back and turned to look at Rachel and softened at the tears on the girl's cheeks. The girl was naïve and simply believed in the goodness of people. Even after everything she was going through with her fathers and all of the bullying she'd endured, Rachel just didn't believe that people would hurt anyone else with no reason. According to Rachel, people only did something like that to her if she has done something to them first.

"Oh Rachel," Shelby said as she wrapped her arms around the crying girl and pulled her in for a hug.

"We should have called you," Rachel said. "I felt bad about knowing that you would miss it, but I didn't want us all to miss out."

"Next time, call me," Shelby said.

"I will," Rachel promised.

Rachel maneuvered herself so that she was lying down with her head in her mother's lap looking up at her and they sat in silence for a few minutes. Shelby brushed some hair away from Rachel's face and smoothed it out.

"It all worked out though," Rachel said. "In the end. We got that amazing tour and got to sing."

"I know, honey, and that was wonderful," Shelby said. "I'm glad we got that chance. But the point you're missing is that this was the exception and things do not always work out for the best when you break the rules."

"Are you going to punish us?" Rachel asked meekly.

Shelby thought for a while about the question and Rachel started to pout when she felt like her mom was thinking on what to do to them. She honestly wasn't sure what to do because she knew that Rachel hadn't even considered that what they were doing was wrong so she couldn't punish her for sneaking into the theatre.

"Do you think you can learn from this without a punishment?" Shelby asked. It was almost like teaching a toddler to keep their hands away from a hot stove. The first time they go near it you move them away and explain that it's hot and when they go back is when you tap their hands away.

"Yes," Rachel answered. "I need to think about consequences before I jump in and do something."

"Precisely," Shelby said as she tapped Rachel on the nose.

Shelby didn't want to take anything away from this vacation by coming down very hard on them. She had to give Rachel the chance to learn and, even if it was the wrong decision, she didn't want to ruin their time there by having a punishment hanging over their heads. She just decided to thank whoever was listening that things had turned out the way they had.

"I thought I had learned that already," Rachel said more to herself than to her mother.

"Oh, then you do need a punishment?" Shelby asked lightly. "Ok then."

"No. Mom, I don't," Rachel said hastily as she felt her mother move her so that, for the second time that day, she found herself draped over Shelby's knees.

Shelby found Rachel's ribcage with her fingers and started tickling. Rachel started to squirm immediately and kicked as she tried to get away.

"Is this what you need?" Shelby asked and Rachel shook her head.

"No," she gasped out as she tried to catch her breath, but the tickling was relentless. She was soon crying she was laughing so hard.

While Shelby had her there, she landed a few good swats to emphasize her point, but she never stopped tickling.

Quinn stepped out of the room after her shower wearing lounge clothes with her hair still wet and stopped short when she saw the scene in front of her. She saw Shelby spanking and could tell that Rachel was crying and even having trouble breathing. The back of the couch blocked her view of Shelby's tickles.

"No, Mom. Please stop," Rachel said, her voice more serious than it had been as she reached her limit of tickling. "Please."

"Have you learned your lesson?" Shelby asked.

"Yes," Rachel assured her. "I promise."

Shelby let her up and Rachel got to her feet and brought her hands up to wipe her eyes when she saw Quinn standing in the doorway watching them. Shelby looked at Rachel and then followed her gaze to the blonde that looked rooted to her spot.

"Rach, go on and get a shower now," Shelby instructed as she got to her feet. "Let's have a talk, Quinn."

Rachel made her way past Quinn and into the other room, but the blonde didn't move. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Shelby," Quinn said. She'd thought they were out of trouble when Shelby had sent her off to get a shower earlier and now she was back in it again. And if Rachel had deserved a spanking then she knew she did as well, at least in Shelby's eyes. Almost getting arrested was very serious, Quinn knew that. She wasn't scared of Shelby; the time she'd known Rachel, plus the two weeks she'd lived with them had given Quinn plenty of time to grow accustomed to Shelby's hugs and pats and swats and she expected them now the same way Rachel did. She was a part of the family and Shelby was more than just her best friend's mom, but the resolve she felt earlier to just get it out of the way had vanished and now she was just a kid who didn't want a spanking.

Shelby took in Quinn's demeanor and put two and two together and crossed the room and hugged Quinn around her neck. Quinn hugged her back and then let Shelby lead her to the couch where they sat down.

"Are you afraid of me?" Shelby asked.

The absurdity of the question caught Quinn off guard and she stopped her sniffling and looked up at Shelby.

"No, of course not," Quinn answered.

"I would never hurt you."

"I know that," Quinn said. "But I still don't want a spanking."

"I'm not going to give you one," Shelby answered.

"But Rachel. That's not fair."

Shelby had to smile at that. "I was tickling her. We were playing."

"Oh," Quinn said. She relaxed then and settled back into the couch. "I'm so confused."

Shelby laughed and then started in on the same conversation she'd had with Rachel. She scolded the girl about consequences and posed the same questions as earlier. What if they had ended up being arrested? What if Shelby had had to call Judy and explain? Quinn blanched at that notion and pouted when Shelby told her that Judy would be finding out but not until they got home. Quinn took the entire talking to very seriously and promised to never let it happen again. She even went as far as to tell Shelby she'd try and keep a better eye on Rachel, but Shelby told her that she was not a babysitter and she was not the adult here. She was a kid who made a mistake; nothing more and nothing less. Shelby did not want Quinn to feel like she now had to watch Rachel and start treating her friend like she couldn't take care of herself.

By the time they left to go to the Gershwin for the third time that day, everyone was back to being really happy and excited. They had amazing seats and Rachel and Quinn sat spellbound during the show. They waited as patiently as Rachel could muster at the stage door and met all of the main cast and got autographs and pictures. Instead of getting a cab, they walked back to the hotel despite the cold. Rachel held Shelby's hand and the woman stayed quiet so she could listen to the girls chatter about any and everything to do with _Wicked_.

The hotel was warm and inviting and the discussion never really stopped even as they all changed into pajamas and congregated on the king sized bed in Shelby's room. Rachel and Quinn sang and analyzed and reenacted every bit of the show they could remember. Shelby had listened for as long as possible, but ended up falling asleep before the girls. Once they realized she was sleeping, the girls whispered before eventually falling asleep in the bed a couple hours later. The day had been long and wonderful, tense and fulfilling and, in the end, exhausting. Sleep would hold them all night long until the city welcomed them back in the morning.

**A/N – I hope you all enjoyed this one. Please leave me a review. I went back and forth with all of the **_**Wicked**_** stuff, but in the end decided to have some fun with it. I've got a million and one little references for Shelby being at the Gershwin and figured I couldn't have them go there without singing. So it's all in good fun. And I hope Shelby's decision not to punish them made sense. Thanks for reading, guys! And remember to check out my friend's Pezberry story. It's fantastic. **

**Fun fact: My spell check recommended I change Elphaba to Alphabet. **


	58. Chapter 58

**A/N – Sorry for the delay, but here's the next chapter. I forgot to mention in the last chapter that one of the major ideas for it came from ****dreamchaser888. So all props to her for the great idea. **

**Also, I want to give you fair warning. I spoil the big surprise in the show **_**Next to Normal**_** in this chapter. But in my defense it premiered a couple of years ago and has finished it's run on Broadway and the tour is over, so if you don't know the story it's not like you can see it anyway. But I will tell you that it was far and away the most amazing performance I've ever seen on stage. Alice Ripley is a genius. I saw it three times on Broadway and caught the tour twice and was five for five in the show making me cry. It's a powerful story with powerful music. If you don't know the soundtrack, get thee to iTunes and get it. You will not be sorry. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. Or Next to Normal. **

Shelby stirred and stretched her legs out as she opened her eyes and found that she was curled up on her side at the edge of the bed. One more shift to the left and Shelby might have tumbled off of it all together. She felt someone pressed into her back and looked over her shoulder to see Rachel curled into her. The girl had her face resting between Shelby's shoulder blades and one hand gripping her mother's t-shirt in the same way she always held onto her quilt when she was sleeping. Rachel's knee was pushing into Shelby's lower back and the woman could feel it aching. That, combined with all of the falls she took on the ice the day before, promised to leave her feeling sore later on.

Shelby let out an involuntary shiver as she looked back to the bedside table so she could see the clock. The dim red lights told her it was only four and she felt herself feeling relieved at the prospect of being able to go back to sleep.

Shelby felt Rachel's grip tighten when the girl also shivered and Shelby turned back to look at her. That's when she realized that neither of them had the benefit of the blankets because Quinn had taken all of them. Shelby reached behind her and took a hold of Rachel's hand and got the girl to release her grip on the shirt. She shifted so that she was lying on her back and in doing so, Rachel was forced to move slightly and her eyes fluttered open.

"Mama?" Rachel asked, her voice heavy with sleep.

"Hmm?" Shelby whispered.

"Is it time to get up?" She was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"No, honey," Shelby told her. "Go back to sleep."

"Cold," Rachel said as she closed her eyes again.

Shelby reached over Rachel and pulled the blankets Quinn was hording so that she could cover her daughter as well as herself.

"No," Quinn mumbled as she tried to hold onto the blankets.

"Quinn, let go," Shelby whispered.

"They're mine," Quinn said as she rolled away from them and tried to take the blankets with her. "Shoes and… Monkeys."

Shelby looked at her strangely before figuring out that the girl must be dreaming.

"Quinn," Shelby whispered again.

"Mom," Rachel whined as she curled into Shelby once more.

"Close your eyes, sweetie," Shelby instructed. The last thing she needed was for them to fully wake up right now.

With a sigh, Shelby reluctantly got out of bed and made her way to the other side and started to disentangle the girl from the blankets she was clinging to.

"Elphie?" Quinn said as she looked at her through bleary eyes. Shelby smiled because she understood her dream.

"Shhh," Shelby whispered. She placed a kiss on Quinn's head and rubbed her back a few times to try and soothe her back to sleep. It worked much in the same way it usually worked for Beth and Shelby was able to get the blankets away from the girl.

Now that Quinn wasn't trying to use the entire bed, Shelby found a spot in the middle between the girls and then tucked the blankets around Rachel and watched as her daughter's breathing evened out as sleep overtook her again. She turned to the other side and tucked Quinn in as well before settling down under the blankets and resting her head on a pillow and letting sleep take her as well.

If she had been more awake at four in the morning, Shelby might have realized that the logical thing for her to do would have been to go into the other room and sleep in one of the beds there. At least she wouldn't have woken up to the whispers of two girls who were trying, but not succeeding, to be quiet.

"What are we doing today?" Quinn whispered.

The girls were leaning up on their elbows and talking over Shelby whom they thought was still sleeping between them.

"The only thing I know of is we're going to the matinee of _Next to Normal_," Rachel whispered back. "She wouldn't let me plan one day."

"What do you think we're doing?" Quinn asked.

"I have no idea," Rachel shrugged. "I'm sure it'll be great though. I'm just sad that this is our last full day here."

"But our flight isn't until late tomorrow so we'll be able to do stuff during the day," Quinn reminded her.

"Yeah, that's true," Rachel agreed.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments until Quinn asked, "When do you think she'll get up?"

"I don't know," Rachel answered.

"Probably soon," Shelby said without opening her eyes.

Both girls gasped and sat up straighter when Shelby's voice startled them.

"Mom!" Rachel scolded. "You scared us. How long have you been awake?"

"Not long," Shelby answered. She opened her eyes and smiled up at the two faces looking back at her. "What time is it?"

"A little after eight," Quinn said.

"How long have you two been up?" Shelby asked as she sat up and yawned.

"Not that long," Rachel said.

Rachel moved so that she could lean into her mother and stretched out with her head on her shoulder. Shelby kissed the top of Rachel's head and then looked up at Quinn who was staring at the opposite wall as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Quinn?" Shelby asked.

"Did you wake me up last night?" Quinn asked. "You tried to take something."

"I was trying to get the blankets back," Shelby said. "You took them all."

"No… There were monkeys," Quinn said.

Rachel just stared at her like she had grown another head. "What are you talking about?"

"Your mother stole my shoes," Quinn said. "I was trying to hold onto them."

"You were dreaming," Shelby said laughing. "And talking in your sleep. You may have mentioned monkeys and shoes."

"But it wasn't a dream," Quinn said. "You and you… and my mom were there. It felt so real."

Shelby laughed and Rachel laughed and Quinn crossed her arms and sank down on the bed so she could rest her head on Shelby's other shoulder. Shelby leaned over and placed a kiss on the top of the blonde's head as well and the three settled into a comfortable, but short silence. Rachel didn't let it last very long.

"What are we doing today?"

"I don't have much planned for the morning," Shelby said.

"Oh," Rachel said, the disappointment evident in her voice.

"It seems like a perfect time to go and explore Central Park," Shelby added with a smirk.

"That's a great idea!" Rachel said. "Come on, let's go!"

She was off the bed before Quinn and Shelby even had much of a chance to react. They both just watched as the girl went into the bathroom, only to have her poke her head out a few seconds later.

"Well… Get going!"

The command urged Quinn and Shelby both into motion and they got up to start their day.

Shelby had taken the time to look outside while they were getting ready and found that it had snowed overnight and was in fact still snowing. The ground was blanketed and the scenery beautiful, but she made them all bundle up that much more. Their regular shoes were replaced with boots and they were layered and ready for the cold when they stepped out of the hotel an hour later.

Rachel held on for dear life during the cab ride to the park which caused Quinn to enjoy it even more. Rachel was certain they were going to slide on a patch of ice and convinced herself that the driver was driving like a maniac on purpose. Shelby felt right at home.

"You look a little pale there, Rachel," Quinn joked once they were out of the cab.

"It's not funny," Rachel defended herself. "We could have been seriously injured. He should have been more careful."

"We'll take the subway back," Shelby said to try and diffuse it before Rachel gave them both a lecture of safe driving in all weather conditions.

"Oh, that'll be fun," Rachel said.

"Yeah, there are far fewer crazies on the subway," Quinn said.

"Ok, come on," Shelby said as she stepped between them and headed towards the park.

"Wow," Rachel said when they got closer and was able to get a really good view of the famous area.

"It looks like a postcard," Quinn said.

That was a more than fair assessment because the snowfall had created a bucolic scene of endless white grounds and glistening trees. The light snowfall that was ongoing only added to the magic of it.

"It almost seems like a shame to go in and disturb the snow," Rachel said.

Just as she said it, a tennis ball went flying by them and golden retriever was not far behind it. He bounded through the snow without a thought to the pretty picture that was being shaken up and dug around for his ball. The dog's owner whistled and the animal turned and ran back the direction he came from with the ball in his mouth.

"I guess it's ok now," Quinn said.

They walked for a few hours in the park and the snow never let up. Shelby pointed out bits of trivia and the girls chatted about spots they recognized from various movies and TV shows. The meandering pace eventually gave way to the instinct to play in the snow. Rachel was the first to strike when she packed together a snowball under the guise of tying the laces on her boot. Shelby and Quinn kept walking and Rachel wasted no time in hurling it at her friend. Quinn spun around when she felt the thump to her back and saw that Rachel casually walking towards them as if nothing had happened. Her hands were at her side and she looked at her mother and Quinn, giving them a questioning glance.

"What's the matter?"

"You-"

Quinn didn't get to finish her sentence because Rachel brought the snow she'd been hiding in her mitten up and rubbed in on Quinn's face and then quickly backed away, smiling devilishly.

"Rachel!" Quinn shrieked and Shelby laughed.

Quinn stooped down and gathered up her own snowball and launched it at Rachel, hitting her leg. The blonde followed after Rachel and only turned back when she realized Rachel was throwing another at her. She was pelted with more snow and tried to escape when she realized Rachel was coming towards her. Shelby was happy to stay out of the way.

Rachel caught up with Quinn and pulled her friend into a hug. She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and they stayed together for a few seconds. Shelby smiled at the pair and waited for them to be ready to keep moving. Rachel released her grip and caught with Shelby and grabbed onto her mother's hand and they started to walk. They didn't even make it ten steps before Rachel stepped in front of her and took hold of Shelby's other hand.

"Thank you, Mom," Rachel said sincerely as she looked up at Shelby with big eyes and a red nose and cheeks. "For bringing me here. I'm having such a great time. This is the best time I've ever had in my life."

"I'm so glad," Shelby said and she smiled at the sudden sentiment from her girl. "I'm glad I could be the one to bring you here."

"I love you, Mom," Rachel said. She didn't let go of the woman's hands as she leaned into her.

That was her cue and Quinn rushed forward and grabbed onto the collar of Shelby's jacket and pulled it back and then dumped two handfuls of snow under her shirt. Rachel had held onto her hands long enough so that she couldn't reach back.

"Oh my god," Shelby shrieked at the cold on her bare skin.

Rachel finally let her go and started to laugh as Shelby jumped as if they would help her get away from the cold. The woman spun around to face the two girls who were laughing and imitating her reaction.

"Quinn!" Shelby said.

Quinn pointed at Rachel in an attempt to alleviate herself of any of the blame, but it was a half-hearted try. Shelby squatted to the ground and started to pack together some snow of her own and that's when Quinn started to edge away.

"Oh, you'd better run," Shelby said before taking off after the girl with Rachel following.

Shelby easily caught up to Quinn and took great pleasure in tackling the blonde to the snow. Quinn squealed at the cold. Rachel stood back, but not far enough to keep her mother from reaching out and grabbing her pants leg and pulling her down with them.

"Don't think I don't know about your part in all of this, missy," Shelby said.

All three tried to get the advantage with the snow and laughed until they were having trouble breathing in the cold air. When they all finally got to their feet they were covered in the white powder and had to take a few minutes to try and wipe or stomp most of it off.

As they walked out of the park, Shelby held Rachel's hand and put one arm around Quinn's shoulders. The trek to the subway station was short and they all took solace in not being directly in the cold air for the moment. They only had to ride four stops before getting off to walk to the hotel, but Rachel had declared herself a real New Yorker at finally riding the subway.

The hotel room was warm and welcoming and they were all glad to be able to get out of the wet clothes and took the chance to warm up for a while. They ordered room service for lunch so they could eat in the comfort of the room instead of having to go out to a restaurant.

They arrived at the Booth Theatre that afternoon to see a performance of _Next to Normal_. Rachel and Shelby had both been reading glowing reviews for months and were eagerly awaiting the production. It did not disappoint and all three of them were in tears by the end of the show. The story of grief and despair, mental illness and ultimately hope after the loss of a child left Shelby's emotions raw and open. When it was revealed halfway through the first act that the eighteen-year-old son a mother had watched grow up in her mind really died as an eight-month-old infant, Shelby's thoughts went to Beth. She could not remove her little face from her mind as she watched Alice Ripley deal with the realization and pain of everyday living without the baby she once had. Shelby held tightly to Rachel and kissed her head a few times before they got up and made their way outside to wait at the stage door.

All three of them praised the small cast and received autographs and pictures before stepping away from the theatre and back into the bustle of Times Square. Rachel spotted a Broadway gift shop she swore she hadn't been in before and Shelby told them she would wait outside while they looked around. When the girls disappeared inside, Shelby took out her phone and called her parents' house.

"Hi, Shelby," Rebecca said when she answered the phone.

"Hi, Mom," Shelby responded.

"How is the trip going?"

"It's really great," Shelby said. "The girls are really having a good time."

"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked. She could hear the emotion in her daughter's voice.

"What? Nothing," Shelby answered. "Just this show we saw. Is Beth around? She's not napping or anything is she?"

"No, she's right here playing with your father."

"Can you put her on the phone?" Shelby asked.

"What?"

"Please. I just want to talk to her. To hear her," Shelby said.

"Ok," Rebecca agreed.

She put the phone to Beth's ear and told Shelby to start talking. Shelby did and Beth perked up at the sound of her voice and started looking all around for the source. The baby started babbling after some coaxing and Shelby couldn't stop the tears that formed her eyes and eventually flowed to her cheeks.

"Thanks, Mom," Shelby said when Rebecca put the phone back to her own ear.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm perfect," Shelby said. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, honey."

After a quick stop at the hotel to drop off their new purchases from the show and the new things Rachel found and just had to have in the store, Shelby shuffled them out again. She hailed a cab and gave the location.

"Where are we going?" Rachel asked.

"I've got a few places I want to show you," Shelby told them.

The cab took them away from the bright lights of the theatre district and into an area that was lined with apartment building after apartment building. They were old and run down and just as Shelby remembered them. The cab dropped them off on a corner and they stood on the street and Shelby smiled at the memories this place held.

"Where are we?" Rachel asked.

"My old neighborhood," Shelby answered. "I used to live in that building over there."

"This is where you lived?" Quinn said.

"Yep," Shelby told them. "Most of my neighbors were either really old or young, struggling actors. I had two roommates and we all split our time between waitressing and auditioning."

They started to walk down the street and Shelby pointed out various haunts and shared stories of her life there. She lived off of the money from Rachel and two jobs as a waitress while trying to go to every audition she could. The apartment had been extremely tiny, but the three of them were barely ever home at the same time so she got used to being alone. Shelby had carried that feeling of telling herself she didn't need anyone, certainly not her child, all the way back to Lima four years later. It was that same emptiness that almost consumed her before finding the job at Carmel and becoming successful in teaching.

"Did you ever get any parts?" Rachel asked. She'd been listening to her mother somberly as she started to imagine what life in New York City could really be like.

"Yeah, here and there," Shelby said. "I worked in Off-Broadway shows and did some workshops, but none of them ever amounted to anything. I never stopped auditioning though. I even went to an audition after I'd decided to move back. It was two days before I left town."

"What if they had called you back?" Quinn asked.

"She would have gone," Rachel answered. "You'd have to."

Shelby nodded her confirmation of Rachel's words.

They stopped in one of the local restaurants Shelby had worked in and ordered some coffee to take with them as they walked. The sun had set and it was getting even colder and the snow had picked up again.

"Do you think I'll live in a place like this when I move here?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I hope that you live in a dorm on a campus for the first few years," Shelby said. "My time at NYU was fantastic. I was actually going to take you guys there tomorrow to see some of it. But yes, when you strike out on your own, you may struggle for a while and live in a neighborhood like this."

Rachel stood up straighter as if she was preparing herself to do just that. The question that plagued her mind was 'what if I never make it?' but she refused to say it aloud. She would make it. One day she would own an amazing apartment in the best part of Manhattan and she'd win a Tony and put it on the mantle to show everyone. She'd do it not just for herself, but for her mother as well.

"Thanks for bringing us here, Mom," Rachel said and she wrapped Shelby in a one-armed hug.

"It's been a long time since I was here," Shelby said. "It's good to look back and remember and know that your life could be very different."

"Yeah…" Rachel said as she loosened her grip.

"But that might be enough of memory lane for tonight," Shelby said. "Let's head back uptown."

They got another cab and Shelby directed them to Rockefeller Plaza so they could see the Christmas tree lit up at night, as promised.

"It's just so pretty," Quinn said. "My mom would love this. I'm going to have to bring her back one year so she can see this."

"She'd love that," Shelby said.

Rachel stayed unusually quiet as the evening wore on. They took a ton of pictures and Shelby refused to ice skate again. They started to walk back to the hotel because Shelby loved New York City at night. There were always people and the city really came alive. They didn't walk the entire way because of the late hour and distance, plus the cold, so another cab was hailed. The short ride was mostly silent as each of them seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

Once they were back in their room, Quinn called dibs on the first shower so she could warm up. Shelby and Rachel peeled off layers of warm clothes until they were down to jeans and sweatshirts and they got a blanket from the bed to wrap up in when they sat together on the couch.

"Did you have a nice day, honey?" Shelby asked. She couldn't figure out why the girl hadn't seemed like herself for the past few hours.

"It was wonderful," Rachel said.

"Good. I'm glad," Shelby told her.

"Mom? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Shelby said.

Rachel was looking down at her lap and didn't say anything more. Shelby finally reached over and took Rachel's hands in her own and leaned down to catch the girl's eye.

"Rach?"

"What- What would have happened if you had made it big when you lived here? If you never came back home?" Rachel fiddled with the ring on Shelby's finger and never looked up.

"I don't-"

"You would never have looked for me," Rachel answered for her. "You never would have wanted to know me. Your life would have been different and better and you wouldn't have felt alone."

Shelby could have sworn she could feel her heart breaking at the sadness that emanated from her daughter. She had wanted Rachel to see how she had lived in New York, not bring up insecurities and fears for the girl.

"I always wanted to know you," Shelby said. "I want to make that perfectly clear. I didn't know how or if I could or how, but I always wanted that. New York never changed that. But I don't know what I would have done if I had made it and stayed here and lived out my dream. I can't know that, Rachel. It never happened. Who I was at twenty-four is different than who I am now. That kid that had you and gave you away never faced the choices I have. And your hypothetical famous me never faced the choices your mom did. I can't know what I would have done or how I would have done it. But one thing that never changed is that I thought about you all the time, every day. It didn't matter where I was or who I was with or how happy or lonely or anything else I was. I thought of you every day."

Rachel had started to cry, but she never took her hands out of Shelby's, almost as if she couldn't bear to lose the contact.

"I can see your little face looking back at me in the hospital before they took you away just as clearly as I can see Beth's right now and as I can see you sitting here with me."

Shelby pulled her close and Rachel latched on. In this moment she was glad her mother's dreams never came true. She was glad to that life had led the woman back to her and that neither of them ever had to face the what ifs again. But the thought made her feel guilty.

"I'm sorry," Rachel hiccupped out.

"For what?" Shelby asked incredulously.

"Because I'm glad," Rachel told her. "I'm glad you never made it on Broadway. I'm glad you're not a big star. Because this is the only scenario in which I know that I get to meet you and be your daughter. But that's so selfish. I'm so sorry."

"Hey," Shelby said. She made Rachel sit back and she cupped the girl's face with her hands and looked into her eyes. "I'm glad too. I'm living the life I am supposed to be living. I wouldn't trade all of the starring roles or Tonys or penthouses or fans for one moment with you and Beth. Do you understand that?"

Rachel nodded and was unsuccessful at slowing her tears.

"Even when you're whining and acting up and Beth is up all night screaming, I would trade that for anything different."

Rachel laughed and then leaned back into her mother.

"I don't whine," Rachel said.

"Ha!" Shelby said back. "Don't ever be sorry, Rachel." The woman got serious again and Rachel listened intently. Don't ever be sorry because you are worth so much more than a long ago dream."

In this moment, Rachel believed her.

**A/N – That's it for this one. Please leave me a review. Thanks for reading, you guys!**

**And I'll stop with all of the Wicked and Wizard of Oz jokes now. It's my favorite movie and I could have littered the Wicked stuff with a ton of references to both, but I tried to be as restrained as possible. **


	59. Chapter 59

**A/N – I guess I should have made it clearer in my last chapter, but when I said that was it, I just meant for that chapter. The story is not over. I'm getting close to the end, but I've still got a few more things to write about. And I promise that I will give you all fair warning when the end is near and I will make certain that everyone knows which is the final chapter.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. Thank you all so much for all of the reviews and for continuing to read. You guys are so fantastic! Thanks so much! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. I do like to borrow it from time to time though.**

Shelby had worried that the fears and guilt Rachel had expressed to her that evening after their trip to her old neighborhood would manifest themselves in the form of a nightmare for the girl. Rachel, however, felt much differently about it and had been settled by Shelby's words. It was a feeling of ease that she couldn't quite describe and she couldn't help but smile after that. Shelby had wanted to ask if Rachel wanted to stay with her that night so that she could keep an eye on her, but the girl had sat with Shelby for a little while longer as she dried her tears and then had gone on with the evening. The calm Rachel felt that night seemed to wrap itself around her and she had fallen asleep in her own bed that night, even before Quinn had gone to sleep.

"Is she ok?" Quinn asked. She was sitting at a table texting back and forth with her mother and had been surprised to see her friend turn in already.

"Yeah," Shelby said. "At least I hope so. She was worried earlier but we talked about it and then she seemed fine."

"Worried about what?" Quinn asked.

"The same thing she's always worried about," Shelby said.

"Oh," Quinn said. "Right."

Shelby went to the room the girls were meant to share, but hadn't actually yet, and lingered in the doorway and watched Rachel sleep. She wasn't sure whether or not to be hopeful that her words and reassurances were finally getting through to the girl or be worried because Rachel hadn't wanted to talk about it further that evening. But either way, there was nothing she could do about either of those scenarios right now, especially with how peacefully Rachel was sleeping.

Shelby turned away from the door and went back to Quinn and smoothed out some of her hair and placed a kiss on her head.

"I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late."

"I won't," Quinn said.

Rachel sat up in bed wide awake at five in the morning. It was as if someone flipped a switch from sleep to awake and she was ready to go. She glanced over at Quinn who was completely passed out before throwing her own blankets back and getting up. She started to wake her friend, but decided against it. Her mother, however, was a different story.

Rachel made her way into her mother's room and crawled up on the bed and sat down Indian style next to her. Shelby had finally fallen into a deep sleep after a night of restless tossing and turning. She'd been so worried about Rachel that it was almost as if her mind wouldn't turn off enough to let her relax.

"Mom," Rachel whispered. She repeated herself when her first query was greeted with silence. Still there was no response.

"Mom," Rachel said a bit louder this time.

"Rachel?" Shelby mumbled.

"Yeah. Wake up," Rachel said. She lightly shook Shelby's shoulder. "Mom."

"What?" Shelby said suddenly awake. "Are you ok? Is everything alright?" She sat up and pulled Rachel to her.

"I'm great," Rachel said. "It's time to get up. We've got to have an early start if we're going to get a lot done today before we have to go to the airport."

"What time is it?" Shelby asked.

"Five minutes after five," Rachel answered.

Shelby moved away from Rachel and held her daughter at arm's length and stared at her incredulously. "In the morning?"

"Of course," Rachel laughed. "Our flight leaves at eight twenty-five tonight and we need to get there by six thirty which only leaves us a little over eleven hours left in the city."

Shelby just stared at her while her tired mind tried to catch up to what Rachel was saying. "We have plenty of time."

"We're down to our final hours," Rachel said. "We don't have plenty of time. We have to make sure we're not wasting any."

"Ok, we won't waste any," Shelby said as she lied back down on the bed. "You go get ready and I'll wait here."

"Fine," Rachel said. "But I won't be long."

Shelby waved her off and then shut her eyes hoping to fall right back to sleep, but she found herself opening them a few moments later. Sleep was drifting away and she was awake now despite what she wanted. Shelby laid there for about five minutes practically begging whoever was listening to let her sleep a little bit longer, but sleep would not come.

"Fine," Shelby muttered as she threw the blankets off and got out of bed.

Thirty minutes later Shelby and Quinn were sitting at the table drinking coffee and watching Rachel flit around the room gathering up last minute stray items and making sure they were packed.

"What time did you go to bed?" Shelby asked.

"A little after one," Quinn answered.

"That's not exactly making sure you don't stay up too late," Shelby said.

"Santana and I were talking," Quinn shrugged. "I didn't know that your crazy offspring would wake us up before the sun came up."

"I can hear you, you know," Rachel said.

"You're crazy," Quinn said louder this time, just for emphasis.

"You'll thank me when you get to see everything you want to see and not have to miss it because we ran out of time," Rachel said.

It turned out Rachel had been right and they had been able to squeeze in a lot of last day activities and were able to enjoy themselves without the added pressure of a shorter time crunch. They were able to leave their suitcases in a luggage storeroom in the hotel so they wouldn't have to drag it around with them. They enjoyed a final lunch Greenwich Village before hitting up a few more shops before returning to the hotel to retrieve their bags and then head to the hotel. Rachel was sad to leave the city she'd fallen even more in love with.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to go back to real life after this," Rachel lamented during their cab ride to the airport.

"You'll manage," Shelby told her with a laugh.

"Don't worry, New York. I'll be back soon," Rachel called out the window.

"Prepare yourself, New York. Rachel Berry's coming back and she'll never leave you alone again," Quinn said. Shelby laughed and Rachel whacked her on the arm.

Shelby had expected that they might all get some rest on the flight home, but the girls talked about their trip the entire time. That wasn't a fair assessment, of course, because she had talked just as excitedly. They did their best not to disturb anyone else, but every once in a while a peal of laughter would ring out and then they'd shush each other and spend a couple minutes laughing in whispers.

Somewhere between the baggage claim and finding the car in the parking lot, Shelby's exhaustion set it. The girls continued their chatter during the drive to Shelby's parents' house and the woman started to wonder when it was they would crash from sheer overtiredness. She knew she was ready to get some sleep herself seeing as it was after ten and Rachel had woken them up so early. Shelby thought for sure that Quinn would have been asleep or at least cranky by now, but that wasn't the case. She didn't know how the girls were keeping it up because Shelby was ready to pass out. It had been an extremely long day that had capped off a busy few days. Shelby felt like she could sleep for a few days straight at this point.

Paul came out onto the porch to greet them when they pulled up into the driveway. He couldn't help but laugh to himself when a weary Shelby got out of the SUV followed by two wide awake and exuberant teenagers.

"Hi, Grandpa!" Rachel called out.

Paul made his way out to the car and lifted Rachel into a hug. He held her with one arm and pulled Quinn into a hug with the other. Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel and Paul and the three of them created a very sweet scene.

"Did you guys have a good time?" Paul asked.

"It was the best," Rachel said.

"We had a lot of fun," Quinn said.

"Hi, girls," Rebecca said from the porch. She had Beth in her arms and was helping the little girl wave at them.

Shelby had been moving towards the back of the car to get some of their bags out to carry inside but stopped when she saw her mother and baby daughter. She changed course and made her way to the porch so she could see them. Beth started to squirm and kick her legs in excitement when she saw her mother and Shelby beamed when she took her daughter in her arms. Rebecca was happy to hand her over and watched as Shelby held Beth close and kissed her head. Beth was delighted to finally have her mother home.

"It's past your bed time, young lady," Shelby said sweetly to Beth. The baby just smiled back at her.

"She was asleep but woke up a little while ago," Rebecca said. "Almost like she knew you would be home soon."

"Thanks, Mom," Shelby said and the women put their arms around each other and made their way into the house.

Shelby would have liked to have gone straight to bed, but it wasn't to be as the girls started to tell Paul and Rebecca about the trip. So an hour later Beth was back in bed and everyone else was sitting around in the living room talking. The grandparents laughed while the girls blushed over their escapade backstage at Wicked. It was Shelby's turn to be defensive when Quinn brought up how scared she'd been on the top of the Rockefeller building.

"I can't wait to see all the pictures you took," Rebecca said.

"I have my laptop," Quinn said. "I can download them and show them to you now."

Shelby groaned inwardly and closed her eyes. Where did all of their energy come from all of a sudden?

"I don't think that's a good idea," Shelby said. "We should all get to bed."

"I agree with that," Paul said.

"Me too," Rebecca agreed with a yawn.

"But I'm not tired," Rachel said.

"Me either," Quinn backed her up.

"I don't see how," Shelby told them. "We've been up since five in the morning. No, I think you two should go to bed. Come on, now," she added when they hesitated.

"Mom," Rachel whined. "Why?"

Quinn was most definitely one Rachel's side, but this was the point when she stopped her arguments.

"Because I said so," Shelby stated firmly.

"But-"

"Rachel," Shelby started when she got up from the couch. She was too tired for an argument now and she also didn't need a scene with the girls in front of her parents.

"How about you two sleep down here?" Rebecca cut in.

"Yeah," Rachel said and Quinn nodded. "We'll go to sleep right away."

"Good," Rebecca said. "Night, girls."

Shelby's protests died on her lips as her mother ushered her out of the room and up the stairs.

"Don't worry about them," Rebecca told her when they were upstairs. "Let them have their fun while you get a good night's sleep."

"But I'm the one who has to deal with them tomorrow on the ride home if they don't sleep well," Shelby said.

"That's one of the best parts about being a grandparent," Paul said with a cheeky smile.

"Dad," Shelby let out a whine of her own.

"Oh, they'll probably sleep in the car on the way home," Rebecca said. "Goodnight, dear."

Shelby was too tired to fight it anymore and went into the guest room. Rebecca returned to the living room a few minutes later with pillows and blankets for the girls, as well as a warning to make sure they kept the noise down. The girls promised they wouldn't make a peep and that they would go right to sleep. Rebecca knew better and smiled to herself as she listened to them giggling when she walked back up the stairs.

Despite her wish to sleep for a day or two, Shelby was the first one awake in the house. It was just before seven when she and Beth made their way downstairs and they stopped in the living room to look at the girls before making their way to the kitchen. Shelby closed her eyes in frustration at the scene before her. Quinn was asleep on the couch and Rachel was curled up on the loveseat and there were remnants of food and drinks everywhere. There were two empty ice cream bowls with spoons now stuck to the inside of them. There was half a bowl of popcorn, two open bags of chips, three half-empty bottles of water, an apple core, two banana peels, and two bites left from a sandwich on a paper towel. The TV was on and the opening menu of the DVD of _Forrest Gump_ was playing over and over again. Quinn's laptop and camera were out and so Shelby assumed they spent some time transferring the pictures.

Shelby heard a creak on the stairs and she turned to find her mother coming down them to stand next to her.

"Did you feed them at all while you were gone?" Rebecca asked when she took in the mess.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Shelby said. "I don't know what they were thinking leaving a mess like this. I'm going to wake them up right now and have them start cleaning."

"Don't do that," Rebecca said. She leaned down and picked up the two ice cream bowls and carried them off to the kitchen.

"What?" Shelby asked incredulously, following after her.

"Shelby, how many sleepovers do you think Rachel has ever had in her life?" Rebecca asked.

"None," Shelby said thinking on it.

"Even when Quinn stayed with you, they didn't stay up and do this, did they?"

"No," Shelby answered.

"They were being teenaged girls," Rebecca said. "You and your friends used to make messes worse than that in here."

"But we always cleaned it up," Shelby defended herself.

Rebecca just gave her a stare that said they both knew better than that and Shelby backed down.

"How late do you think they were up?" Shelby asked.

"No telling," Rebecca said.

Shelby put Beth in her high chair and then helped her mother clean up the mess in the living room. They girls didn't move despite some of the noise and the women retreated to the kitchen to let them sleep. Paul joined them forty-five minutes later and poured himself a cup of coffee. By this time Beth was tired of the chair and wanted to get down. She'd had free roam of this house a few days and so she wanted out.

Once Beth was on the floor she took off crawling towards the living room and Shelby followed. She noticed Rachel was stirring, but it stopped as soon as Beth started to babble. Shelby sat down on the bricks that edged the fireplace and nursed her coffee. Paul joined her and Rebecca opted for another chair. Shelby looked at Rachel again and saw her eyes open ever so slightly before closing again. She smirked at her not so sneaky daughter.

"What time did you want to get on the road today?" Paul asked.

"Whenever these two get up and get ready," Shelby said. It wasn't a long drive back to Lima, but she had hoped to get back somewhat early so they could get settled and back to their routines. The girls had to go back to school in the morning.

"Have you given any thought to what you're giving her for her birthday?" Rebecca asked. Rachel stilled her movements once again.

"I've given it plenty of thought," Shelby said. "I haven't decided on anything concrete though."

"We've got a couple of ideas too," Rebecca said.

"We were thinking about getting her a-"

"Wait, don't tell me yet," Shelby said.

"Why not?" Paul asked. "I want to make sure we don't get her the same thing."

"I would let you say," Shelby said, "but I'm pretty sure our little Rachel is awake over there."

"Ugh, how did you know?" Rachel asked as she pulled the blanket off and sat up while the adults laughed.

"You were a little obvious," Shelby said.

Rachel crossed her arms and pouted until Beth crawled over to the couch and wanted to be picked up. Rachel obliged and leaned down and lifted the girl and sat her on her lap.

"Are you happy we're home, Beth?" Rachel asked. Beth kicked her legs in response and let out a high pitched laugh when her sister started tickling her.

"How late were you two up?" Shelby asked.

"Not that late," Rachel fibbed.

"You two sure ate a lot for 'not that late,'" Shelby said pointedly.

It was then that Rachel realized the mess they had left the night before was now cleaned up.

"We stayed up for a little while," Rachel shrugged innocently. "Only until four…or five," she mumbled.

"Until four or five?" Shelby asked, her voice rising. Rachel looked down and pretended to be interested in the top of Beth's head.

Rebecca sent her a look and shook her head while Paul smiled devilishly.

Quinn started to shift and opened her eyes at the sound of the voices and sat up with a groan. She looked around at all of them, giving no regard to her crazy bed head and tired eyes.

"You guys are up so early," the blonde said before yawning into her hands.

"Maybe if you two hadn't stayed up until-"

"We were just talking about Rachel's birthday," Rebecca said cutting Shelby off. "What are you planning for your birthday, honey?"

"I don't know," Rachel said. "I've never really had a big party before. Not with any real friend, I mean. My dad threw a few parties when I was little, but only a few kids ever showed up and I think that's because their parents made them. Maybe I can get the glee club to come this year!" Rachel was excited.

Quinn couldn't meet anyone's eyes and she looked down at her hands remembering all the ways she'd been really awful to Rachel over the years. Rachel didn't notice her friend's change in demeanor, but it wasn't lost on Shelby. She knew how Rachel had been bullied and she knew a lot of Quinn's part in that, but she didn't want the girl to feel about that right now. Quinn had more than made up for that in Shelby's eyes and she knew Rachel didn't dwell on it either. Rachel wasn't speaking out of resentment or anger; she was just telling a story.

"They'll be there," Quinn said, finally speaking up. She would make sure of it. Though she didn't anticipate it being an issue anymore. The glee kids really liked Rachel now.

"It's been so long since I even thought about planning a birthday party," Rachel said. "It'll be a lot of fun!" Rachel looked to Shelby as if looking for confirmation and Shelby smiled and nodded at her and Rachel grinned.

"Well I hope that you won't think your party is too cool for your old grandparents to come," Rebecca said.

"'Cause otherwise we'd have to crash and that could just be awkward," Paul added.

"Of course you can come," Rachel said. "And Sam and Maggie and the boys, if they want. And your mom too, Quinn."

"She wouldn't miss it," Quinn said. "I think she's already been shopping for a present for you."

"Ooohh, what is it?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know," Quinn shrugged. "She wouldn't tell me."

"Probably because she knew that Rachel would try and coerce it out of you," Shelby said. "And that you'd probably cave and tell her."

"I would not!" both girls said together.

Quinn nodded, but Rachel huffed in an offended manner when everyone started to laugh.

The front door banged open just then and Jack and Michael came running into the room and went straight for Shelby to give her a hug.

"Breakfast!" Sam yelled from the kitchen. He and Maggie and the boys had come by so they could see Shelby, Rachel, and Beth before they went back to Lima. They had stopped on the way and picked up doughnuts, bagels, and muffins to share with everyone.

Rachel jumped off the couch, taking Beth with her, and headed for the kitchen. "I'm starving."

"Me too," Quinn said and she got up and left the room as well.

"How could either of them possibly be hungry?" Shelby questioned.

Rebecca and Paul laughed at her once more as they too got up to join their family in the kitchen.

A couple hours later, they were on their way back to Lima and Rebecca had been right; Quinn and Rachel were sleeping and had been since first getting on the interstate. Beth was sleeping as well and Shelby was humming along softly with the radio.

The three of them didn't make a sound when Shelby pulled into the driveway at Quinn's house. She left the car running and got Quinn's suitcase and laptop bag from the back and carried them up to the front porch and rang the bell.

"Hey, Shelby," Judy greeted when she answered the door.

"I've got a suitcase I thought you'd like to have," Shelby said. "And I'll throw in a laptop too.

"Where's Quinn?" Judy asked with a laugh.

Shelby pointed back to her SUV and the blonde that was asleep in the front seat. Judy smiled at her daughter before picking up the bags and taking them inside with Shelby following.

"Thank you so much again for taking her with you," Judy said. "She said she had a wonderful time when I talked to her last night."

"It was a great trip and we were so glad she was able to come along," Shelby said.

"She didn't give you any trouble, did she?" Judy asked.

Shelby hesitated just for a moment and Judy put her hands on her hips.

"What did she do?"

"It's more like, what did they do," Shelby said.

Shelby launched into an abbreviated version of the _Wicked_ story and Judy's eyes went wide when the police were brought up. She continued to shake her head as Shelby went on. Those girls! But she did give her a smile when Shelby finished the story with how they got to tour backstage and she even got to sing with Rachel.

"Shelby, I'm so sorry," Judy said. "I thought she knew better than that. I will talk to her."

"You don't need to," Shelby said. "I talked to them both and it was all taken care of. And besides, I think I scared the hell out of her that day."

Judy laughed at the rest of the story, but said she was still going to mention it to her daughter.

The women made their way back outside to the car and found that the three girls were still asleep. Judy opened the door and leaned in and placed a kiss on Quinn's forehead just at the hairline.

"Quinnie," Judy whispered. She said it again and undid the seatbelt when Quinn started to stir.

"Mom?" Quinn said when she opened her eyes to see her mother leaning in over her.

"Hi, honey," Judy said with a smile.

Quinn wrapped her arms around Judy's neck and the woman hugged her back and pulled her out of the car with her arms still around her. Judy held her close for a few seconds before shuffling her off in Shelby's direction.

"Thank you so much, Shelby," Quinn said. "I had the most amazing time. I still can't believe you guys wanted me to come along."

"Nonsense, Quinn," Shelby told her. "You're part of our family and we loved having you there. But you are very welcome."

Shelby hugged the girl before sending her off so they could get out of the cold. Judy stood on the porch and Quinn leaned into her and they waved goodbye as Shelby drove away.

Two days later they had all recovered from their tiredness and Rachel had entered into full planning mode for her birthday party that upcoming weekend. She had Shelby sitting at the table in the kitchen going over sample invitations with her.

"I think it's probably too late for any of the invitations to be mailed, but I can hand them out at school," Rachel said. "What do you think of the theme I've chosen?"

"Ummm… I want you to have the type of party you want to have," Shelby answered diplomatically, "but I'm not sure if a Barbra Streisand theme is right for a sixteenth birthday party."

"But it could give it a classic feel," Rachel said. "And what about party games? I need to do some research on what is popular for that type of thing right now. I'm guessing it would be pretty hard to find a Barbra Streisand piñata this close to the party date."

"Probably," Shelby deadpanned.

"Although I'm not sure I'd be sending the right message by inviting people to hit Barbra's nose with a stick," Rachel said.

Shelby just stared at her child as if she didn't quite understand what she was saying. The problem was that Shelby understood it all too well and knew that Rachel was serious about it. She wanted to let her have the type of party she wanted while making sure that she wasn't embarrassed when her friends showed up for a Barbra Streisand Sweet Sixteen party. When Rachel went back to her laptop to search for Streisand trivia games and name that tune challenges, Shelby unlocked her phone and sent off a quick text message to Quinn.

"I've got four words for you: Barbra Streisand Birthday Party. Get over here and help me!"

**A/N – Ok guys, that's it for this chapter. There will be more chapters. :) I hope you all liked this one. Please leave me a review! Thanks!**


	60. Chapter 60

**A/N – I'm so sorry this took me forever to get out. I did not mean for there to be such a delay. I've just been so busy. I was up in Buffalo, NY a week ago to go to Idina Menzel's concert (I met her!) and then this past weekend I was in DC to go to the National Book Festival and I met Gregory Maguire. It's been a great couple of weeks for me, but I fell behind in everything and am still playing a bit of catch up. But anyway, here it is. The birthday celebration. I hope you like it. **

**Everyone enjoy Idina back on Glee tonight! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Quinn stared down at her phone and read the text from Shelby a few times to make sure she had it right. "Oh my god…"

"What is it?" Santana asked. She was at Quinn's house and they were doing their math homework together and studying for an upcoming test.

"It's a text from Shelby," Quinn answered. "Rachel is planning her birthday for this Saturday."

"What's it say?"

Quinn held the phone out so Santana could read it and the girl looked up at her with wide eyes after she too had read it a couple of times.

"Is she serious?" Santana asked.

"I'm pretty certain that she's very serious," Quinn answered.

"How would you even have a Barbra Streisand birthday party?" Santana asked. "It's not like they sell Streisand party plates or anything like that."

"We have known Rachel long enough to know that simple things like details and logic are not going to get in the way of her doing this if that's what she wants," Quinn said.

"I'm going over there with you," Santana said. "I'm all for celebrating the munchkin's birthday, but she's probably over there planning out what order we're going to have to watch boring old musicals in."

"You can come, but be nice," Quinn answered. "She's really excited about this party and I don't want her to get laughed at."

"No one would laugh at her. We'd judge her for years afterwards, but we wouldn't laugh," Santana joked.

"Some people would laugh," Quinn said. "And she'd probably just smile like she used to do after she'd cleaned up from every slushie; like nothing was wrong even though she knew that everyone was still laughing. I don't want her to feel that way again."

Santana softened and dropped the sarcastic exterior and said, "No one will laugh at her. I promise. She's going to have an awesome party."

"Thanks," Quinn said. "And I think I have an idea, but I'm going to need help."

"You got it," Santana said.

The pair arrived at Shelby's a half an hour later and found a surprised Rachel on the other side of the door.

"What are you two doing here?" Rachel asked.

"Is that how you greet everyone that comes to your door?" Santana asked.

"No… I was just surprised," Rachel said. "Quinn is here a lot, but you don't normally come unless there's something specific and I don't know of anything and no one has mentioned anything to me. Are other people coming over? Do I need to change?"

"Rachel-" Quinn tried but was cut off.

"Are we going out?" Rachel continued. "I'm actually pretty busy, but I suppose I could take a break for just a couple of hours. My mom thinks all of my homework is done so there shouldn't be any problem getting permission. The truth is I still have some more to do, but she doesn't need to know that…" She trailed off when she noticed that Quinn and Santana were no longer looking at her and were staring over her shoulder instead.

Rachel chanced a look back and saw that her mother was standing right behind her. She offered the woman a weak smile before turning back to her friends. "Do you want to come in?"

"We'd love to," Santana said brightly. "I was just joking with you earlier." She stepped past them and into the house, grinning the whole time.

"Hello would have been too hard for you?" Quinn asked.

"She still makes me kind of nervous," Rachel said. "I never expect to open my door and see Santana standing there."

"I understand," Quinn said with a laugh as she too stepped past them into the house.

Rachel shut the door and tried to move past her mother without looking at her but Shelby had other ideas and stepped in front of the girl. Rachel looked everywhere but at Shelby's face.

"So when you said you were finished…?"

"I didn't. You assumed," Rachel said with a shrug and then she finally looked at her mom with an innocent smile. "I just didn't get finished at school. It's not much."

With that she slipped past the woman and joined her friends in the living room. Shelby was left shaking her head at her teenager. They could talk about that later.

"So what bring you two over here?" Rachel asked politely when she sat in the rocking chair opposite them.

"Santana was at my house studying and we got to talking about your party this weekend and we decided to come over and see what you had planned," Quinn said.

"My mom and I have just been talking about that," Rachel said excitedly. "I was thinking a Barbra Streisand themed party. How do you guys think that sounds?"

"Honestly, squirt, I think that'd be hard to pull off," Santana said.

Shelby, who had taken up residence leaning against a far wall to listen, looked from Santana and then to Rachel to see how her daughter reacted to the nickname, but Rachel didn't even flinch. Rachel probably wouldn't admit it, but she kind of liked a couple of Santana's names for her… now that they weren't malicious. She found it sort of endearing.

"Oh," Rachel said, disappointed. "But doesn't there have to be a theme? Isn't that how birthday parties work?"

"Not necessarily, Rachel," Quinn answered.

"Not past the age of about eleven," Santana added. "You can do whatever you want."

"Oh," Rachel said. "I've never really been to any birthday parties. People didn't like my dads or they didn't like me."

Shelby blinked back the tears that formed in her eyes and went to sit on the couch next to Santana, forcing the girl to move to the middle between her and Quinn. Santana wouldn't look at the woman and Quinn looked at her hands at Rachel's words. She exchanged a look with Santana and they both seemed to be asking the same question; how could they have been so awful to her for all those years?

"I just thought Barbra Streisand would be a nice theme," Rachel continued. "She's classic and brilliant. I've known her longer than I've known just about anyone else in this world. She's always been my friend."

The three on the couch were not doing very well at keeping their emotions in check and they all felt bad for their initial reactions to Rachel's suggestion. Shelby was prepared to do everything possible, including flying to California, to bring Barbra herself back to be at the party and Quinn was ready to help her. Santana knew that it was up to her to get things back to the realm of reality because she could already see them trying to make Barbra birthday cakes and party treats.

"Rachel, listen," Santana started, "it would be a nice theme. But you don't have that much time to make it happen. You wouldn't want to half-ass a Streisand party, would you? What if she found out about it one day when you're famous and then she didn't want to meet you or something after that?"

Rachel's eyes went wide and she shook her head at Santana's scenario. "That would be awful. But do you really think I'll get to meet her one day?"

"Sure, shorty," Santana said. "But let's worry about the task at hand. Your party."

"It's been my dream to meet her ever since I can remember," Rachel continued as if Santana hadn't said anything.

"Then you'll do it," Santana said. "You do everything else you want."

It was an easy statement and Santana truly didn't understand the impact it had on Rachel. She had been saying it from the perspective of having been in glee club with Rachel and knowing that she liked to get her way, but that the difference between Rachel and almost everyone else was that the girl was actually willing to work for it. So why shouldn't she meet Barbra Streisand one day if that's what she wanted? Although Santana would be the first to admit that she didn't know anything about Barbra Streisand other than what Rachel said, or sang, about her. She was just some actress, right? How hard could it be to meet her one day?

Rachel felt quite differently about Santana's words and couldn't stop the smile that spread over her face. For Rachel, it was a validation and an acknowledgement of all of her hard work. Santana was supporting her and Rachel was thrilled. She jumped to her feet and leaned down and hugged Santana tightly around her neck.

"Thank you, Santana," Rachel said.

Santana was taken aback and it took a moment to reach up and hug Rachel back as best she could considering their awkward angle. That and she felt she needed some air.

"You're welcome," Santana said. "Can I breathe now?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rachel said when she stood back up and then resumed her place in the rocking chair. "Are you ok now?"

"Peachy," Santana answered. "Now, the party."

"Right," Quinn said. She was still smiling amusedly at Santana over the exchange.

"What do you guys suggest?" Rachel asked. "I'm afraid my party planning skills are a little lacking."

"What time will your family be here on Saturday?" Quinn asked.

"They're coming in early," Shelby answered. "Probably around nine or ten."

"That's perfect," Quinn said. "You can spend the morning with them and have time with your family-"

"And you and your mom," Rachel said.

"Of course, if you want," Quinn said. "So you do breakfast or brunch or whatever with them and later on that afternoon Santana will join us and the rest of the girls from glee and we'll all go out and get pedicures and manicures and do whatever. Then we'll come back here and meet the rest of the club and whoever else you want to invite and have a party. Pizza and games and presents and music and everything else."

"I'll bring the beer," Santana said.

There was a silence that satisfied Santana and she wore a mischievous smile. Quinn looked away and Rachel's eyes went wide and Shelby gave the dark haired girl next to her a menacing look.

"I don't want-" Rachel started.

"Kidding," Santana said. "I was kidding."

"Anyway," Quinn continued, "that way you've had your time with your family and then everyone can be there later. I know your grandparents would love to meet everyone from glee. It'll be a great time."

"That sounds really nice," Rachel said with a smile. "What time should I put down on the invitations for people to start showing up?"

"Umm, don't worry about invitations," Quinn said. "We'll just tell everyone."

"Do those plans sound good, Mom?" Rachel asked.

"They sound perfect," Shelby said.

"Good. Now that that is settled, I vote we go to Breadstix for dinner," Santana said. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, Rach," Quinn said. "Go get ready."

"Ok," Rachel said as she got to her feet. "That sounds really good."

"Not so fast," Shelby stopped all of their movements. "Rachel, you aren't going anywhere."

"Why not?"

"I do believe you have some homework you need to do," Shelby said. She'd left the girl alone about her homework all this time, but Rachel had just made it fair game.

"But Mom," Rachel whined, "I can do with when I get back."

"No," Shelby said. "You can do it now."

"It's not that much," Rachel said.

Quinn sat back on the couch and flipped through a magazine and waited because she knew that Rachel wouldn't win this and she still wanted to talk to Shelby. Santana, however, was extremely interested and her eyes were focused on the scene at hand. She respected Shelby but was still somewhat afraid of the woman and she hadn't decided yet whether Rachel was brave or stupid all those times she openly argued with the woman.

Shelby stepped over to Rachel and then led her to the foot of the stairs and then whispered in her ear, "Don't do this in front of your friends."

"But I want to go," Rachel whispered back. She was close to tears in a show of teenage dramatics and anger at not getting her way. "Santana has never invited me anywhere before."

"I understand," Shelby said into ear, "and if it's not a lot like you say then you can get it done and then go out with them. But do it right; don't rush through it and then have to fix it later."

"You'll ask them to wait for me?" Rachel asked.

"If you think you can get it done in a short amount of time, yes."

"I can," Rachel said. "Don't let them leave me."

"I won't. Now go on." Shelby placed a couple of soft pats on Rachel's backside to get her moving up the stairs. She needed to talk to Quinn privately anyway. She had an idea.

"Aww, sorry about that, munchkin," Santana called out when Rachel reached the top of the stairs. "Maybe next time." She was smirking at Rachel's predicament even though her mom would treat her the same way in this circumstance. Homework first, Mrs. Lopez always said. Of course she'd never admit that to anyone. Santana wasn't quick enough to wipe the smile off of her face when Shelby turned around.

Shelby spun around and glared at her and Santana quickly moved so that she was facing forward on the couch like she hadn't been watching the whole time.

"And you can help her," Shelby said as she stepped up behind the couch and reached down and took a hold of Santana's upper arm and got her to her feet. She led her around Quinn and to the stairs and a few steps up before she let go. Santana looked back at her once and saw that steely glare and didn't think arguing was in her best interest so she continued on up the steps to go to Rachel's room.

"I need to talk to you," Quinn and Shelby said together once they were alone.

They both laughed and then smiled as if they knew what the other was thinking. They talked for about ten minutes ironing out details and figuring out who to call and how to make it work.

"I have two worries," Shelby said. "One is that she doesn't like surprises."

"It's not a surprise," Quinn said. "She knows there's a party."

"Ok. And my other worry is the kids…"

"Just leave that to me," Quinn said.

The morning of her birthday, Rachel woke up with such excitement and anticipation that she was surprised she'd even slept at all. She shot out of bed at six wondered around the house in her pajamas for about ten minutes trying to think of something to do to get off her nervous energy. Normally she wasn't bothered by having the early mornings on the weekends to herself, but today was her birthday! And this year she actually had a reason to be excited about it. She wanted to see people and to talk to them and so it was her mother's sleep that was going to end up being sacrificed.

Rachel started a pot of coffee and then put some toast in the toaster over while it brewed and then poured a cup and did her best to emulate the way her mother made it. She didn't bother to test it since it was still so hot and so she just carried the mug upstairs to her mother's room. She opened the door to find that Shelby was sleeping soundly and was facing Rachel as the girl made her way into the room and set the mug on the bedside table.

"Mom," Rachel whispered so as not to wake Beth. She wanted Shelby all to herself right now. "Mom."

Shelby mumbled incoherently and Rachel smiled. She leaned over and kissed her mother's forehead and Shelby started to stir.

"Mom, wake up."

Shelby opened her eyes and looked up at her smiling daughter. "Rachel." She looked at the clock and then back again and returned the smile, sleepy as she was. She couldn't ignore that face or send her away for being up so early. "Happy Birthday, baby."

"Thanks!" Rachel whispered. "I made you coffee."

"Thank you," Shelby said as she sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Come here."

She reached her arms out and pulled Rachel up and over her and onto the bed. Rachel snuggled down into her mother and shut her eyes.

"Is sixteen too old to do this?" Rachel asked.

"No," Shelby said firmly. "If you weren't too old yesterday when you were fifteen, you're not too old today."

"Good," Rachel answered and Shelby smiled.

Shelby reached over to pick up the mug of coffee and took a sip and scrunched up her face and quickly swallowed the hot, awful liquid. That was the worst coffee she'd ever tasted. She set the mug back down and was glad to see that Rachel still had her eyes closed and had missed the entire thing. God, if nothing else, Rachel was going to learn to make a good cup of coffee from her. There was just no excuse for what she just drank. She wished she had a mint or something close by so she could get the taste of her mouth.

"Tell me about the day I was born," Rachel said.

"You were born on a Sunday," Shelby said. "And by this time of the morning you'd already made your entrance. You arrived at ten minutes until two in the morning and have been getting up early ever since, I think. I was in labor most of the day before and you were so stubborn. You got me in all this pain and made me go to the hospital and then decided to take your time once I got there."

Rachel was giggling and she looked up at Shelby with shining eyes and said, "Sorry."

"You were very tiny and you cried so loudly right from the first moment," Shelby said. I remember the nurses chuckling at how loud you were and how you seemed to have no problem expressing your opinion on the whole matter. I thought it was a beautiful sound. And then they put you on the table and started cleaning you off and you turned your little head and you looked at me. You stopped crying for about ten seconds and just stared at me. You had a headful of dark hair and big eyes and you only blinked once that whole short time we looked at each other."

"I was saying hello," Rachel said.

They were both consciously trying to keep this light and not get bogged down by the fact that Rachel was whisked away not long after that and Shelby didn't see her again for fifteen years.

"I'm glad you did," Shelby said.

Rachel was about to ask another question when a loud beeping suddenly sounded throughout the house. Beth was startled awake and started to cry which only added to the piercing noise.

"That's the smoke alarm," Shelby said, suddenly very serious. She sat up and pulled Rachel up with her. "Get up." Shelby went through about a thousand difference scenarios about there being a fire and how to get her children out of the house in the second it took her to sit up straight and pull the blankets back.

"My toast!" Rachel exclaimed.

"What?" Shelby asked over the noise.

"I made some toast for us so we'd have breakfast," Rachel said. "I guess I forgot about it."

"Get Beth," Shelby instructed when she got out of the bed and left the room.

Rachel picked up her crying sister and then followed after her mother. When she got to the kitchen Rachel found that Shelby had unplugged the toaster oven but there was still smoke pouring from it. Shelby was opening the window and Rachel stepped up to the counter to examine the damage.

"Don't touch it," Shelby said. "Take her out of here."

Beth was still crying because the smoke alarm was still going on. Shelby grabbed the hand towel hanging from the oven handle and stood on a chair and waved it in front of the smoke alarm to try and get some fresh air in front of it. It took a couple of minutes but the alarm finally stopped and the only noise was Beth's cries.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Rachel said. She was still standing in the doorway with Beth.

"It's ok," Shelby said. She stepped down from the chair and took Beth from Rachel and the girl started to calm down.

"I thought it would be nice," Rachel said and her chin started to tremble.

"No, stop that," Shelby said. "Why are you crying?"

"I started a fire," Rachel said.

"You started a bunch of smoke," Shelby said. "I needed a new toaster anyway. It's fine, honey. It was an accident. Do not cry."

"I can usually make toast," Rachel said. "I didn't mean for the day to start this way."

"It started out fine," Shelby said. She pulled Rachel into a one armed hug. "But I have decided that I'm going to take your present back and pay for cooking lessons instead."

"Mom," Rachel pouted with her head tucked into Shelby's shoulder.

"Go upstairs and get a shower and I'll make us breakfast," Shelby said.

Rachel returned from her shower a little while later to find that Shelby had set up a fan in the kitchen to help clear the smoke out and was feeding Beth at the table in the dining room.

"I can finish feeding her if you want to go and take a shower," Rachel offered.

"Ok," Shelby agreed. "Don't let her make a mess." She was half way out of the room when she turned back and added, "You don't make a mess either."

"Mom," Rachel said pretending to be offended.

"Don't give me that look," Shelby said. "I know what you're capable of."

Shelby was right to be concerned because she returned half an hour later to find her youngest sitting on the floor of the kitchen covered in baby food and grape jelly and enjoying making handprints on the floor while her eldest was wielding a mop trying to clean up a puddle of spilled milk and apple juice. Rachel looked up when she heard Shelby come into the room and immediately pointed at her sister and Shelby could see that she also had jelly on her face and hands.

"Beth did it."

"Rachel," Shelby said as she stepped into the room. "What happened in here?"

"I don't know what's with her, but she refused to eat as soon as you left," Rachel said. "She got the food everywhere. I tried to stop her."

Shelby looked down at the baby sitting on the floor and Beth just smiled up at her. She babbled as if to try and refute Rachel's wild accusations and proclaim her innocence.

"Don't believe her, Mom," Rachel said. "You should see what she did to the dining room."

Shelby didn't say a word as she stepped past them and peered into her previously spotless dining room and saw baby food, jelly, and cereal on the floor and table. She turned back into the kitchen and Rachel once again pointed emphatically at Beth. Shelby didn't say a word as she left the kitchen leaving Rachel and Beth alone.

"This is your fault," Rachel whispered to Beth and the baby splashed a hand in the puddle on the floor sending some of it onto Rachel's pants. Rachel stuck her tongue out at her just in time for Shelby to see when she stepped back into the room carrying a package of baby wipes.

"Rachel," Shelby admonished lightly. "I'm going to clean you both up and then put you both in a time-out."

Rachel smiled and laughed to herself at the joke as her mother made her set the mop aside and then used a baby wipe to start to clean her face for her.

Five minutes later Rachel wasn't laughing as she sat at the bottom of the stairs pouting. She and Beth were now both jelly free and indeed in time-out. Beth was in her swing, though it wasn't turned on and she wasn't particularly happy about that, and Rachel had been told not to move from her place sitting at the base of the stairs while Shelby cleaned. As the minutes passed Rachel tapped her feet and drummed her hands and counted the support beams on the banister and did everything else she could think of to keep still.

"This is really unfair," Rachel called out.

"No it's not," Shelby said back.

"But it's my birthday."

"I know."

Rachel crossed her arms and pouted some more and Shelby snuck a peek at her from around the corner and grinned. She moved back before Rachel spotted her.

"How long do I have to sit here?" Rachel asked after another minute.

"Until I'm finished cleaning," Shelby answered.

"Are you almost done?"

"No."

Rachel sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes and stomped her foot, making sure to make it loud enough for her mother to hear.

The doorbell sounded just then and Rachel leapt off the stairs and yelled, "I'll get it!"

"You stay put," Shelby called out and ran to the door herself and got there just after Rachel.

They laughed as they both slammed into the door while reaching for the handle and were smiling when Rachel opened it to see who was there so early. Their smiles faded when they saw Scott and Henry waiting on the other side. Rachel recovered quickly and returned her smile to its place and greeted them.

"Daddy, Dad. Good morning." Shelby did little to hide the glare she was giving the men over Rachel's shoulder.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart," Scott said.

"Happy Birthday," Henry added.

"Thank you," Rachel responded.

"We're both sorry we can't come to the party later," Henry told her, "but we don't want to get in the way of your fun or anything."

"You wouldn't," Rachel said. She'd invited them both as soon as solid party plans had been ironed out and she hadn't heard anything from either of them until now.

"I told your dad I was going to come by early," Scott said, "and he said that was a good idea. We want you to enjoy your day."

"Please come inside," Shelby said more out of a need to be polite than anything else.

"We can't stay long," Henry said.

"I'll come outside with you," Rachel offered. She understood their hesitation about going into Shelby's house.

"Put on a coat," Shelby said when Rachel started to follow the men outside. "And shoes."

The men stepped away from the door while Rachel opened the closet and slipped her boots onto her socked feet. Shelby held her jacket open and Rachel put her arms through and let her mother wrap it around her.

Shelby went back to the kitchen and watched from the window after Rachel stepped outside with her fathers. She turned the fan off to see if she could hear them, but they had walked away towards their cars and she couldn't hear what they were saying. They had better not hurt that little girl today.

It was only a few minutes before Rachel returned and Shelby met her at the door. Rachel held up two cards for her to see and gave Shelby a sad smile.

"They're trying," Rachel said as she took off the coat and boots and returned them to their spot in the closet. "They said they didn't want to come to the party later because they didn't want to make it awkward for me."

"Are you ok?" Shelby asked carefully.

"Yeah," Rachel answered. "They're right; it probably would have been really awkward. I'm glad they came by now instead of not coming at all. I wanted to get to see them on my birthday and they both said they missed me."

"If you wanted to see them why didn't you say you wanted to go to one of their houses?" Shelby asked. "We could have done that."

Rachel ducked her head and shrugged.

"Rach, don't try and protect me from anything or spare my feelings," Shelby said. "It's your decision if you want to see them. I didn't want you going alone, but that doesn't mean not at all. Do you understand?"

Rachel nodded and then changed the subject. "They gave me money. Again."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shelby asked.

"The money?" Rachel asked facetiously. "I just figured I'd save it, but there are a couple of things I could get. I have some ideas of things I could buy you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, for instance, you need some milk and apple juice because _Beth_ spilled them all over the floor."

"Ok, brat," Shelby said as she pulled the girl into a hug and rubbed her back soothingly. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Mom. I promise," Rachel answered.

"Good," Shelby said. She stepped back to give Rachel room to pass and said, "Then back on the step you get."

"Mom!" Rachel whined.

Shelby was grinning when she placed a kiss on Rachel's cheek and sent her to the stairs with a playful swat to her backside. Beth laughed from her own confinement in the swing.

The window in the kitchen was still open and there was a fan blowing in there when Paul and Rebecca arrived a few hours later. Maggie, Sam and the boys showed up not long after that and then Judy and Quinn. Shelby told the toast story each time and Rachel had lightened up about it and was now taking the good natured ribbing that came along with it. They spent the morning and early afternoon together and Rachel had a great time in their company. She was allowed to open a few of their presents and received jewelry from her grandparents and books and iTunes gift cards from her aunt and uncle.

"Open mine now," Quinn said, "before everyone is here later."

"Ok," Rachel agreed happily as she took the rectangle shaped box from her friend.

Rachel ripped off the paper and opened the box and pulled out the same gold star cup Shelby had given her months before; the same one that had been broken when she and Quinn fought. Tears formed in Rachel's eyes and in Shelby's when the girl looked up at her.

"Quinn," Rachel said, "how did you find it?"

"I did some research," Quinn said. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you," Rachel said. "This means so much to me."

"I'm sorry about the other one," Quinn said. "I know this isn't the same as having the first one, but I hope you like it."

"I love it," Rachel assured her. "It means a lot because your friendship is now attached to it as well."

Quinn hugged her then and Rachel held on just as tightly. The adults were content to sit back and let the girls have their moment. It was Michael who was bored with it.

"Can we watch a movie now?" the little boy asked and the room let out a laugh.

"Sure, bud," Shelby said.

The girls left not long after that to meet Santana and the rest of the glee girls at a salon for their time getting their nails done. Rachel didn't want to admit that she had been worried about it how it might go, but everyone was relaxed and enjoyed themselves. It took a couple of hours which was perfect because Quinn didn't plan for them to be back at Shelby's before five.

"It looks like everyone is here already," Rachel said when they got back to her house and saw that there were cars lining the streets and in the driveway. "Are we late?"

"I don't think so," Quinn said nonchalantly.

Rachel gasped when they walked through the door and saw the entire rest of the glee club plus Mr. Schue there. But their presence wasn't what surprised her; it was the décor of her mother's house. There was Barbra Streisand stuff up everywhere. Posters were on the walls and there were pictures and records and banners everywhere. Streisand music was playing softly in the background and, if Rachel had to guess, a movie was ready to go in the DVD player. There was an old fashioned popcorn machine in the corner and even a life-size cutout of the woman herself standing next to it like she was going to be the one to serve them.

"Happy Birthday!"

People were saying it as she passed and got farther into the house. Shelby came to meet her by the stairs and Rachel practically leapt into her arms. The woman was grinning from ear-to-ear as she held her daughter up.

"How?" Rachel asked when Shelby put her down.

"Your friends got most of it together," Shelby said. "Quinn and I sort of mutually came up with the idea and then we put everyone to work finding as much Streisand stuff as possible. The guys all came over while you were gone and helped set everything up."

"It's so wonderful!" Rachel exclaimed. "I didn't think any of you liked my idea for the party. Thank you so much."

"I'll admit that we were skeptical at first," Shelby told her, "but once we saw how much it meant to you we decided to try our best to make it happen."

"Thank you," Rachel said again. She pulled Quinn into a hug and held her. She opened her arms to her mother who joined their mini group hug.

"You're welcome," Quinn said with a laugh at Rachel's excitement.

"Don't just stand here with us," Shelby said when the hug was over. "Enjoy your party."

Rachel moved up a few steps and held her hands up and yelled out, "Excuse me!" When everyone was quiet Rachel started her speech. "Thank you all so much for coming to my party. It means a great deal to me that you are all here to share my birthday with me."

Rebecca took a few pictures and the group whooped and hollered for her.

"I know that Barbra Streisand is not everyone's cup of tea, though I honestly can't fathom why that is, but I'm glad that she is her to spend it with me as well," Rachel continued. "There is plenty of food and other refreshments so make yourselves at home and enjoy."

The party progressed nicely and even Mr. Schue showed up to celebrate. Rachel sat right next to him while everyone did Barbra karaoke. She was taking notes and making suggestions and promised to give him a copy of it when she was finished. When she noticed he wasn't writing any of his own notes she got him a pad of paper and a pencil and insisted he start paying better attention to the singers.

Shelby saved him when she pulled Rachel away to cut the cake. It was a vegan chocolate cake with white icing and had the words "Hello Gorgeous" written on it instead of "Happy Birthday." Presents were handed out at random with Rachel spending a good amount of time with each person to make sure they were having a good time. Despite the initial worries of the club, the Streisand party at scary Shelby Corcoran's house turned out to be a lot of fun.

As the evening wound down people started to leave and Rachel was soon left with just her grandparents, Shelby, and Beth. Maggie, Sam and the boys had left earlier because they had commitments the following day and needed to be home. Rachel thought back on the day and there was only one person she hadn't received a gift from, but she tried not to think too much on it. Her mother had given her this party and the recent trip to New York City and countless other things, but even her fathers had given her a card. She was fighting the childish notion of expecting to receive a gift on her birthday.

"Did you have a good day?" Shelby asked when she sat down on the couch next to Rachel.

"It was wonderful," Rachel answered. "I never thought I would ever have a real party with friends over and everything. Thank you so much, Mom." Shelby held her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

"I'm glad it was so special for you," Rebecca said. She was sitting in the rocking chair with the sleeping Beth in her arms.

"The only downside is that there's such a huge mess in the kitchen," Rachel said. "We're going to have to start cleaning that soon."

"You stay out of my kitchen," Shelby said.

"How much damage could I do with just cleaning up?" Rachel asked.

"I don't even want to think about it" Shelby laughed.

The front door opened and Paul stepped inside and he smiled and gave Shelby a little nod as Rachel tried to remember if she even knew he was outside.

"Did you get everything you wanted for your birthday?" Shelby asked.

"I didn't actually have anything in mind for what I wanted," Rachel said with a shrug. "Everything was wonderful. I'm going to save all of my cards and put them in a scrapbook. I really love the one you let Beth scribble on."

"I'm so glad, honey," Shelby said. "But you didn't feel like you were missing a present from someone?"

Rachel looked up at her mother and saw the smile and she wasn't quite sure how to answer that question.

"Ye…no. Of course not," she said. "All that's really important is that you and everyone was here and celebrated with me. I've been given so much already."

Shelby reached down and picked up a card from its hiding spot under the couch and handed it to Rachel. The girl beamed when she saw it and even felt around for a second to see if she could figure out what the lump inside the card was.

"Open it," Shelby encouraged.

Rachel did and let a small wrapped package fall from the card and into her lap while she was reading. It was very sweet and Shelby had written a long note and Rachel kept it to herself instead of reading it aloud like she did with some of the others she'd received that day.

"Thank you, Mom," Rachel said when she was finished reading the card. "I love you."

"I love you too, Rachel," Shelby said. "But please, please open this before I burst from excitement." She picked up the tiny package from Rachel's lap and handed it to the girl. Shelby had been anticipating this moment for weeks.

"Ok," Rachel said and her excitement level started to rise to match her mother's.

Rachel tore the paper and pulled it off and sat speechless when she looked down at the key in her hand. Her mouth was opened in surprise and she looked from the key to her mother a few times in shock.

"Is this a- a- key? To a car? Is there a car?" Rachel exclaimed.

Shelby nodded but didn't get a word out because Rachel crashed into her hugged her tightly.

"Oh my god! Thank you, Mom!" Rachel said and she shot off the couch and ran for the front door. She opened it and started to step out, but Shelby pulled her back inside.

"You need shoes and a jacket," Shelby said.

Rachel hastily grabbed a pair of tennis shoes and her jacket while Shelby did the same and then raced out to the driveway. Paul had left the light on over the garage in order to give Rachel a view of her new 2007 light green Toyota Camry. Shelby had been car shopping for weeks to find the safest and most dependable car she could. And that was in her price range. She had received a really great deal on it and couldn't pass it up. She'd kept it hidden all day by having her father pick it up while Rachel was out that afternoon and parking it in a church lot down the block.

"It's so amazing," Rachel said. "I can't believe you got me a car. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, honey," Shelby said.

Shelby held onto Rachel tightly when the girl hugged her once again. There would be rules concerning this car, of course, but Shelby didn't bring any of that up right now. They could talk about it later. She didn't want to take away from this moment for Rachel.

"Can we go for a drive right now?" Rachel asked.

"It's your car," Shelby answered.

"I have to get my permit," Rachel said, turning to go back to the house.

"I've already got it," Shelby said. She held up her purse for the girl to see.

That was all Rachel needed to open the doors and get into her new present. She turned the key and held onto the wheel and looked at her mom and wasn't sure she'd be able to contain the smile on her face. Rachel turned on the radio and found that a CD was already there. The first few notes of "Don't Rain on My Parade" started and Rachel started to bop with the music. She was belting out the first notes when she backed out onto the road and drove off into the ending of the greatest birthday she'd ever had.

**A/N – I hope you all liked that one. Sorry again about the delay. Please leave me a review.**

**There is more to come. I'll be bringing back some more drama as a counter to a lot of the fluff that's been happening recently. We're getting there, guys. Thanks for reading. **


	61. Chapter 61

**A/N – Here's another update. Thank you all so much for all of the lovely reviews. You guys really are great and I appreciate you all so much. Thank you for sticking with me for this long. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. I can only wish…**

The week after Rachel's birthday the holiday vacation started and Rachel and Quinn were happy to be out of school. The weather dipped even colder and Rachel found herself spending most of her time at home. She used the time to her advantage and caught up on movies and got ahead with her homework. She picked Shelby's brain about ideas for Regional and started on a detailed suggestion document to share with Mr. Schue when school started up again. She had cast herself as the lead, but she thought that was only fair after not getting a staring part at Sectionals.

Shelby and the girls spent New Year's Eve at Judy and Quinn's house with a few other friends. Sam and Quinn were caught making out after the ball dropped and Shelby played the piano and led them all in a rendition of Auld Lang Syne. Beth had enjoyed all of the attention she had received all night, but was asleep in Rachel's arms well before midnight. The girl placed a kiss on her sister's head at the end of the countdown and Shelby did the same for each of them. When they stepped out of the house and into the freezing night air a couple of hours later, Rachel Shelby both couldn't help but smile at the thought of the new year ahead of them.

The only thing that had put a damper on what was otherwise a wonderful two weeks was the fact that Rachel had yet to be able to get her license. The end of December turned out to be the worst time to try and get it because of the holiday hours at the DMV and the face that they'd been cancelling their driving tests due to the weather. Rachel sulked worse each time they couldn't go and Shelby was not having a fun time dealing with the attitude that came with it. And she couldn't help but get the distinct feeling that the longer it went on, the more Rachel started to blame Shelby for their inability to get the license.

Before Shelby knew it, it was already the second week of January. The temperature had dropped again overnight and there was a light snow falling as the woman sipped on a cup of coffee in the kitchen that late Saturday morning. Beth was playing in her playpen in the living room while Rachel paced the floor with the phone to her ear.

"Again?" Rachel asked the woman on the other end incredulously. "Well shouldn't you test me driving in the snow?" she asked. "Surely I'm going to encounter snowy and icy conditions when I drive in the future." There was a pause as Rachel listened and then she added, "According to the Weather Channel, the snow is supposed to clear up in the early afternoon."

Shelby stepped to the doorway of the kitchen and leaned against the frame and watched Rachel. The girl stamped her foot over whatever she had just been told.

"Well maybe you should stay open a little later so you could actually be useful to your customers," Rachel sassed.

"Rachel!" Shelby scolded.

"No. _Thank you_," Rachel said sarcastically before she hung up the phone.

"That person was just doing their job and there is no reason to be rude to them," Shelby said.

"It's not fair, Mom," Rachel said. "Am I going to have to wait until spring to get my license? The weather isn't even that bad out."

"Have you looked outside?" Shelby asked. "It's not going to kill you to have to wait a few more days."

"I've already waited a few more days," Rachel whined.

"Then you'll have to wait a few more," Shelby said.

"You're happy about this," Rachel said. "You never wanted me to drive in the first place."

"If I didn't want you to be able to drive I wouldn't have bought you a car," Shelby told her. "You're the one who is acting childishly because you're not getting your way right now."

"How would you feel if you were in my position?" Rachel asked.

"I'd feel grateful to still be able to drive with my permit," Shelby answered. "You're just getting extra practice in and you'll be able to nail that driving test the first time."

"I could do it now," Rachel mumbled.

"But you have to wait. The sooner you can accept that the easier it'll be to move on with your day," Shelby said. "Stop throwing a fit over something that can't be changed."

"Fine," Rachel said as she kicked at one of Beth's loose toys.

Shelby turned and went back into the kitchen so she could put her now empty mug in the sink and Rachel followed. She cast a glance out the window and could tell that the snow was already letting up and would probably stop soon. It's not like this weather was anything new and She'd driven in the snow with her mom in the car.

"Can we go to the store?" Rachel asked. "I still haven't gotten the new Barbra CD even though it came out on Tuesday and I'd like to go pick it up."

"I can't," Shelby said. "I'm taking Beth to Katie's so she can play with her little nephew and then I've got a meeting with a student and her parents. You know that."

"But can't we go real quick?" Rachel asked. "You could drop me off and then be on your way."

"Why don't you just download it?" Shelby asked.

"Because it's not the same," Rachel told her. "I have all of her CDs and I need to keep the collection going. Can we?"

"I don't have time," Shelby said. "Why didn't you pick it up one day after school this week?"

"I was busy or Quinn didn't have time to stop," Rachel said. "And I thought I would have a license by now and be able to go and get it whenever I want. "It won't take that long. Just in and out."

"I don't have time right now," Shelby said. "I've got to get myself and Beth ready and then leave. I'll only be gone a few hours so maybe we can go when I get home."

"But we can do it now," Rachel told her.

"No we can't," Shelby said firmly. "We can go later or you can just wait until a better time. That CD isn't going anywhere."

"But I want it now," the girl whined.

"Rachel," Shelby admonished. "I said no. I said we could go later but not if you keep this up. Stop whining."

Rachel mumbled something about stupid this all was as she turned on her heel and flounced out of the room and up the stairs. Shelby heard her bedroom door slam a few seconds after that. She wanted to go up there and suggest to Rachel she take a nap and wake up on the right side of the bed this time, but Shelby went about getting ready to go out instead. She knocked on the door and said goodbye to Rachel a little while later and only got a grunt of acknowledgement in reply.

Rachel waited until Shelby and Beth were out of the house before making her way downstairs to watch TV. She flipped through the channels, pausing only to watch bits and pieces of shows or movies. It was so stupid that the DMV would cancel driving tests today. It was stupid she didn't have her license by now and it was stupid that her mom couldn't take her to get the CD today. Stupid snow and ice. Stupid car she couldn't drive. If the weather had been better in the past couple of weeks she'd already have her license and would be driving by herself with no problem right now. There was no reason why she couldn't except for some dumb piece of paper. There really was no reason…

Rachel got to her feet and went into the kitchen so she could look out the window. The snow had stopped the sun was now out and shining brightly. The driveway had been shoveled earlier that morning by the boy across the street. Shelby paid him and the thirteen-year-old always seemed really pleased to be helping the woman out. Rachel had teased Shelby on numerous occasions that the boy had a crush on her. Shelby took it in stride, but wasn't going to complain about the chore being done. If he wanted to shovel the driveway and walk to the porch, she was more than happy to pay him.

Rachel glanced at her car keys that were hanging from the decorative key holder on the wall and then at her watch. Shelby had said she'd be a few hours and only about forty-five minutes had passed since she left. The store was right up the street. Rachel knew that she could get there and get back pretty quickly and her mom would never know. It would give her some practice for driving by herself and her mom had just been advocating the idea of her getting more practice. Rachel started to weigh the cons, but shut those worries out and made the snap decision to go. She had to be home before her mom came back.

The drive to the store was completely uneventful and Rachel was feeling rather proud of herself as she browsed the aisles. She had the new Streisand CD in her hand and she knew she should have left by now, but she was keeping an eye on the time and shrugged off the nagging that told her to get home.

She finally did leave twenty minutes after that. She deposited the new CD and receipt in her pink messenger bag and made her way out to the car. It should have stayed in her bag on the drive home, but once Rachel stopped at a red light she pulled the CD out to look it over again. She couldn't wait to listen to it.

She breathed an unconscious sigh of relief when she got close to the house and saw that Shelby still wasn't home. Rachel smiled at her cleverness when she knew she had this in the bag. No one would ever be the wiser and she'd been able to get what she wanted. She couldn't have pulled it off any more perfectly if she'd been planning it for a while.

In her excitement to get out of the car and into the house to listen to the CD, Rachel unbuckled her seatbelt as she was turning into the driveway. She held the CD up once more to look it over and stepped on the brake. The car, however, had other ideas when it hit a patch of ice and slid into the tree on the side of the driveway. The seatbelt was useless as it hung off to the side and Rachel's head slammed into the window.

"Ow!" Rachel cried out as she sat up away from the window. She saw the blood that was left there and her eyes went wide and she put a hand to the cut that was on the side of her forehead near her hairline. "Oh shit," she mumbled.

Despite her throbbing head, Rachel also knew how much trouble was going to be in and quickly tried to make it look like this never happened. She rolled down the window a few inches and looked out to get a better bearing of where she was in the driveway and then backed the car up away from the tree and parked it properly. She rolled the window up and looked at the blood that was still there. She used her sleeve to wipe it away and then grabbed her bag and got out of the car. She hastily through the CD in her bag and then looked to survey the damage to her bumper. It wasn't as bad as she had feared and might not even be noticeable unless you were looking for it. She was going to have to talk to Kurt and Finn and see if they could talk Burt into fixing it or she hoped that Finn might know how himself.

She kept a hand planted over the cut, but the blood continued to flow. She recalled a long ago health class where she learned that the head always bled a lot even if it was a tiny cut. Please let it be a tiny cut. Rachel moved to look at the tree and it was no worse for the wear and the only thing that could give her away was the tire tracks through the snow and she set about covering them up. She had snow all the way up to her knees by the time she was done kicking it around to hide the tracks. Once she was satisfied that the scene looked natural, Rachel finally headed towards the house. After she'd unlocked the door, Rachel threw her keys in the bag and dropped it in front of the closet and went into the kitchen. She did her best to catch her breath as she pressed a folded up dish towel to her cut in an effort to stop the bleeding. She had time to get this fixed and get herself cleaned up before her mother got home. A noise outside pulled her attention away and she looked out the window. Shelby was pulling up in the driveway and Rachel backed away quickly like she was afraid to be seen.

"Oh my god," the girl said a few times before snapping herself out of her panic. She was Rachel Berry and she was an actress and she was going to pull this off. She took a few deep breaths and then turned on the tears.

Shelby was smiling as she walked towards the house. She was in great mood and she hoped Rachel was over her sullen morning and ready to go shopping. She'd come home to get Rachel so they could go get the CD together and then go get Beth.

"Hey," Shelby called out as she was opening the door. She was met with the sound of Rachel's cries and rushed into the kitchen. "Rachel!"

"I- I," was all Rachel could get out.

"Honey?" Shelby said as she looked over her daughter. She had snow all over her pants and she still had her jacket on and there was clearly blood on her face and hand and Rachel was crying to the point of hiccupping when she talked. She tossed her purse and keys on the table and asked, "What happened?"

Rachel let Shelby take over holding the small towel to her head and wrapped her blood stained hand around her mother's wrist and looked up at her.

"I was outside," Rachel said. "I didn't see the ice and- and I slipped and hit my head. I tried to stop the bleeding."

"Oh honey," Shelby said as she looked at her hurting daughter with sympathetic eyes. "Let me see."

"I think it's a small cut," Rachel said. "But it won't stop bleeding." She let her cries pick up again as Shelby removed the towel to look.

"Shhh." Shelby looked at the cut and it was small, but also looked to be pretty deep. "Ok, calm down now," the woman instructed as she put the towel back. "That looks like it's going to need stitches so we're going to go to the hospital."

"No!" Rachel cried out. This was a turn she did not want at all. None of this was in the plan she had concocted earlier in the day. She was supposed to be in her room listening to Barbra right now and not about to go to the ER. "It'll be fine."

"I want a doctor to take a look," Shelby said. "It's deep and you can't just let it go unattended. Are you hurt anywhere else?" Shelby gave her a once over to see she had scraped hands or anything else. She couldn't tell through her clothes, of course, but she didn't want to find out about a banged knee or elbow after the fact.

Rachel shook her head and her mouth formed even more of a pout and more tears streaked down her face. Shelby pouted with her empathetically and tried to wipe some of the tears away.

"Here, hold the towel again and let's go."

The wait in the ER wasn't as long as Shelby secretly feared it could have been. But over an hour and a half was still a lot with a hurt and sullen teenager. She had called the babysitter on their way there and was grateful that Katie was fine with watching Beth for even longer than anticipated that day.

They were finally called back to another part of the ER and Rachel was given a bed and the curtain was pulled slightly to offer the semblance of privacy even though it was more or less open and there were other beds present, many of them filled. Shelby sat in a chair next to the bed and held her and Rachel's jackets.

"Let's have a look," the doctor said when she finally arrived. She had Rachel lie back and removed the bandage that had been put on by a nurse when they first arrived. "That's a nice little cut you've got there. What happened?"

"I slipped on the ice and fell," Rachel answered.

"You're not the only one," the doctor told them. "Half of the people we see this time of year are in some way related to the weather. Though most of them get hurt in their cars."

"Oh," was all Rachel got out.

"It's going to need a few stitches," the doctor announced. "But it shouldn't take long and they'll be able to come out by the end of the week. And the scar will be very tiny, I promise."

"But I don't want-"

Shelby cut her off by putting her hand on Rachel's arm and shaking her head. Rachel pouted and the doctor just laughed.

"It's not that bad. Your hair will cover it for the most part. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Rachel shook her head, but the doctor checked her over anyway.

"There's no worry of a concussion or anything, right?" Shelby asked.

"No, not in this case," the doctor answered. "She said she never lost consciousness and every indicator test we gave her was negative. "She'll get a bruise around the cut, but it's nothing to be worried about. I wouldn't put any limits on what she can do. You're going to have a good headache tonight but a standard painkiller will be good for that and getting a good night's sleep will help as well," she said to Rachel.

The doctor left with the promise to return in a few minutes with the supplies she needed and Shelby stood next to the table and patted Rachel's hip affectionately when she saw the look her daughter was giving her.

"I don't want to get stitches," Rachel told her forlornly.

"It's not that bad, honey," Shelby said. "You're pretty lucky. You could have broken an arm or a leg in a fall on the ice. I'm glad this is so minor. I hate seeing you hurt."

"I'm not really hurt," Rachel said.

"I've been so worried about the new car and every time you drive even though I'm right there, but I hadn't been too concerned with the ice," Shelby said. "I'm glad I got home when I did. I hate the thought of you being hurt and crying all alone like that. I don't know what I'm going to do when you start driving on your own. You're going to keep me up nights."

Rachel could no longer look Shelby in the eye and instead looked at the ring on her mother's hand as she played with it and said, "You don't need to worry. I'll be fine."

Despite feeling guilty over Shelby's words, Rachel knew she was doing well with keeping this lie up. She hated being in the hospital so all of those emotions were most certainly real, but she was still glad that she'd been able to get out and drive her car. She deserved to be able to do that and everything had gone just fine until the very end. She would learn from it and make sure she wasn't distracted and kept her seatbelt fastened from now on, but it hadn't been _that_ bad. She didn't think her mother needed to worry about her driving.

"I'm always going to worry," Shelby said.

"I wish you wouldn't," Rachel said.

"Too bad," Shelby replied.

The doctor returned a few minutes later with a nurse to help her. She had Rachel lie flat and the nurse held her head steady while the doctored inserted three shots into her head around the cut to dull the pain. Shelby stood next to Rachel and held her hand while the cut was first cleaned thoroughly and then the stitches put in place. Even though she couldn't feel it, Rachel closed her eyes instead of having to watch the doctor bring the special needle towards her head every time. It only took a few minutes to get the three stitches right and another bandage put in place. Once the instructions were given on proper care for the stitches, Rachel and Shelby left.

"How are you feeling?" Shelby asked when they were pulling out of the hospital parking lot.

"Fine," Rachel answered.

"I came home to get your earlier so we could go to the store and get your CD. Do you still want to do that?"

"No," Rachel said. "Can we just go home?" The sun was setting and the last bit of daylight was holding on and hard as it could, but it would soon be all gone.

"Are you hungry? We could stop and get your favorite," Shelby said.

Rachel nodded her agreement and sank even farther into her seat. She needed this day to be over because everything would look better in the morning.

They picked up Beth and the take-out food and made their way home. Shelby did most of the talking throughout dinner and Rachel found herself smiling again as the evening wore on. It was all working. She'd make it through tonight and life would go on as normal in the morning. They'd probably sit at home all day and relax and watch movies. Or she'd go to Quinn's and hang out. Whatever she ended up doing tomorrow, Rachel promised herself that she would not bring up getting her license even once.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now?" Rachel said a little before ten. "I've got a headache and the doctor did say to get a good night's sleep."

"That's probably a good idea, honey," Shelby said. "You go on up and I'll get you some aspirin."

Shelby smiled down at the sleeping Beth as she stepped past her and into her bathroom to retrieve the medicine from her cabinet. She filled a cup with water and then took them over to Rachel's room and heard the girl in her own bathroom brushing her teeth. When she emerged, Rachel already had pajamas on and gladly took the medicine from her mom.

"Thanks."

"Is there anything else you need?" Shelby asked.

"No, I think I'm ok," Rachel said.

She leaned in and kissed Shelby on the cheek and the woman held onto her in a tight hug.

"I'm glad the spill you took was relatively minor," Shelby said. "I just hate the thought of you getting hurt and it could have been so much worse. What if you had knocked yourself and laid there unconscious on the ground?"

"Mom, that didn't happen," Rachel said. "It was just a little misstep. I'm fine. Everything is fine." She yawned then and relaxed into Shelby's embrace.

"You're right. Let's get you into bed."

Shelby pulled back the covers and Rachel snuggled under them and looked up surprised when her mom sat down next to her instead of leaving. "Just close your eyes."

Rachel did and smiled sleepily when Shelby started to sing a soft lullaby as she tucked the blankets around her. The last thing Rachel remembered before she woke up the next morning was her mother kissing her goodnight.

Rachel was making it a lazy Sunday morning as she lounged around her in pajama bottoms and a t-shirt and sweatshirt. After breakfast she'd retreated back to her room and was messing around online when she came across a new review of the new Barbra Streisand CD.

"Oh my god," Rachel said to herself. "My bag."

Beth was crawling around the kitchen as Shelby put away dishes and started looking through cabinets so she could make sure she had the right ingredients for the dinner she wanted to make that night. If not, she'd have to go to the store and she wanted to get that done early.

"Where're you going, honey?" Shelby asked when Beth crawled out of the kitchen and into the entryway near the front door. She watched her for a second and then looked back into her pantry.

A horn started blaring outside indicating someone had hit the emergency button on their keys. Shelby looked up in annoyance when it hadn't stopped after about thirty seconds.

"Whose car is that?" She stepped over to the window and looked out and was surprised to see the lights flashing on Rachel's new car. "What in the world…"

Shelby moved to the front door and found Beth sitting on floor playing in Rachel's pink messenger bag. She had a set of keys in her hand and wasn't too happy when her mother reached down and took them from her. Shelby hit the button to stop the honking.

"How did you get these?" Shelby looked to the spot where they normally hung and then back at her little daughter who was now pulling something new out of the bag. She reached down and took that too much to Beth's chagrin and stood up slowly when she saw that it was the CD Rachel had been talking about for weeks, and the receipt was still folded around it. Shelby unfolded it and read that it was dated for the previous day. She looked at the CD and then at the keys and then back to where the keys should have been hanging and then it clicked.

Shelby picked up Beth and quickly carried her to the living room and put her in the playpen. She slipped on a pair of her shoes and didn't bother with a jacket when she went outside and began looking over her daughter's new car. It didn't jump out at her, but she found the dent in the bumper. She looked around and then began to notice the traces of tire marks that were left in the snow and an impact mark on the tree. Shelby was fuming when she opened the driver's side door and immediately noticed some dried blood near the controls on the door. Rachel had driven illegally and wrecked her car and had lied about it.

Shelby tried to take a few calming breaths of cold air as she made her way to the house but it didn't work. She gave Beth a glance as she passed and the baby was happily chewing on a teething ring and then she stormed up the stairs.

Rachel jumped and spun around in her chair when her bedroom door flung open and slammed into the wall and started to swing back until Shelby put a hand out to stop it. Rachel saw the keys in one hand and the CD in the other and then finally looked at her mother's face. She'd never seen that expression of anger before and Rachel sat frozen in her seat not daring to move.

Shelby took another step into the room and then slammed the door behind her causing Rachel to jump again.

"What have you done?" Shelby demanded angrily.

**A/N – That girl. Please leave me a review! Thanks, guys! **


	62. Chapter 62

**A/N – Here's the next chapter. And thank you guys so much for sticking with me for a year. That's so amazing. I didn't even realize that I had updated a year later to the day until people started to point it out to me in the reviews. I don't know what else to say besides thank you, thank you. I love you all so much for sticking with me all this time.**

**Someone asked me if I would tell some personal stuff about myself so here are some factoids. I've been writing this story for a year and I still spell 'Rachel' wrong 99% of the time when I typing. I have five tattoos and have been to 13 different countries. **

**And I want to give a big shout out to dreamcaser888 who has been so very helpful to me. Thank you so much. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Shelby moved farther into the room and Rachel quickly jumped up from the chair at her desk and immediately started to try and explain herself. Part of her hoped that Beth would start to cry so as to distract her mother and she even strained to listen for a second, but she didn't hear anything.

"I can explain," Rachel said. She had to get the words right and that look on her mother's face was not helping. She'd seen Shelby angry before, but this seemed to be a whole new level.

"I'm not sure you can, Rachel," Shelby said. "What could you possibly say that would explain why you drove illegally and wrecked the car and then on top of all of that, lied about it?"

"It wasn't like that," Rachel said. "I did slip on the ice. I didn't really wreck it. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Shelby yelled. "Everything you did was a big deal. Getting behind the wheel is a big deal! Driving without a license is a big deal!"

"But I should have it by now!" Rachel yelled back.

"But you don't!"

"If the weather was better I would," Rachel said. "It's not my fault the DMV won't do its job! It's not my fault you haven't been able to take me before!"

"Don't you dare try and pass any blame," Shelby said. "You knew that what you were doing was wrong from the moment you left this house."

"If you had just taken me to get the CD earlier I wouldn't have had to do it," Rachel argued.

"You're kidding me, right?" Shelby asked incredulously. "You've had plenty of other times to go and get that CD. I came home early today to pick you up and take you, but you are too impatient. You decided you needed it right then and nothing else matters. You never think about your actions. I know we had this very talk while we were in New York City. You have to think about the consequences of your actions!"

"There would not have been any consequences if it wasn't for the stupid ice," Rachel shot back. "I know how to drive. I only bumped a tree in the driveway. It's not a big deal."

"When would it be a big deal, Rachel? Would it have been a big deal if you had hit another car in the parking lot? Or rear-ended someone at a stop light? Would it have been a big deal if the police had shown up and discovered you were driving illegally? Would it be a big deal if you had been seriously injured and I had to get a call to go to the hospital to see you?" Shelby yelled.

"None of that happened!"

"That doesn't matter!" Shelby shot back. "What matters is that you refuse to show or accept any type of responsibility."

"I am responsible."

"No you're not. You're acting like a child which is exactly what I should have expected," Shelby said.

"That's not fair," Rachel said. "If my birthday were in the spring or summer and I didn't have to fight with the weather I would already have a license and be able to drive that car whenever I wanted. Why should that be different now?"

"Because this is not spring or summer and there is ice and snow all over the ground," Shelby said. "How can you not see the severity of what you did?"

"Because nothing happened," Rachel said. "The driveway was a fluke and you never even would have noticed it. Would it really have been a big deal if I had my license when it happened?"

"Rachel, how about you tell me when you thought it was a big deal," Shelby said. "Was it a big deal after you'd slammed your head into the window and started to bleed? How did you manage that anyway? According to you, you didn't hit the tree that hard."

Rachel took a deep breath before she answered because she didn't think this would go over well. "I didn't have my seatbelt on," she muttered.

"What?" Shelby exploded. "Why the hell didn't you have a seatbelt on?"

"But I had just taken it off," Rachel defended herself. "As I was pulling into the driveway. I wanted to park and get out as soon as possible."

"So you took your seatbelt off in icy conditions?" Shelby asked. "Unbelievable, Rachel. I thought I could trust you."

"You can!" Rachel insisted. "Nothing has changed."

"Everything has changed," Shelby said. "I'm still waiting to know when you thought this was a big deal. I know; it had to have been when you decided to lie to me about all of this. Because that really takes the cake. You liked to me and you lied to the doctor in the ER. There may have been other injuries to look for since this was a car related incident, but you let us believe that you'd slipped and fallen. And you were prepared to continue to lie to me for however long you needed to."

"I had to," Rachel said. "I knew you were going act like this." Her tone was accusatory and petulant.

"You're damn right I would act like this," Shelby bellowed. "You still don't get that you've done anything wrong. Your promise in New York to think through your actions means nothing."

"New York is different," Rachel said. "I was taken advantage of."

"And this time you simply chose to ignore the law and your mother and good common sense and do whatever the hell you wanted to do anyway. And then when you thought you might be caught you refused to take responsibility like an adult. You try and tell me how grown up and responsible you are, but every time you show me just how much of a child you really are," Shelby said.

"I am not!" Rachel defended childishly. "If I hadn't forgotten my stupid bag downstairs you never would have figured it out. Maybe if you hadn't snooped through my bag, all of this could have been avoided," Rachel shouted. She had no idea how Shelby came to know that the keys and CD were in the bag, but those details didn't matter to the girl right now. "It's childish to look through my things and then yell at me because you found something you didn't like. You should learn to blame yourself too, Mom," Rachel sassed.

Shelby didn't know she possessed such a move, but in one swift motion she'd put the keys and CD on the desk and then sat down on the bed with Rachel across her knees with the girl's pants down just enough for what was about to be done. Rachel was too stunned to react for a few seconds, but when she realized what was happening she started to kick and squirm and yell. Shelby ignored her protests and proceeded to give Rachel the spanking of her life.

"You have no idea what could have happened and what's even worse, you don't even care," Shelby lectured. "You lied to me, Rachel, and for some reason you think that's ok."

Rachel was sobbing and was wearing herself into exhaustion from trying to squirm away even though Shelby was holding her securely in place. It was worse than the last time and it registered with Rachel that this was exactly what she was trying to avoid when she'd made up the story about slipping and falling on the ice. Those tears were nowhere near as sincere as the ones streaking down her face now.

"You broke the law. You took your seatbelt off while you were still driving all over some stupid CD," Shelby continued.

There were many responses that filtered through Rachel's mind such as 'I'm sorry' and 'please stop' and Rachel was dismayed when what she actually said was, "It's not stupid!"

Shelby shook her head and seethed and let Rachel's backside know her dissatisfaction with that answer. She kept it up and lectured some more on safety and consequences all while Rachel continued to squirm, but Shelby's hand was steadfast and did not let up.

Shelby was worn out and said, "I am so angry at you, Rachel."

She raised her hand to bring it down again, but it was her own words that stopped her. She looked down at Rachel's red backside and listened to her cries and immediately stopped the spanking. She pulled her daughter's pants back into place and stood them up and held onto Rachel's arms to help support the girl's wobbly knees as much as her own. It also prevented Rachel from reaching back and Shelby studied Rachel's tear filled face and red eyes and runny nose. Rachel defiantly kept her stare though she couldn't stop her crying.

"You need to stay in your room for now," Shelby finally said.

She did not offer Rachel the comfort she gave her last time when she finally let go of her arms. She picked up the keys and the CD from the desk and left the room, closing the door behind her because Shelby had to go and calm down.

Rachel dropped her head and rubbed her backside as her tears continued to freely fall. She was so angry at her mother, but part of her wasn't sure what to do right now. She wanted to throw things or stomp out of the house and take a walk though she knew that wouldn't feel good right now. But most of all, she wanted to be held. What was going to happen now? Rachel grabbed a tissue and blew her nose, but she didn't bother washing her face since the tears were still flowing. She moved to the bed and carefully lied down on her stomach and held her stuffed Toto dog close to her and eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

Shelby made her way downstairs to check on Beth and saw that the girl was still playing and smiled happily when she saw her mom. Shelby lifted her out of the playpen and set the girl on the ground and Beth immediately went in search of some of the toys she'd tossed from her confinement when her mom and Rachel were upstairs. Shelby took a seat on the couch and watched as Beth crawled around oblivious to her mother's feelings of anger and sadness.

Beth moved to her blocks and banged one on the floor, drawing Shelby out of her thoughts and staring contest with the opposite wall. She knew what Beth wanted and so she slipped off the couch and sat down on the floor with the little girl. She stacked the blocks on top of each other and it only got to eight high when Beth reached out and knocked down. The baby laughed and clapped her hands and Shelby couldn't help but smile with her.

Two hours later Rachel was awake, but she hadn't moved from her spot on the bed. Her pillow case was wet and her face was sticky with dried tears. She was using the time to think over everything that had happened. Rachel knew she had been in the wrong. She had known it the whole time even if she had pushed it down because at the time she was enjoying the freedom of it. And she wasn't going to feel bad about it. She hadn't even been worried about consequences until she'd slid on that ice. And even as she delivered the fake tears and story to her mother, she'd felt really good because she knew she was going to get away with it. She didn't feel good about it now.

It wasn't just the physical pain she was feeling, she reached back and placed her hand on her backside to help try and ease the soreness, but the fact that she knew she should apologize to her mom. But there was a part of Rachel that was just too angry for that. Her pride was wounded in more ways than one and didn't want to have to say she was sorry. In the mix of that feeling sorry for lying was still too much of a feeling that she was sorry she'd been caught. The worry Shelby felt at her driving and all of the what ifs that had been spelled out to her didn't mean much to the girl. In her mind she'd never been in any danger and it was only wrong if she got caught, which unfortunately had turned out to be the case.

A knock at the door pulled Rachel from her thoughts and she listened for it to open which she knew it would when she didn't give a response. Shelby stepped into the room and quietly shut the door behind her.

"Rachel?" Shelby asked even though she could tell she was awake.

There was again no response and Shelby made her way around to the other side of the bed so she could see her. Shelby brushed some hair away from Rachel's face and the girl wouldn't look at her. She used her right hand to move Rachel's hand away and then placed her left gently on her upturned bottom. She felt Rachel stiffen and tense up, but Shelby just rubbed to help take the sting away and Rachel relaxed. Next Shelby took the chair away from the desk and brought it to the bed so she could sit down facing her daughter.

"Rachel, I want to apologize," Shelby said.

That caught Rachel off guard and she flicked her eyes to her mother.

"I was so angry before and I should not have punished you like that in anger," Shelby told her. "I am disappointed in your behavior and your seeming inability to acknowledge what could have happened and I think you deserve the red bottom you have, but I should not have done it while I was angry. I should have waited until I calmed down."

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but the words would not come to her. She wanted to say she was sorry, but didn't know how. One minor bump did not mean she didn't know how to drive. The weather and timing were the only reason she didn't have a license and so ay any other time she wouldn't have been breaking the law.

"You lied to me, kiddo," Shelby continued on when Rachel didn't say anything. "This wasn't a situation where you're used to handling things on your own or you feel you overwhelmed; this was an instance where you knew you had done something wrong and wanted to get away with it. I trust you, Rachel, and I thought you trusted me enough to be honest with me. But that trust is gone now."

Rachel felt tears forming in her eyes at her mother's words. She did trust Shelby. But she hadn't wanted to get in trouble either.

"What did you think was going to happen if you had told me about the car?" Shelby asked. "I would have been angry and upset and you would have been grounded, but I would have appreciated your honesty. But you did lie. You refused to accept any type of responsibility for your actions and that combined with everything else has led us to this. You will not be able to call to set up an appointment for your driving test to get your license until one month from today. That doesn't mean call early and set up the appointment for a month from today, you have to wait to call. You will also not be driving at all in that time. When you do get your license, your own car is still off limits for two weeks after that. You'll be able to drive my car in those two weeks but not by yourself; I will be with you."

Rachel was crying again and Shelby could see the tears dripping down her face and into her pillow.

"You can have the CD back," Shelby was prepared to say that it would be returned to her when she got her license, but Rachel looked so defeated in that moment and she relented, "next week. Is all of that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel whispered out.

Shelby stood up and returned the chair to its spot under the desk and then placed a soothing hand on Rachel's back and rubbed calming circles into it. "I love you, Rachel." She leaned down and kissed her forehead, not too far from her stitches, and then moved towards the door. "Come down and have some lunch."

Rachel didn't move until Shelby was out of the room. She winced as she got off the bed and made her way into the bathroom so she could finally wash her face. She studied herself in the mirror for a long time and made the decision to go and talk to her mom. She understood that she shouldn't have lied and she hated the fact that her mother said she didn't trust her now. How could it all have gone so wrong? Rachel knew that she hadn't thought through any of the consequences of her trip to the store and her 'Mom is going to kill me' worries kicked in too late. Maybe she and her mom could talk about all of that now.

Shelby checked on the napping Beth before going downstairs to fix them some lunch. She expected to see Rachel at any moment, but when she didn't, she made herself a plate of leftovers from their take-out last night and sat at the kitchen table to eat alone. When the phone rang Shelby answered it and then smiled at her mother's voice on the other end.

Rachel finally emerged from her bathroom and left her room and walked down the stairs. As she got close to the kitchen, she could hear Shelby talking on the phone and stopped so she wouldn't walk in and interrupt.

"I just don't know what she was thinking, Mom," Shelby said. "And even after everything, I still don't think she gets the severity of what could have happened."

Rachel leaned her forehead against the wall outside kitchen and listened.

"She saw how upset I was in the hospital," Shelby continued after a break in which Rachel assumed Nana was talking. "I was so worried and I just thought she had slipped on the ice. I hate to see her hurt like that. I don't know what I would have done if she'd have been hurt in an accident and I got a call from the hospital. Anything could have happened. What if another car had hit some ice and swerved into her?" Shelby's voice caught and Rachel couldn't stop her tears and hearing her mother's worry. So much for her freshly cleaned face. "I did try and make her understand. I just don't know what to do with her sometimes."

Rachel put a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't be heard as she cried. She felt guilty at making her mother worry and now despair at the thought that Shelby didn't know what to do with her. What did that mean? She sure seemed clear when handing down her punishments. Rachel didn't know how to take the common phrase or how to dismiss it as nothing. She turned away from the kitchen and went back up the stairs to her room. Rachel wished she knew how to set this right.

Shelby finished her lunch after hanging up with her mother and listened to hear if Rachel was going to come down. She had expected to see her before now and thought they would eat lunch together. Shelby thought maybe Rachel would come around quickly like she did the last time she had spanked her. But then she thought back to making her write and how Rachel had sulked all week. She truly had no idea which Rachel she was in for, but Shelby wanted to try and stop the sulking before it even got started, if she could. She made up a plate for Rachel and grabbed a bottle of water and carried it to her room.

Shelby found Rachel standing by her window and staring out into the sunny afternoon. Rachel barely turned to acknowledge her when she entered and Shelby sighed.

"I brought you some lunch since you didn't come down," Shelby said. "You need to eat something." She set the plate and water down on Rachel's desk and then moved over to stand by her.

"You don't have to stay in your room now, you know," Shelby said. "You're not grounded."

"It's just easier," Rachel said.

"Why?"

Rachel shook her head and wanted to ask what Shelby meant when she said she didn't know what to do with her, but she didn't.

"Rachel, talk to me," Shelby said. "Do you understand the reasons for your punishments?"

Rachel nodded and then said, "I'm sorry I worried you. But you can trust me."

"No I can't," Shelby said and Rachel's chin started to tremble.

Shelby reached out and held Rachel's chin and turned her head so Rachel would have to look at her. "You'll have to earn that trust back. Lying is very serious and I'm not sure you even really understand just how bad everything you did is yet. And if one very sore backside and no driving for a month don't help you to learn that, the talks we will have about it in this upcoming month certainly will."

"Do you think I can earn it back?" Rachel asked shyly.

"I know you can," Shelby said. "So how about you lay off the tears for the rest of the day and sit down and have some lunch."

"I don't think I can," Rachel said and she looked away from her mom.

"Can't what? Eat?" Shelby asked. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I meant sit down," Rachel said. "I don't think I can sit down."

"Oh," Shelby said and she couldn't help but smile at Rachel's red face.

"A built-in reminder if ever there was one," Shelby said. She went to Rachel's bed and grabbed one of her pillows and placed it in the chair and then took Rachel by the hand and moved her away from the window. "Try that out and if it still doesn't work, you'll just have to stand, I'm afraid."

"Ok," Rachel said. "Thank you for making me lunch."

"My pleasure," Shelby said. She pulled Rachel into a hug that the girl greedily latched on to.

When the hug was over, Shelby watched as Rachel tried to sit on the pillow as gingerly as possible, but she only lasted a few seconds before standing up again.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," Shelby said. "You are not alone. I distinctly remember being a teenager and having to eat a few meals standing up."

Rachel started to speak, but Shelby slipped out of the room before any of her daughter's questions could be asked. Those were stories for another day.

A few hours later, Shelby received a confirmation email for a conference she'd been trying to get into for months. One short phone call with Judy Fabray later, Shelby was ready to talk with Rachel about it. She scooped up Beth from her toys on the floor of the living room and climbed the stairs to Rachel's room where the girl had been hiding all day.

"Hey, Rach," Shelby said when she knocked on the door.

"Come in," Rachel said back.

The girl was lying on her side in bed propped up on her elbow and reading a book and marked her place when the door opened and her mother and Beth came in. She sat up and was able to stand it now.

"I have something I need to talk to you about," Shelby said as she sat beside her on the bed and set Beth down between them.

"Oh?"

"There is a conference this week in Cleveland that I'm going to attend," Shelby said. "The spots fill up pretty quickly and I just got a confirmation email about an hour ago."

"You're going away?" Rachel asked.

"For a few days," Shelby answered. "If you've stopped teaching, you have to attend one of these to ensure that your teaching certificates remain valid. I know I don't teach in a school right now, but I might go back to that someday and I want to stay current and make sure I still can. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Rachel nodded. "You have to go away."

"Just for a few days," Shelby said. "It's Wednesday through Saturday. So I'll leave Tuesday night and come back Saturday evening. It's for work."

Rachel could have sworn she could feel the room spinning and she thought she could hear her own heartbeat. Her mom was leaving her. And Beth.

"That's not too bad," Rachel stayed neutral. "And don't worry; I can take care of Beth. We'll be fine here."

"Don't be silly, honey," Shelby said. "You aren't staying here alone. I talked to Judy and you and Beth are going to stay over there. It'll be like when Quinn stayed here, only a shorter amount of time. You'll have a great time."

"Ok," Rachel said.

"Sweetie, are you ok?" Shelby asked. "If you're not comfortable, I won't go."

"No, it's fine," Rachel answered, slipping into a well-worn role. "You said it's hard to get into. You should go now while you're in."

"That's what I was thinking, but only if you're sure," Shelby said. "It's just a one-time thing."

"I am," Rachel lied. She picked up Beth and hugged the baby to her. No matter what, she would be there for Beth.

"Good girl," Shelby said.

She took Beth from Rachel and left the room and was pleased at how well that had gone. She didn't want Rachel to think this was like when her fathers left her all those times, but this was something she really did need to go to. But she had told her that she wasn't leaving her alone and that it would only be this once. Rachel loved Judy and Quinn and Shelby knew she would be well taken care of over there. Rachel and Beth's well-being were first and foremost in her mind.

Rachel banged her head back against the wall and let out a small whimper. How could she have done this again? It wasn't supposed to be this way. It was true that she couldn't remember what she had done to make her fathers walk out on her, but she would always remember what it was that made her mom walk away. Shelby didn't know what do with her and so she was walking away. This was a story Rachel knew all too well. She had screwed up so bad this time and her mother had jumped at the first chance to get away. She banged her head back again and started to cry. How long would Judy tolerate her this time before she made her leave? One thing was for sure; no matter how long that was, she wouldn't go without Beth.

**A/N – I hope you all liked this one. Please leave me a review if you can and let me know what you think. You guys are incredible. **


	63. Chapter 63

**A/N – I'm so sorry for the delay. I was gone for the weekend and have just been really busy. Life took over for a little while. But here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it. Thank you all so much for all of your reviews and for continuing to read all this time. I am truly amazed and touched. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Rachel woke up early Monday morning and reached out and shut her alarm off since it wasn't set to go off until a little over an hour from now. She hadn't slept well during the night; it seemed like it had taken her hours to find a comfortable position. She thought she remembered her mother coming in to check on her, but to be honest, she wasn't sure if it was real or a dream.

Rachel resisted falling back to sleep and got out of bed so she could get ready for school. She stood by the window and watched a light snow falling and started to mentally go through a list of what she would need to do when Shelby left. She was going to try and argue again that she could stay home with Beth and they didn't need to go to the Fabrays' because Rachel knew that she could take care of everything. She had to be able to take care of everything.

After showering and dressing for school, Rachel went down to the kitchen and yawned the whole time she was making her breakfast. She was really just going through the motions because she didn't feel very hungry at all. She only ate a couple bites of the vegan cereal and then she put it off to the side and it started to get soggy in the soy milk. After a few minutes of simply staring off into space, Rachel put her arm on the table and then rested her head down on her arm.

When she walked into the kitchen about fifteen minutes later, Shelby saw Rachel with her head down and her eyes were fluttering open and closed as the girl fought sleep. If Rachel knew she was there, she didn't acknowledge it as Shelby got Beth situated in her high chair and then pulled another seat close and sat down next to her eldest.

"Honey?" Shelby asked.

Rachel's eyes opened and took a second to focus on her mom.

"Are you ok?"

"My head hurts," Rachel answered. "But I'll be fine."

"Oh, honey," Shelby cooed sympathetically and she put her hand on the back of Rachel's head; the same spot the girl had hit against the wall the night before. "Is it your stitches?"

"Yeah," Rachel answered easily. The bruise the doctor promised would appear was on display around the cut.

"Are you feeling ok besides for that?" Shelby asked. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something just seemed off with Rachel.

"I'm fine," the girl answered.

"Did you take anything for your headache?" Shelby questioned.

Rachel shook her head and shut her eyes once more. Shelby leaned forward and kissed Rachel's head and moved some of her hair back off her shoulder.

"I'll get you some aspirin," Shelby said. "Sit up and try and finish your breakfast."

Rachel sat up straight when her mother left the room and looked over at Beth who turned her attention from the toy in her hand and smiled at her. Rachel returned the smile and reached out and took Beth's hand and the little girl happily held onto it.

"Are you hungry?" Rachel asked her sister and Beth most certainly was.

Rachel picked up her bowl of cereal and then fed a bite to Beth, leaving some milk on her chin. She took a bite herself before Beth demanded some more.

"Don't worry about anything, ok," Rachel said to her sister as she kept up the feeding routine; one bite for Beth and one for herself. "I can handle everything. I'll take care of it."

"Take care of what?" Shelby asked when she came back into the room. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of Rachel's apple juice.

"Cleaning up the milk she's dribbling down her chin," Rachel answered.

"Yeah, she seems to like to wear her food as much as she likes to eat it," Shelby said. She set a glass of juice and two pills on the table in front of Rachel. "Take these. And I meant for you to eat your own breakfast and not give half of it to your sister."

"She was hungry," Rachel said after swallowing the medicine. "She can have the rest of it if she wants. I have to get going to school."

"It's way too early to leave to go to school," Shelby said with a laugh. Rachel nodded. Oh yeah.

"It forgot," Rachel said. "I've been up for over an hour and a half."

"Rachel, it's only 6:15," Shelby said. "Why have you been up for over an hour and a half?"

Rachel shrugged and then stood up to put her now empty glass in the sink, leaving the cereal bowl so Beth could have the rest. Shelby watched as Rachel put a little bit of dish soap in the glass and started to wash it out. She thought back to a little after midnight when she had woken up to Beth whimpering in her sleep because she'd lost her pacifier. While she was up she'd decided to check on Rachel and had found the girl in a restless sleep. She had pulled the blankets up to Rachel's shoulders and tucked them around her. She sat on the bed for a few minutes and rubbed the girl's back in an effort to calm her down so she'd go into a deeper sleep. Rachel had settled after a few minutes and Shelby left her hoping her daughter would sleep soundly the rest of the night, but now she realized that hadn't been the case.

"If I get ready now though I can leave and get to school early," Rachel said after she placed the glass on a rack to dry and turned back to her mom. "It'll take a little longer to walk all the way there with the snow."

"Hon, you're not walking to school in this weather," Shelby said. "You haven't walked since it started getting really cold. I've taken you or Quinn has picked you up."

"I can handle it," Rachel said. "I'm used to it."

"Used to it?" Shelby asked. "Look at the snow out there, Rach. You're not walking in this weather."

"It's not like I've never walked to school in the snow before," Rachel told her.

"You haven't at all since it's been this cold," Shelby said. "What's going on? Is this about the car?"

"No. I just thought I could get there early and maybe talk over Regionals ideas with Mr. Schue or look over my notes again for my biology quiz this afternoon," Rachel said.

"If you want to go early, I can take you," Shelby told her. "But not this early."

"You don't have to," Rachel said. "It's my fault if I want to go early."

"Fault? Rachel, it's fine if you want to go in early," Shelby said. She got up and stood in front her daughter and pulled her in for a hug. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Of course," Rachel said. She held on tightly to Shelby and didn't want to let go, but knew that she had to. How could she say that she didn't want her mom to go out of town? It was her fault the woman was going in the first place. She had said that she had to attend the conference for work, but she'd also never mentioned it before yesterday. Had she just been waiting for a good time and had Rachel finally given her the reason she needed to step back and move on? "I guess I just didn't sleep very well."

"Are you sure, honey? Is there something wrong?" Shelby asked.

"I'm perfectly fine," Rachel said.

"You can skip glee today if you need to," Shelby told her. "Maybe come home and take a nap right after school."

"No, of course not," Rachel said. "I'll be fine. I'll just have some coffee or something. I'm going to go to the music room and watch TV until we're ready to go."

"You could read over the biology notes you were going to read over early at school," Shelby suggested.

"Oh right," Rachel said without looking back as she walked out of the room.

Shelby watched her go with a mixture of curiosity and worry before turning to look at Beth and saw that the girl was trying to sit up farther in her high chair so she could reach the cereal bowl Rachel left on the table.

"No you don't," Shelby said. She did not want Beth to dump what was left all over her. "You can have it, but I'm going to help."

Rachel came back down the stairs about fifteen minutes later and found Beth playing on the floor in the living room after having been set free after breakfast. She picked her little sister up and held her close even as Beth protested being taken away from her toys. Beth started to squirm and cry to be put back down, but Rachel just wanted to hug her.

"Beth, what's wrong, sweetie?" Shelby asked as she stepped out of the kitchen where she was washing the breakfast dishes to check on the crying girl. "Oh," she said when she saw Rachel holding Beth who was clearly growing increasingly agitated.

"I've got her," Rachel told her mom.

"She looks like she wants to get down," Shelby said.

"I was just giving her a hug," Rachel explained.

"She doesn't seem to be in a hug mood," Shelby said. "Put her down and let her play."

"But-"

"Rachel, don't stand there and make her cry," Shelby said.

Rachel reluctantly put Beth back on the floor and the girl crawled away to the center of the room, taking a few of her blocks with her.

"I was just talking with her," Rachel said.

"I'm sure she'll be up for it when you get home from school."

"Ok," Rachel said quietly.

Shelby took a step forward, intending to pull Rachel into a hug of her own since Beth wasn't game, but the girl took a step back.

"Mom, Beth and I don't need to stay with Judy and Quinn when you leave," Rachel said. "We can stay here and I can take care of her."

"What? Rachel, we talked about this," Shelby said. "You're not staying here by yourself with Beth."

"You don't think I could take care of her? I can. I can take care of myself and her."

"Rachel, you're not staying here by yourself," Shelby repeated. "I know you can take care of yourself and I know you would take care of your sister, but I don't want the two of you staying here alone. Is there a reason you don't want to go to Judy's? Did something happen between you and Quinn? Did you have a fight or something?"

"No," Rachel said. "But Beth is my sister and I should be the one to take care of her."

"I love that you feel that way, honey," Shelby said, "but apply that to me. I'm yours and Beth's mother and I have to be the one to take care of you both. I know that you will be taken care of at Judy's house."

"But I don't need-"

"Rachel, we're not going to argue about this," Shelby told her firmly. "Unless you can give me a good reason why you shouldn't, you are going to stay at the Fabray's and that is final. Is there a reason you don't want to go over there?" Shelby asked again.

"No," Rachel hung her head.

"OK then. Now that that's settled, do you want me to go over your notes with you before we leave?"

"No," Rachel mumbled as she headed for the stairs.

Shelby could not figure out why in the world Rachel would want to stay home alone after everything she had been through. And staying with a baby was a lot of hard work. She knew Rachel could handle Beth for short periods, but she'd never left them alone together for very long, much less overnight or for a few days. Beth was a handful and whether she wanted to admit it or not, so was Rachel. If Rachel had had a normal and stable upbringing, Shelby pondered on whether or not she would leave her sixteen-year-old home alone for a few days. Judy hadn't done it, but of course that had been two weeks. But that wasn't the case; Rachel had not had a normal and stable upbringing and she needed to have someone with her. There's no way Shelby would leave her home alone for a stretch of time.

Rachel had clammed up and Shelby suspected her recent punishment had a lot to do with it. Rachel was probably still angry and was using this as an opportunity to assert her independence and prove herself to be grown up after her childish actions and receiving a punishment usually reserved for someone younger. Not that Shelby didn't think she deserved the punishment she'd been given, but she could understand her daughter's attitude right now. She would the girl her space before school and hopefully they could talk about it later.

The first person to notice Rachel's stitches and bruise was Brittany when she and Santana approached the girl as she stood at her locker that morning when she got to school.

"What happened, Rachel?" Brittany asked.

"You didn't wreck that car already, did you?" Santana joked and laughed, but stopped abruptly when she saw the look on Rachel's face. "Oh my God, you did, didn't you?"

"No, of course not," Rachel said as she put on a more neutral expression.

"But weren't you supposed to get your license this weekend?" Santana asked.

"Hey," Quinn said when she walked up to them. "Oh my god, what happened to you?"

"I-"

"She wrecked her car," Santana said. "She got her license this weekend."

"You wrecked your car? Quinn said. "Are you ok? What did Shelby say?"

"I bet she was pissed," Santana said.

"I didn't wreck my car!" Rachel yelled above their talking and the girls fell silent. "I wasn't able to get my license this weekend because of the weather. I slipped and fell on the ice and hit my head. That's why I have stitches. I didn't think the cut was that bad but Shelby made me go to the hospital anyways and they put stitches in."

"Wow, are you ok?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel answered. "Just a little bump."

"My mom broke her foot four years ago when she slipped and fell on some ice," Brittany said. "I'm glad you didn't break anything, Rachel."

"Me too. I can't imagine having to deal with you in glee if you couldn't dance with us. You'd probably be even bossier than you are now," Santana teased. Her tone was light and she was grinning at her friend.

Rachel looked up at her warily and then turned away. She was looking at her closed locker when she said. "You're right. I know how difficult I am to be around. I'm sorry."

"I was kidding, Rachel," Santana said, using the rarely used first name. "I'm sorry."

"I know," Rachel said. "I have to get to class." She walked away without having looked at them again.

"Rachel, come on," Santana said. "I was teasing."

"What's up with her?" Brittany asked after Rachel had turned the corner in the hallway.

"I don't know," Quinn said. "But I'm going to go and talk to her."

"No, I'll go," Santana said. "I'm the one who made her feel bad." She started off down the hall, but was stopped when the bell rang signaling that they needed to get to class. "I'll find her later," she called back to her friends.

Rachel did not show up at lunch to eat with them and Santana got up half way through when it was clear that the girl wasn't going to make an appearance.

"I'll go and find her," she said.

"Try the auditorium," Quinn said remembering the time she found Rachel there when the girl was mad at her.

Santana made her way to the auditorium first and didn't see Rachel. She looked through the audience and backstage and the dressing rooms, but there was no sign of her. She then checked the choir room and it was empty as well. She looked in a few bathrooms and empty classrooms on her way back to the cafeteria and sighed in frustration when she didn't find anything.

"What did she say?" Quinn asked when Santana sat back down.

"I couldn't find her," Santana said to her friends. "I looked everywhere I could think of."

"Maybe she just wanted to eat alone," Brittany shrugged.

"But why?" Quinn asked. "And where?"

"Maybe she went home," Santana said. "Maybe she got sick or something. You could call her mom and ask her."

"No," Quinn said with a sigh. "I don't want to worry Shelby if Rachel just wants to be alone. I've got a class with her later and I'm sure she'll be in glee."

Later that afternoon Quinn found that Rachel was already there in their biology class when she arrived. She bypassed her own seat and went and sat next to her friend.

"Hey, we looked for you at lunch," Quinn said. "Where were you?"

"I didn't feel much like eating," Rachel said.

"You didn't have anything?" Quinn asked. "Are you sick?"

Rachel shook her head. "I forgot to bring a lunch. I went to the library. I wanted to get a head start on all of my work I have to do this week,"

"Aren't you hungry?" Quinn asked. She shot the kid who normally sat at that desk a look and he moved away.

"Yeah, I guess," Rachel said. "I can wait until I get home."

"If you say so," Quinn shrugged. "Santana tried to find you earlier. She wanted to apologize. She was just teasing, Rachel. She wouldn't hurt your feelings on purpose."

"Anymore," Rachel finished.

"Rachel, come on, it was a joke," Quinn said. "What's wrong today?"

Rachel sighed and shut her eyes for a moment and then looked at Quinn with a softer expression. "I know she was kidding. It's just- I had a bad weekend. And my mom is leaving."

"I know," Quinn said brightly. "I'm excited you and Beth are going to stay with us. My mom wants you to bring more old musicals she hasn't seen. And maybe we can have Santana and Brittany over for a sleepover on Friday night."

"That would be fun," Rachel said with a smile. What she wanted to say was that she felt she could stay home alone with her sister, but she knew that was a lost cause. And she didn't want to put a damper on her friend's excitement, but Rachel knew she had to protect herself. Her mom was leaving and eventually she would be alone again. Judy and Quinn were not going to look after her forever.

Had she gotten too close too fast? She had hated al the bullying and being picked on, but at the end of the day she'd been able to protect her own feelings because she'd been in control of who she let see the real her. The annoying exterior that every saw on her had protected her, but she had started to give up that control when Shelby started to mother her. She had let people in and had shown them her secrets and now it hurt worse than any of the slushies and names ever had.

"Yeah, my mom said we could go out on Wednesday or Thursday and get a bunch of junk food and stuff for the sleepover and-"

"Miss Fabray. Miss Berry. Do you mind if we start class now or do you have some other things to discuss first?" Mrs. Lewis, their biology, teacher, asked.

Rachel and Quinn quickly turned to the front of the room and each started to blush.

"Sorry," Quinn said.

"Me too," Rachel agreed.

"Good. Then let's begin."

As soon as Rachel and Quinn walked into the choir room for glee, Santana got to her feet and made her way towards them. She pulled Rachel with her out into the hall by her arm and shot a look Puck as he gave them a suggestive smile when he walked past.

"Rachel, about this morning," Santana started, "I was only teasing. I didn't mean to make you feel bad and I wasn't trying to put you down. I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Santana," Rachel said. "And I'm sorry for my reaction. I was not having the best of mornings and my weekend wasn't great and-"

"Say no more," Santana cut her off. "Just as long as you know that I like having you in glee and I consider you a friend."

Rachel put on her first genuine smile of the day and tears formed in her eyes.

"Ok, enough with the mushy crap," Santana said. "Get it together."

"Thank you, Santana," Rachel said. She stepped forward suddenly and pulled the other girl into a tight hug. "I needed that."

Santana rolled her eyes, but wrapped her arms around Rachel all the same. She glared at a passerby and silently dared him to say anything.

"Ok, ok," Santana said after a few moments and she worked to extract herself. "Can we go sing now?"

"Of course," Rachel beamed. She pulled Santana back into the room the same way the other girl had pulled her out.

Rachel's spirits had been lifted by the time glee was over. She spent the entire car ride home with Quinn listening to her friend ramble on about how nice it'll be to have Rachel staying with them. Maybe her mother leaving didn't mean all of her new friends would go away too. She would just have to work it all out like she had when her dads weren't there and no one ever knew. Santana's willingness to talk with her made Rachel think about talking with her mom about the trip.

Those thoughts were dashed when she went into the house and saw Shelby coming up from the basement carrying a basket full of clean laundry and had her phone pressed between her ear and her shoulder. She smiled at Rachel, but continued with her conversation as she walked up the stairs.

"Yes, I'm driving in tomorrow evening. I'm staying right there where the conference is. Yep, I know that restaurant. It'll be great to see you again. Yeah, I finally got in. The waiting list is crazy, but it's good to know I'll have a friend there."

Rachel had followed her up the stairs and to Shelby's bedroom and gaped at all of the clothes that were laid out on her bed. Beth was napping and it's a good thing she was safely tucked away in her crib because she might have been lost in all of the laundry that had taken over the room. There was a suitcase open on the ottoman and Rachel took a seat in the chair next to it.

"That was my friend Sarah," Shelby said to Rachel after she'd hung up the phone. "She used to teach at Carmel too." She stepped over and placed a couple pairs of pants in the suitcase and leaned down and kissed Rachel on her head. "Hi, baby. How was school?"

"Fine," Rachel said. "You're packing already?"

"I leave tomorrow," Shelby said. "And I've got a lot to get done. I don't just have to pack for me; I've got to pack for Beth and you as well."

"I can pack my own bag," Rachel told her.

"Oh, I know, honey. I just meant that I'm getting a lot of laundry done and just trying to make sure I have everything I need and everything you two need before I go," Shelby said.

"It's not like we wouldn't be able to come back over here and get something if we forgot it," Rachel said. "We'll probably come over here and hang out anyway. I'm sure Beth will miss her stuff and her bed."

"It's just a few days. She'll be just fine," Shelby said. "Besides, you know Judy is just going to dote on her."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed. "How come Nana or Grandpa didn't just come into town to stay with us?"

Shelby stopped folding the t-shirt she had in her hand and looked back at Rachel. "I didn't ask them. They had to work and I just thought you'd like spending the time at Quinn's house. Do you not want to go over there, Rachel? Tell me if something is wrong."

"It's nothing like that," Rachel said. "I guess I just assumed you would have asked one of them. My dads barely talked to their parents so I wasn't sure if calling a grandparent in this situation was what one did."

"Oh, if Judy wasn't available, I would have," Shelby told her. "I haven't even told them I'm going out of town yet. I suppose I should do that. But it's nice to have such good friends right here in town. And you've stayed there before so I didn't think you'd mind."

"I don't mind," Rachel said. "I just…"

"Just what?"

"Nothing," Rachel said.

"Rachel."

"I'll go start packing a bag," Rachel said as she got up from the chair. "Do you want me to just go home with Quinn tomorrow afternoon after school?"

"No, of course not," Shelby said. "I'll pick you up and I'll drop you off over there later."

"Ok," Rachel said as she disappeared from the room.

The car ride to the Fabray's the following evening was silent and awkward and, try as she might, Shelby could not engage Rachel in any type of conversation. It took two trips from the car to get everything the girls had brought inside, though to be fair, most of it was for Beth. Shelby took her time saying goodbye her infant daughter and Beth wore a smile as Quinn held her in her arms. Shelby then took Rachel's hand and had the girl walk with her out to the car.

"Be a good girl, ok?" Shelby said.

"I will," Rachel promised. This was the same thing she always told her dads when they left after instructing her to be good. How would they have known?

Shelby pulled Rachel close to her and the girl rested her head on her mother's shoulder and started to tear up though she was trying to stop herself. She wasn't supposed to cry over this. She needed it not to hurt this much, but knowing her mother was leaving because of her did hurt.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Rach," Shelby said.

"Me too," Rachel whispered out. More than Shelby could realize.

"But I'll be back on Saturday and we can spend all day Sunday together if you want," Shelby told her.

"You'll be busy," Rachel said knowingly. There would be bags to unpack and laundry to do and a nap to take because she would be so tired. Rachel had been through all of this before. She'd promise to tell her about her trip later and then forget. Or she'd say she wanted to hear about glee practice when she wasn't really interested. Or they'd put on a movie and she'd get up twenty minutes into it to talk to some people who had been at the conference with her; people she's reconnected with and wanted to see again. She'd be busy making plans when she didn't think Rachel was listening from the couch because she was ignoring the movie now too.

"Not too busy for you," Shelby said. "Or we can be busy together."

Rachel could only nod. If she said so.

"You're supposed to get your stitches out on Sunday anyway so we're already getting built-in time together," Shelby joked.

Rachel laughed half-heartedly and she felt Shelby rub her back.

"I love you, Rachel."

"I love you too, Mom."

"I'll call you when I get there tonight."

"Drive safely," Rachel said.

Shelby kissed her on top of the head and told Rachel she loved her one more time before getting in her car and instructing the girl to get back inside where it was warm. Rachel stood on the porch and watched her drive away.

Rachel stepped back in the house a couple minutes later with dry eyes and a soft smile, an almost perfect mask.

"Quinn took your bags up to the guest bedroom," Judy said, "and we were just taking Beth's stuff up to my room so we can set up the pack 'n play she'll sleep in."

"No," Rachel said quickly as she stepped forward to stop them from carrying the playpen turned temporary crib any farther.

"Excuse me?" Judy asked.

"I want Beth to stay with me in my room," Rachel said. "She gets scared in the middle of the night sometimes and she'll need me. She'll want me to hold her."

"Rachel, I can handle her," Judy said kindly.

"But she's my sister," Rachel said. "I need- she needs me. I promised to look after her."

Quinn and Judy exchanged a look as Rachel reached out and took Beth from Quinn. Beth rested her head on Rachel's shoulder and Rachel rubbed her back.

"Ok," Judy relented. "We'll put her in your room. I just don't want you up all night when you have to go to school the next day."

"I won't be," Rachel said.

That night Rachel had fed Beth and bathed her and then rocked her until she fell asleep. She had slept in the same room with Beth many times and had taken care of her before, but she never knew she could experience that level of worry until she felt like she was the one with sole responsibility for the little baby. What if something happened to her in the middle of the night? What if Beth needed her and she didn't hear her? What if she couldn't get her to stop crying? What if she wasn't the person Beth needed in that moment. Rachel got up to check on her three times before finally settling in to sleep, hours after she had gone to bed. She was in tune with every whimper and movement and though Beth never actually woke up Rachel continued to get out of bed and look in on her.

The nightmare that greeted her in sleep did not help her rest at all. She woke up once more with the blankets, including her quilt, kicked to the bottom of the bed, a tear-stained face, and a baby sister sleeping peacefully close by.

**A/N – I hope you enjoyed this one. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. Thanks!**


	64. Chapter 64

**A/N – I'm so sorry about the delay. I know I say that way too often and I apologize. Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews and for continuing to read this one. You guys amaze me. I do hope you like this one. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Judy was pulled from her sleep by the sound of a baby crying and she looked over at the clock to see that it was just before five in the morning. She shook the sleep off and got out of bed to investigate. It had been a long time since she'd been woken up by a crying infant in her house, but it wasn't a hard routine to fall back into. She had been the one to respond to every hungry cry, diaper change, and bad dream for her daughters because God knows Russell never got up during the night with them.

Judy stepped into her slippers and threw on a robe before going out into the hallway, only to be met by Rachel as the girl came out of the bathroom.

"Good morning!" Rachel said brightly even as Beth cried in the background.

"Morning," Judy said, confused. Rachel had already showered and was dressed and ready for school.

"I'm sorry Beth woke you up," Rachel said as the both made their way into the guest room. "I was just finishing up in the bathroom when I heard her crying. She's not normally up quite this early, but maybe she realized I wasn't there and got scared."

Judy watched as Rachel leaned down and picked the little girl up, cooing the whole time. Beth settled in Rachel's arms once she had her pacifier and blanket. She blinked sleepily a couple of times and then closed them as she rested her head against Rachel's shoulder.

"How long have you been up?" Judy asked.

"About an hour or so," Rachel shrugged. "I wanted to make sure I had enough time to get myself ready and get everything done for Beth this morning. I still need to get her breakfast and then changed and then to her sitter's house before I get to school."

"Rachel, slow down," Judy said with a laugh. "You've got plenty of time and you don't have to do everything by yourself."

"But she's my responsibility," Rachel said.

"But being responsible doesn't mean you have to do everything by yourself," Judy said. "And you don't need to worry about getting her to her sitter's. I took today off so I could watch Beth here so I could spend a little time with her."

"Oh," Rachel said as she dropped her eyes for a moment before brightening them and looking at Judy once more. "She'll love that. Are you doing that all week?"

"No, just today," Judy answered. "She's going back to Katie's tomorrow."

"Do you want me to stay home too?" Rachel asked. "So you can spend a little time with me too."

Judy laughed at Rachel's joke and pointed at her with mock sternness. "You, young lady, are going to school."

Rachel responded with a laugh that didn't meet her eyes.

"Nice try though," Judy said.

Rachel held back for a moment after Judy took Beth from her and said she would go and get breakfast started. She shut her eyes for a moment before standing up straighter and shaking off her tiredness. She needed to go feed Beth.

Rachel's happy demeanor and easy smile had returned by the time she made it to the kitchen and found Judy talking in funny voices to Beth. It was a cute scene and Beth was giggling which made Rachel happy. It was over an hour before Quinn joined them so she could grab a quick breakfast before going off to school. As usual, she had slept until the last possible moment and was scrambling through her morning so they could leave for school on time.

"The weather is supposed to be better this week," Quinn said in the car on their way to school. "It's too bad Shelby's gone because it would be a good time to go and get your license. Talk to my mom. Maybe she'll take you."

"No," Rachel said with a sigh. "I'll wait for my mom. I think she'd be upset if she missed out on it or something." It was an easy lie, but Rachel didn't feel like going into the whole story with Quinn. And after the tanning her backside had taken, there was no way she would ever risk Shelby finding out that she'd gotten her license early. Look at that; she was thinking about consequences.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Quinn said.

They stopped and got coffee from The Lima Bean on their way in though it was going to make them late. Quinn was surprised when Rachel didn't object to it and even more surprised when Rachel ordered the largest drink they had and added a shot of espresso.

"Tired?" Quinn asked once they were back in the car.

"No," Rachel said. "Just thirsty."

They went their separate ways once they reached the school and Rachel took the warning she received for being late in stride. It was a half-hearted reprimand anyways because the teacher liked her and Rachel was never late. The teacher wrote it off as a fluke or bad morning; which happened to everyone, though the large drink in her hand told a different story. But bad mornings needed lots of caffeine, right?

Rachel called Judy during the break between the first and second periods. She ducked into an empty bathroom so she could hear the conversation.

"Hello," Judy said.

"Judy, it's Rachel."

"Why aren't you in class?" was the motherly question that followed.

"We're in between classes," Rachel said. "I just wanted to check on Beth. How's she doing?"

"She's fine, Rachel," Judy told her. "She's playing. Everything's under control." Judy was amused at Rachel's behavior and found it endearing how she was convinced she had to do everything for Beth. She was acting like a brand new mother who was leaving her newborn alone for the first time.

"But I forgot to tell you about her blocks this morning," Rachel said. "They're her favorite right now and she'll want to play with them. She's even held onto one during her naps a few times recently. And she likes to try and crawl up the stairs so you have to be careful. I'm so worried she's going to fall."

"Rachel, honey," Judy cut her off, "we're fine. Trust me, ok? Beth is fine and is in fact playing with her blocks right now. You need to stop worrying and get to class."

"But-"

"Rachel," Judy said firmly. "I just heard the bell in the background and you're going to be late. Now go."

"Bye," Rachel muttered as she hung up the phone and stuffed it back in her book bag and exited the bathroom so she could go to class.

By the middle of her third class Rachel was having trouble keeping her eyes open. She hated being this tired and it wasn't a state she was used to. Her sleep had been limited the night before and she hadn't slept well the previous evening either. She just had too much on her mind. Of course, the math teacher wasn't helping either. She didn't know how much longer she could listen to him droning on. She'd mentally checked out of this class the moment it had begun.

Instead she was thinking about her mother. Shelby had sent her a few text messages and Rachel hadn't responded to any in between classes. They were just to say hello, but Rachel wrote it off. Now was the time to detach herself. She had to do it while her mother was gone. It would get easier from here on out.

She had called Judy again after her second class to check on Beth and the woman assured her that everything was fine. It's not that Rachel didn't trust Judy; she did explicably, it's just that she wanted Beth to know she was there for her and calling to check on her was the best thing she could do right now. Judy had entertained her query but had sent her back to class a little more forcefully than last time. Rachel's dropping head and sudden wake up brought her from her thoughts and she once again tried to focus on what was in front of her. She looked down at the new paper on her desk. A quiz. Oh great.

Judy rolled her eyes when the phone rang again and prepared herself to tell Rachel once again that everything was fine, but smiled when she saw Shelby's name appear on her screen and not Rachel's.

"Hey, Shelby," Judy greeted her.

"Hi," Shelby said. "I was just calling to see how my little girl was doing?"

Judy laughed and shook her head. "One of them is a perfect angel and in fact napping as we speak."

"Uh-oh," Shelby sighed. "And the other?"

"The other has called twice already this morning to check on her sister," Judy told her. "She's taken protective to a whole new level."

"She's been calling you during class?" Shelby asked.

"No, she's been in between classes though I'm pretty sure she's been late to each of them because she's been on the phone with me," Judy said.

"I've texted her twice, but she hasn't responded," Shelby said. "I thought maybe she forgot her phone this morning."

"She definitely has it," Judy said. "Though if this keeps up I'm going to take it and not let her take it to school tomorrow. I don't mind her calling and checking up on Beth, but I'm pretty certain that she's not paying that much attention to her day. I don't want her to be distracted during her classes. If that's ok with you."

"Of course," Shelby said. "I don't want her distracted either. If you have any problems let me know and I'll talk with her."

"Will do. But hopefully I can handle one moody teenager," Judy said with a laugh. "Lord knows you dealt with more when Quinn was with you."

Shelby shared the laugh and shook her head at her daughter's behavior. "She's been weird the last couple of days."

"Teenage girls have the worst mood swings sometimes," Judy said.

"Yeah…" Shelby trailed off because she didn't quite believe this was a simple Rachel moody moment. It just wasn't adding up. "Oh, and Judy, don't forget about her appointment with Dr. Woodward tomorrow afternoon."

"I won't," Judy said. "I've got it written down. I'll remind her again tonight."

"Thanks. I'll call back later this evening so I can talk with Rachel," Shelby told her.

"Sounds good. Bye."

By the time glee practice rolled around Rachel was bright and attentive because they were discussing the topic of Regionals. They'd finished singing a while ago and instead of writing a new assignment on the board, Mr. Schue brought up the topic of Regionals and the room started buzzing as people started to talk about it. Rachel had had two more coffees and even downed a Mountain Dew though she felt sick at the sugary substance, but in a few gulps it was gone and doing the trick for a little while. She hadn't eaten much lunch and her friends kept stealing her food as a result in good natured teasing since she wasn't going to eat it. But the drinks were keeping her going. There were more text messages from Shelby, this time asking if she was ok and saying that she wanted to talk to her. Rachel let them pile up with the others and focused on working with her team to form a plan for their upcoming competition.

"Your ideas were so great last time that I think we should hold a brainstorming session to see what we can come up with," Mr. Schue said over the din in the room as he tried to get the kids to quiet down and listen to him. "So get your thinking caps on and start coming up with ideas. You have the rest of this week and the weekend and when we get together Monday afternoon we'll go over everyone's ideas and start to formulate a plan."

"Are we going to ask Coach Corcoran to help us again?" Finn asked. "Not that you don't know what you're doing, Mr. Schue, but she was pretty helpful last time. You both were. She only worked with what you had."

"Finn," Mr. Schue thankfully cut off his rambling. "I understand. And yes, I was thinking about asking Coach Corcoran for help again. She's a great asset to have on our team. What do you think, Rachel? Would your mom be willing to come in and offer her expertise again?" His tone was playful and he smiled at her because everyone knew that the answer should be yes. Rachel clearly adored Shelby and never missed an opportunity to show her mother off.

All eyes turned to Rachel when she hesitated and didn't answer right away. She looked to the ground with sorrowful eyes and tapped her toe lightly a couple of times. The quiet in the room seemed to envelope her as she tried to think of a way to tell them. This was the first time it was occurring to her that this would impact the team too. She'd taken it for granted that Shelby would be there to help them whenever they asked. But now she'd ruined it for all of them.

"Rach?" Quinn asked.

Rachel pulled her head up and tried to put on her best show face, but she could swear she could feel it faltering and that the room could see her weariness shining through.

"I don't know," Rachel finally said. "She's really busy right now and I don't know if she'll have time for it or if she'll even be here. I'm sorry."

"Where is she going?" Quinn asked. This was news to her because she felt she would know about it by now if Shelby was going to be out of time for a while. Wouldn't Rachel being staying with her? As far as Quinn knew, the woman was supposed to be back on Saturday and they were still in the planning stages of Regionals. Of course she would be here. Sometimes Rachel just didn't make any sense.

Rachel didn't get a chance to answer because Mr. Schue spoke up to fill the surprised silence the rest of the team was experiencing.

"Well, we'll just have to ask her," he said. "We'll take as much help as she's willing to give." It was a diplomatic solution that everyone was willing to accept right now. "Ok guys, that's it for today. Everyone drive home safely and I'll see you back here tomorrow."

Santana and Brittany sidled up to them after Mr. Schue's dismissal and waited for Rachel to put her notebook back in her bag.

"My mom said it's ok if I sleep over at your house this Friday," Brittany said.

"Mine too," Santana added. She wouldn't admit to many people that she asked permission for such things. She liked people to believe that she did whatever she wanted because she was Santana Lopez.

"Awesome," Quinn said.

"There won't be a party this time will there?" Rachel asked.

"With my mom there? Are you crazy?" Quinn asked. "Which reminds me, guys; my mom doesn't know anything about the last little party at my house and I'd like to keep it that way."

Santana gave her a dismissive wave and led the way out of the room. "Don't worry, Quinnie," she mocked lightly. "Your secret is safe with us."

Quinn tried to slap at her over the use of her mother's nickname for her, but Santana was able to dodge out of the way.

"What secret?" Brittany asked.

The other three stopped and looked at her and Quinn shot a pleading look at Santana.

"I'll explain it to her," the Latina said. "See you guys tomorrow."

The girls went their separate ways when they reached the parking lot and Quinn let the car run for a few minutes to warm it up once they got in it. Rachel pulled out her phone and turned the alerts back on that she kept silenced during the day and saw that she had another message. She rested the phone on her lap as Quinn checked her own phone before pulling away from the school.

"My mom wants us to think about what we want to do for dinner," Quinn said.

"I don't care," Rachel shrugged.

"Me either," Quinn said, "but that's now what she's going to want to hear."

"So pick something."

"You're the guest," Quinn reminded her.

"Right," Rachel said. She was the guest. But for how long? Is this how Quinn had felt when she stayed at her house? Rachel thought they had treated her like family and not a guest, but maybe she had been wrong. A guest was temporary and she knew that she'd only be in that house temporarily. They weren't going to look after her forever. At least Beth was technically family to them. And Quinn to Shelby because of Beth, but it didn't work both ways for Rachel. "We can have whatever."

Quinn turned to look at Rachel for a second before turning her eyes back to the road. "Why are you so glum today?"

"I'm not," Rachel said.

"Yes you are," Quinn countered. "Why have you been calling my mom all day? She wants to know if you're ok."

"I've been checking on Beth," Rachel said. "I'm looking out for her."

"What do you think is going to happen to her?"

"Nothing," Rachel said. "I just worry about her. She's my little sister."

"Well she's my mom's-" Quinn stopped herself and glanced at Rachel who had her head down as if waiting for Quinn to continue with what she had to say.

"My mom knows how to look after babies," Quinn finally said. "She just wanted to get to spend some time with her."

"I know that," Rachel said. "And she did. I only called a few times. I'm not trying to take anything away from your mom. I'm glad for Beth. She gets to have so many people who love her just for being who she is. She's perfect."

"Rachel, are you-"

The question was cut short when Rachel's phone started to ring and the sounds of "The Wizard and I" filled the car. Rachel had understood Elphaba's longing and excitement in that song when she had selected it to be the song that played whenever her mother called. Rachel made no move to answer the call and Quinn glanced over at the phone and saw a picture of Shelby and the word 'Mom' on the screen and then up at Rachel, wondering why she wasn't picking it up. Rachel was acting as if she couldn't even hear it. The song eventually stopped and Quinn glanced at her again.

"Why didn't you answer it?"

"It was my mom."

"I know." There was a chime that indicated Rachel had a new voice mail and Quinn again waited for her to react. Nothing. "Don't you want to talk to her?"

"I'll call her later," Rachel lied easily.

"Do you need to talk to her when I'm not around?" Quinn asked.

"No," Rachel said. "We're almost to your house. I don't want to go in while on the phone. It would be rude."

Quinn gave her another strange look, but just shook her head and turned back to the road. Sometime Rachel just didn't make any sense.

The girls found Beth and Judy in the kitchen when they entered the house. Judy had the baby in one arm and was stirring at a pot with the other. Beth smiled when she saw Rachel and reached her arms out to her and Rachel gladly accepted and took the little girl from Judy. Rachel kissed her cheek a few times and Beth gave her a hug.

"Thanks for watching her today," Rachel said.

"It was my pleasure," Judy said. "We had a fun day. How did your days go?"

"Fine," Rachel answered and Quinn nodded her head in agreement as she happily munched on some chips.

"Put those away," Judy chided. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"How soon is soon?" Quinn asked.

"About an hour or so," was the answer.

"That's not soon, Mom," Quinn said. "I could starve in that time."

"And she calls you the overly dramatic one," Judy said to Rachel.

Rachel laughed and sat down on a stool at the island with Beth. When Judy turned back to the stove, Rachel reached for an apple that was in the fruit bowl and Quinn laughed as she ate some more chips.

"Quinn, I said no more. Rachel!" Judy said when she turned back around and saw the girl about to bite the red fruit. Judy took the apple away and then held out her hand indicating she wanted Quinn to hand the bag over. Quinn put another bite in her mouth and then quickly handed the bag over when her mother started to advance on her.

"But it's an hour, Mom," Quinn whined.

"You'll live," Judy told her as she rolled up the bag of chips. "How about you go and get your homework done so that you don't have to worry about it after dinner."

Quinn mumbled something and shook her head and plopped down next to Rachel.

"Rachel, your mom asked me to remind you about your appointment with Dr. Woodward tomorrow," Judy said.

"I know," Rachel said. "Every Thursday afternoon after glee."

"Yep, I'll drive you over there. We can all go out to dinner afterwards," Judy said.

"Sounds good to me," Quinn said and Rachel nodded.

"Beth didn't nap too late today, did she?" Rachel asked.

"No. Why?" Judy asked.

"If she sleeps too late in the day sometimes it can be harder to get her to fall asleep at night," Rachel said. "I want her to get a good night's sleep."

"Rachel, she was fine," Judy said. "She will be fine tonight. You did not need to check up on her every hour today."

"It wasn't every hour," Rachel said.

"And how many classes were you late today?" Judy asked.

Rachel did not say, 'all of them.' She didn't have to.

"That's what I thought," Judy said. "She's going back to her regular babysitter tomorrow and you are going to promise me that you won't bother her all day by calling all the time. Otherwise you are going to leave your phone here while you're at school."

"I wasn't trying to bother you," Rachel said, getting worked up. Who was she to say how many times she could call and check on her sister? "But I have to make sure that Beth is doing ok."

"And when I told you she was fine, that should have been the end of it," Judy scolded.

"Whatever," Rachel muttered as she averted her eyes angrily.

Judy's eyes went wide and she put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me?"

Rachel was saved by the bell because Judy's phone started to ring and the woman turned away from her young charge. Quinn sat in silence off to the side and looked at Rachel like she was crazy. Where did the attitude come from and why? She'd lived in her house for two weeks and Quinn had never seen Rachel this concerned or worked up over Beth. Then again, Shelby had always been there.

"Hello, Shelby," Judy said pointedly while looking at Rachel. "Yeah, they're home."

Rachel held Beth close to her as she got up from the stool and turned to leave the room.

"Rachel, your mother would like to talk to you," Judy said, stopping her.

Rachel turned back around and looked at Judy to see that the woman was holding he phone out to her with a quirked eyebrow and a hint of satisfaction.

"Tell her that I need to change Beth and do my homework," Rachel said. "I'll call her later or something." She quickly made her way out of the room leaving a stunned Judy and Quinn.

"She didn't take the phone," Judy said when she put it back to her ear. "She said she had to change Beth and do homework."

Judy turned away from Quinn as she listened to Shelby speaking and the girl took the opportunity to put one of the chips she was hiding in her hand in her mouth. Judy spun back around and Quinn snapped her hands back into place in her lap, but she knew that she'd been caught. She tried to smile innocently as Judy started to slowly make her way towards her daughter like a lion hunting a lamb.

"Would you hold on a second, Shelby?" Judy said and waited for confirmation before lowering the phone to her side.

When she reached Quinn's side, Judy stood her up from the stool and pointed to the island counter top and Quinn reluctantly put the remaining chips down and brushed her hands free from crumbs. Judy leaned forward and kissed her daughter's cheek and said, "Go do your homework."

Quinn turned rolled her eyes but smiled as she turned to slowly walk out, hoping she could at least hear a bit of the conversation that was about to take place. Judy helped her quicken her pace by landing a smart swat to her daughter's backside which did the trick and Judy watched her retreat to the stairs.

"Ok, I'm back," Judy said.

"Are you sure she said she'd call me back?" Shelby asked.

"That's what she said," Judy told her. "I don't think she'd had the best of days to be honest with you."

"Why is that?" Shelby asked.

Judy relayed the scene that had played out just before Shelby called and the brunette shook her head on the other side of the line.

"I'm sorry, Judy," Shelby said. "I thought maybe she wouldn't act this way while she was at your house."

"I have to admit, I was surprised," Judy said. "Why is she acting this way?"

"She got into some trouble over the weekend," Shelby started.

"What did she do?" Judy asked. She picked up one of Quinn's chips and took a bite.

Judy listened intently as Shelby filled in her on everything to do with the car and Rachel's stitches her punishment and the way the girl had been acting since.

"She's acting out," Shelby said.

"Sure sounds like it," Judy said. The chips were gone and she grabbed a paper towel to wipe up the crumbs that had been left on the counter and said, "I'll take her the phone right now and tell her she has to talk to you if you want."

"No," Shelby sighed. "I don't want to disturb her if she really is doing homework. I'll call back in a few hours."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. But Judy, listen. Don't let her get away with giving you an attitude or misbehaving," Shelby said. "Her feeling angry is not an excuse to be disrespectful."

"I'll keep her in check," Judy said. "I'll try and talk to her though."

"I'd appreciate it," Shelby said.

Rachel had stayed quiet all through dinner and had tried to disappear to her room afterwards. Shelby called again like she said she would and Judy had to relay that she hadn't had the chance to speak with the girl yet. Shelby told her she had texted Rachel a few more times, but hadn't heard any response. Judy made her way up the stairs to find Rachel and heard her in the bathroom with Beth. She was giving the little girl a bath and the pair was laughing as Beth splashed and played and Rachel tried to avoid the water ending up all over her.

"Rachel, your mom's on the phone," Judy said when she stepped into the room.

"I'm busy," Rachel said as she looked over her shoulder at the woman, the playful gone from her now. "I'll talk to her later."

"She's giving Beth a bath," Judy said into the phone. I'll take over for her- Ok. I'll have her call you before she goes to bed. Bye."

"Rachel, why won't you talk to your mother?" Judy asked after she'd hung up the phone.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked lightly.

"You're avoiding her."

"No, I'm not. I'm giving Beth a bath. I can't talk and do this."

"Rachel."

"There we go," Rachel said to Beth as she lifted the infant out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel. "Let's get you dried off and into some warm pajamas and into bed."

Judy stepped out of the way and sighed as Rachel walked past. She let her go without trying to stop her and looked to Quinn who had been watching the scene from her own doorway. The younger blonde just shrugged before their attention went to the guest room door as it closed.

It was an hour and a half before Judy tried to talk to Rachel again. She knocked lightly and then stepped into the room as Rachel turned from where she had been looking at Beth sleep and moved towards the bed and sat down.

"Rachel, are you ok?" Judy asked in a hushed voice so as not to wake the baby.

"I'm fine," Rachel answered automatically.

"You know that I'm here to help you, right? And to take care of you and Beth."

"I'm fine," the girl said again. "I can take care of myself. And I can take care of Beth."

"I know you can," Judy assured her. "But you don't need to act this way. Punishments happen and you learn from them and move on."

"What?" Rachel asked, finally looking up at Judy.

Judy smiled sympathetically as she reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Rachel's ear. "Your mom told me what happened with the car and you hit your head."

"Oh." Rachel was dejected and she hung her head.

"Hey, she wasn't trying to embarrass you," Judy told her. "She's worried about you."

"Why would she be?"

"Rachel, you know better than that. She doesn't want you to be acting this way."

"I know," Rachel said. "And I'm sorry you see me that way too."

"What way?"

"As a troublemaker," Rachel answered. "I'm not trying to cause any problems; I just want to take care of my sister. I promised Beth and I promised myself that I would protect her. I'll be better though," Rachel said. "I don't want us to lose another place to go. I don't know how long we can stay here, but I'll be better."

"You're staying until Saturday," Judy said. "You know that. And you know that I don't think you're a troublemaker, but I also know that you don't need to act this way. You need to talk to your mother the next time she calls."

Rachel nodded and bit her bottom lip as she looked away and back over at Beth and smiled sadly at her sleeping sister. Nobody understood the way she was feeling and Beth was the only one who was letting her be herself. Her heart ached for the little girl because her actions had not only caused Shelby to leave her, but Beth as well. She had done that to her sister and she had to be the one to make it right for her. She would be there for Beth no matter what.

"I'll call her before I go to sleep," Rachel said after a moment.

"Good girl," Judy said. She cupped a hand to Rachel's face and kissed her head goodnight before standing up to leave.

"Judy?" Rachel said as she stood up too. "Can I have a hug goodnight?"

"Of course," Judy said.

Rachel stepped over to her outstretched arms and Judy pulled her close. The girl held onto her tightly and Judy rubbed her back for a few seconds.

"All better?" Judy asked when she stepped back.

Rachel nodded and then said a quiet, "thank you."

"Anytime, sweetheart. Goodnight."

Rachel waited until Judy closed the door behind her before taking out her phone and turning off the ringer and alerts. She plugged it in so it would charge and set it on the bedside table. She crawled into the bed and pulled the blankets close and hoped that she'd get some sleep. She had been so exhausted all day. But sleep did not come right away as her mind lingered on the fact that Judy now knew why Shelby had left. When she did finally sleep it was littered with bad dreams and period of waking up for long stretches. Beth didn't make a sound all night, but Rachel got up to check on her numerous times all the same.

Rachel was up early again the next the morning, but dressed in an uncharacteristic pair of pants and warm boots. Judy drove Beth to the babysitter's house not long after the girls left for school. They separated for their classes when they got there said they'd see each other at lunch.

Later that morning Rachel showed up on Beth's babysitter's porch out of breath and sweating despite the cold after the walk from McKinley through the snow and ice.

"Rachel?" Katie said when she answered the door. "What are you doing here?"

"My mom is coming home early," she said with a bright smile. "Judy picked me up early so I could get Beth and take her back so we can surprise Mom. And since it's not as cold as it has been, which isn't saying much, I know," Rachel laughed, "I thought a walk would be nice."

"Oh, that's very sweet," Katie said. "Come inside and we'll get Beth bundled up and then you two can be on your way."

"Thanks!" Rachel said as she followed the woman into the house.

"Where is Rachel today?" Santana asked in an annoyed tone as they sat around the lunch table.

"I don't know," Quinn said. "She told me she would be here when we got here this morning. She's been in a mood this week. I'm sure she's around. I'll look for her when I'm done eating."

It was mid-afternoon when Shelby finally got a break in the conference and stepped out of the room to find a restroom and check her phone. There was a missed call and she hurriedly looked at the caller ID hoping that she would see Rachel's name and instead saw a number she didn't recognize. She listened to the voicemail and her eyes widened and she listened to a standard message asking her if she was aware that her child wasn't in school that day and if so she needed to call in and tell them why so it would be excused. She quickly exited the restroom and called Judy's number only to be met with her voicemail.

Judy answered her phone when she saw that it was Katie who was calling her.

"What do you mean?" Judy asked. "When did she pick her up?"

Quinn looked in all of Rachel's usual spots and grew more and more frustrated when she couldn't find her friend. She was going to tell her friend to stop disappearing on them like that because she didn't want to spend half of her lunch break trying to track her down. She stood in the empty choir room and looked around.

Shelby called Rachel's number once more and left another message on the voicemail before hanging up and sending another text message.

Judy left work and headed for her car, leaving a message for Rachel to answer her phone as she walked.

Quinn sent out another text from her phone as Shelby was trying to call her and Judy was trying to call Shelby. All three of them wanted the answer to the same question.

Where was Rachel?

**A/N – Again, I'm very sorry about the delay. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. **


	65. Chapter 65

**A/N – Ok, I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I'm sorry for the delay. These last couple of weeks have been… I don't even want to talk about how bad these last two weeks have been. **

**Thank you all so much for all of the reviews and lovely messages I received. And for continuing to read. It means so much to me to have your kindness and encouragement. Thank you. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Shelby was the last person to return from the break at the conference and she apologized when she entered the room and took her seat. She had sent a text message to Judy asking if she knew that Rachel wasn't at school. Shelby asked if the girl was sick and had been kept home from school for the day. She wanted to know if Rachel was sleeping and if that was why she wasn't answering her phone or her texts. Shelby then silenced her phone, but left it in her lap so she could see it when she got a reply.

"Everything ok?" Shelby's friend Sarah said to her when the woman sat down.

"Yeah, just something to do with my daughter," Shelby said with a smile. "You know how it is."

"Yes I do," Sarah laughed.

Shelby kept her pleasant smile in place and turned back to the guest speaker, but her mind was far from the conference room she was in. She hoped Rachel wasn't sick again, but if she was she certainly hoped the girl was a better patient for Judy than she had been for her. But if Rachel was sick, Judy should have told the school so they wouldn't think Rachel was skipping. Was Beth sick too? The little girl could be a bear when she wasn't feeling well. Maybe they were at the hospital and that's why no one was answering their phones. Why hadn't Judy called to tell her?

Shelby glanced down at her phone, but she hadn't received a reply yet. Her leg bounced with nervous energy as she tried to turn her attention back to what was happening in the room. She trusted that Judy have everything under control. Shelby checked her phone again in a couple of minutes.

Judy sat in her car and turned it on to warm it up and her phone buzzed to alert her that she had a text message. A series of text messages was more like it and she quickly picked up to look it at thinking that it might be Rachel. It wasn't of course, but rather the girl's mother wanting to know why her daughter wasn't in school. Judy deduced that the school had called Shelby and she wanted to know where Rachel was. Judy made the decision not to respond right away in hopes that she could locate Rachel and Beth before Shelby even had to know that the little one was missing too. Judy knew that it would be easier to Shelby about all of this when both girls were back at her house.

Judy tried Rachel's phone number once more and wasn't really surprised when the voice mail picked up. She left another message and then put her phone down so she could drive.

Judy's first stop was her house. As she pulled into the driveway she hoped it was as simple as Rachel having taken Beth there. She couldn't figure out why the girl had picked up her little sister in the first place, but the whys were not as important as the where right now.

"Rachel," Judy called out as soon as she opened the door. "Rachel, are you here?"

The kitchen and the living room were empty and Judy made her way upstairs calling Rachel's name as she did. She checked in every bedroom and bathroom and even opened some closest doors and still didn't find anything. She spent some time in the guest room looking around to see if anything was out of the ordinary. Perhaps Rachel had taken something or left a clue about where she would go. Nothing was different and it didn't look like Rachel had been back there since she left for school that morning.

Judy made her way back downstairs and dialed the house phone at Shelby's and listened to the ringing until the answering machine kicked in. She sat down at the island in her kitchen and tried to figure out where to look next. Even though the phone had not been answered, she would obviously go and look at Shelby's house. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearing four and glee practice would be starting soon. Maybe Rachel was taking Beth to school to see everyone during the rehearsal. Though the thought of Rachel walking that far in the cold with the baby was enough to make Judy pretty angry.

The next thought that occurred to Judy was to try and contact Rachel's fathers and see if the girl had gone back to her old house. That was a step for later though and she wouldn't contact them until she had talked to Shelby.

Judy hit the late afternoon traffic, if it could be called that in Lima, on her way to Shelby's house. Rachel's new car was in the driveway, but Judy didn't ever expect that it would be gone. Shelby had told her the night before that she had the keys with her.

Judy turned off her car and started to look for the key to the house when she remembered she didn't have it yet. Quinn still had it on her key ring from when she had stayed over there and was going to give it to Judy to hold onto, but they'd never gotten around to it.

"Damn it," Judy muttered as she got out of the car.

She rang the doorbell a couple times and knocked for a few minutes, but no one ever came to the door. Judy tried to peek in the windows, but the downstairs looked dark and she couldn't see any signs of Rachel or Beth. With a sigh she turned back to her car.

Quinn was watching the door closely as kids started filing into the choir room for glee rehearsal. The longer she went without seeing Rachel the more frustrated she was becoming.

"You still haven't found her?" Santana asked when she plopped down in the chair next to her friend.

"No," Quinn sighed. "If she was going to skip she at least could have told me so I could have skipped too."

"Yeah, no kidding," Santana said. "I could use a day off too."

Both girls laughed but each looked to the door in hopes that Rachel would be the next one to walk in. They looked back at each other in annoyance when it was Finn.

"Did you call your mom to see if she went back to your house?" Santana asked.

"No. I didn't want to give her away if she did skip," Quinn sad. "And I just assumed that she would at least show back up for glee."

Their attention was drawn to Quinn's phone when it alerted that she had a text message. "It's from my mom. Can you meet me in the parking lot real quick?" she read it to her friend. "So much for her not knowing. I'll be right back."

Quinn showed Mr. Schue the message on her phone and he excused her for a few minutes. It didn't take long to spot Judy when she stepped outside because the woman was standing next to her car waving at Quinn.

"What's up, Mom?" Quinn asked when she reached her.

"When's the last time you saw Rachel today?" Judy asked.

"This morning," Quinn told her. "I looked for her when she didn't show up at lunch. And she wasn't in biology and she hasn't shown up to glee."

"Do you know where she might have gone?"

Quinn shrugged. "Her house? The mall? There's a music store she likes. It would have been nice of her to let me know she was skipping," Quinn huffed and Judy shot her a look.

"And I'm going to assume that you haven't heard from her in that time," Judy said.

"Not a word," Quinn confirmed. "I've been trying to reach her to find out where she is."

Judy sighed and rubbed a hand across her forehead.

"What aren't you saying?" Quinn asked, suddenly a lot more concerned.

"I got a call from Katie a little while ago," Judy said. "She wanted to make sure Rachel and Beth made it home ok."

"What does that mean?" Quinn asked.

"Rachel went there this morning and told Katie that Shelby was coming home early and we were all going to surprise her so she was getting Beth. They were going to walk home."

"She picked up Beth this morning?"

"Yes, and now I can't find either of them," Judy concluded.

"What? Oh my god! Mom, we have to find them," Quinn said.

"I know," Judy nodded.

"What did Shelby say?"

"She doesn't really know yet," Judy said. "The school must have called her because she knows Rachel's not there. She sent me a message asking if Rachel was sick."

"What did you tell her?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing yet," Judy said. "I was hoping to find them so that when I do tell her I would already know where the children she left in my care are."

"She's going to freak," Quinn said knowingly.

"I know."

"Did you check her house?" Quinn questioned.

"Yes, but you still have the key so I couldn't get in. I knocked but no one answered."

"Maybe she went to her appointment early," Quinn offered looking at her watch. "Her therapy appointment is in an hour."

"Maybe," Judy said. "But that's an awfully long walk across town in the cold."

"Yeah," Quinn agreed.

"But I'll call over there now. Get in the car and we'll go looking."

"I need to run inside and get my bag," Quinn said. "My keys and stuff are in the choir room. And I have to tell Mr. Schue I'm leaving," Quinn said.

Judy nodded and got back in her car to wait for Quinn to get back. She pulled out her phone and sent off another quick message, "Rachel, if you don't call me back…"

Judy next found the number for Rachel's doctor and dialed her phone. She was able to confirm that Rachel had not been there yet. Dr. Woodward said she would call either way if Rachel showed up or not. The doctor was quite interested as Judy gave her a quick rundown of what was going on and said she hoped she would be able to speak with Rachel soon if she didn't show up today. She, however, did not want to keep Judy too long and was satisfied when she was promised that she would hear when Rachel and Beth were found.

Quinn hurried back to the choir room and Santana watched curiously as Quinn shared a quick word with Mr. Schue and he nodded.

"What's going on?" Santana asked when Quinn came over to the chair to grab her bag.

"I've got to go," Quinn said.

"What's wrong? Where is she?" Santana asked softly. "Is she ok?"

"We don't know where she is," Quinn whispered back. "I didn't tell M. Schue though; I just told him my mom said I needed to leave early today."

"I'll come with you and help you look," Santana started to get up.

"No," Quinn said. "I don't want everyone to know yet. Rachel would be so embarrassed. My mom told me this morning that she's been acting out or something so she's probably just angry and skipped school. I'll call you if it's more serious than that."

Quinn didn't know why Rachel had taken Beth was nowhere to be found, but she didn't want to put her friend out there like that. No one else really understood Rachel's insecurities and if this turned out to be more than Rachel 'acting out', though her mom hadn't told her what that was about, she didn't want the whole glee club passing judgment on her for taking off with Beth. They all thought Rachel's life was just perfect now that she was with Shelby and Rachel didn't need them all to know her worst fears.

"Let me know when you find her," Santana said.

"I will," Quinn promised.

The mother and daughter pulled up in front of the mall fifteen minutes later and they went their separate ways to look around. When they met up twenty minutes later, both were figuratively empty-handed. They next drove to the music store Quinn had alluded to earlier, but Rachel wasn't there either. And she also wasn't at the park she'd taken off to the last time she'd run out of the house because she was angry and upset.

Their next stop was back at their house to see if Rachel had finally gone back there, but they found it empty. It had been almost two hours since Judy had received Shelby's texts and she knew that now was the time to respond.

The longer she had to wait, the more impatient Shelby became. The conference was unable to keep her mind occupied and she just couldn't figure out why no one had gotten back to her. She was trying to tell herself that no news was good news because if Rachel was in need of any type of medical care they would have had to call her. Maybe Rachel and Quinn had just skipped and it was as simple as that. But, why then, hadn't Judy answered her texts?

Shelby got her answer a few minutes later when then screen on her phone lit up signaling that she had a text message. She brought it up and sat the message from Judy; 'Call me.' That was all Shelby needed and she got up and grabbed her purse and walked out, ignoring the annoyed looks she got from the speaker and other people around her. Shelby called Judy as soon as she reached the hallway.

"Hello," Judy answered the phone.

"What's going on?" Shelby asked.

"Shelby, I don't want you to freak out because I'm sure this whole thing will be resolved within a couple of hours."

"What's going on?" Shelby asked again, her voice more frantic.

"Rachel left school this morning," Judy said.

"I got a call from the school telling me she wasn't there," Shelby agreed. "She skipped, huh? You can tell her that she's grounded."

"Well, she did skip," Judy said, "but that's not the biggest issue right now."

"What do you mean?"

"After she left school she went and picked up Beth from Katie's," Judy told her.

"What? Why would she do that?" Shelby asked. "Where did she go?"

There was a pause and Shelby tried to listen harder as Judy were now whispering and she couldn't make it out.

"I don't know," Judy finally said. "That's the problem; I haven't been able to find them."

"What?" Shelby asked.

"I've been looking since Katie called about two hours ago to ask if Rachel and Beth had made it home ok," Judy explained.

"Why in the world would she go and get Beth?" Shelby asked. "Where have you looked? Are they out there in the cold?"

"We looked at the park and the mall and school and the music store and your house," Judy said. "I called Dr. Woodward to see if she went there early, but she hadn't seen her and said she would call if Rachel did show up there."

"She wasn't at my house?" Shelby asked.

"She didn't answer the door," Judy amended. "I didn't have the key on me because Quinn still had it, but I've got it now."

"I'm coming home," Shelby said. She took off at a quick pace down the hall so she could get back to the hotel.

"No, wait," Judy said. "The conference is important. I will them and bring them home. I'm sure they're perfectly fine; Rachel would never do anything to put Beth in danger, especially not with how overprotective she's been acting. She barely lets Beth out of her sight at the house. And she was telling me last night how sorry she was that I found out she'd gotten in trouble because she didn't want to lose another place for her and Beth to stay."

"She said that?" Shelby asked.

"Yes," Judy confirmed. "She said she was sorry that I would see her as a troublemaker now."

Shelby stopped walking and stood in silence for a second before responding. "She told you that?"

"Mm-hmm," Judy said. "She said she can take care of herself and Beth and when I told her you were worried about her she asked why would you be. She was worried about how long she would be able to stay with us, but I told her that she'd be there until Saturday when you go home. What did she say when she called you?"

"What?" Shelby asked her voice thick with emotion.

"She said she was going to call you before she went to sleep," Judy said. "She didn't call you, did she?"

"No," Shelby shook her head.

She knew what was wrong and it almost made Shelby sick to think it. Her mind flashed to Rachel coming home after a visit with Scott. She remembered standing in dismay and watching her daughter ramble to herself about having to remember what she had done wrong to make her fathers leave her. She wanted to know what kind of trouble she'd gotten into so that she wouldn't repeat it with her mom to ensure that her mom wouldn't walk out on her too. Shelby tried to tell her it wasn't true, but Rachel insisted she had gotten in trouble and that was why her fathers left.

She thought back on Rachel telling her she was sorry that Shelby would see her as a troublemaker. She thought about Rachel wanting to stay home with Beth and getting ready to walk to school in the snow because she was used to it and how it was her fault for even wanting to go in early.

Rachel thought Shelby was doing the same thing as her fathers. Shelby knew she worried about this and despite all of her reassurances; Rachel was convinced that this was the same thing. Shelby had thought about all of that before she even mentioned the conference to Rachel and she thought she had covered all of her bases. She wasn't leaving her. Rachel and Beth would not be alone. She promised to spend the entire weekend with her. This was nothing at all like what her dads did.

But had she really known that Rachel could tell the difference? She'd asked the girl multiple times if she was ok and if she was comfortable with her leaving and Rachel had always said yes. Shelby had noticed how downtrodden Rachel was. She knew there was something about the girl that was off. It had just been so easy to contribute that behavior to her recent punishment. But looking back on it Shelby could see how sad Rachel had been. She gave affirmative answers because that's what Shelby wanted to hear. Rachel felt she deserved this and that's why it was all her fault. She was going to take care of Beth and herself because she had gotten them into this situation.

Shelby started her quick pace down the hallway again. She wasn't angry at Rachel, not in the least. She was angry at herself and more importantly than that, she was determined. What the hell was she doing in Cleveland right now? She had to get home.

"I don't think she's been getting much sleep," Judy said, oblivious to the thoughts in Shelby's head. "She looks so worn out."

"I'm such an idiot," Shelby muttered.

"What?" Judy asked.

"She's at my house," Shelby said. "I'd put money on it. Judy, please go get them and bring them back to your house and make sure Rachel eats something and then try and get her to go to bed early."

"I'll go over there right now," Judy said. "I'll call you as soon as I know if they're there or not. I'm so sorry, Shelby."

"It's not your fault," Shelby said. "It's mine."

Judy instructed Quinn to stay at the house in case Rachel came back there and then headed for Shelby's house, this time with the keys in hand.

The sun had set and Rachel welcomed the end of the day and beginning of night. She was so tried and Beth was crying again. Their day had started out so well. The short walk from Katie's to Shelby's had been nice and Beth had napped not long after they got there. Rachel had thought about lying down herself in her own bed, but knew there was too much else to be done. She did a couple of loads of laundry and put away the clean dishes that had been left in the dishwasher. She vacuumed the house and dusted and washed all the windows she could reach. She wanted the house to be perfect when her mother got home. Maybe if everything was perfect…

She knew she shouldn't have skipped school that day, but there was just no time to do all of this otherwise. And she wanted Beth with her. She could take care of her. Her school bag had quickly been forgotten in her room when she noticed how tired Beth was when they got home. It didn't take much to get her down for a nap and Rachel's smile was satisfied.

But Beth had woken up cranky and cried until Rachel made her some lunch and was even more upset when she spilled it all over herself. Rachel lamented her clean floors and table and let Beth wail while she quickly cleaned them up so the food wouldn't dry and stick. She had turned the music up loud while she gave Beth a bath and the baby played for a while in the water only to show her complete dissatisfaction when Rachel got her out. She'd missed the doorbell and knocking as Beth cried louder than the music.

Her crying had been off and on since and nothing Rachel did seemed to help. She had to change Beth's outfit twice and apparently the girl hated the swing today and all of her blocks were at Judy's house.

Rachel's plan had been to leave to head back to Judy's and be home about the same time Quinn got home from glee. She was prepared to deal with any consequences because it had needed to be done. But Beth was still crying and Rachel just couldn't take her out into the cold like this. She thought about calling, but she hadn't had a minute to herself since her sister had woken up from her nap.

Rachel paced with Beth and sang to her and bounced her and tried to tell her stories, but nothing helped. She didn't think about the tooth the girl had coming in or the pain medication that Shelby had packed and left and the Fabray's. She hadn't thought about the fact that Beth's blanket wasn't there or that she didn't have her favorite book to look at.

What she had thought about was the fact that Beth just wanted her mom right now. Rachel understood that feeling. Maybe if she called, Beth could hear her voice. Where was her phone?

"Please, Beth," Rachel pleaded as she wandered into Shelby's room.

The bed looked so inviting. She wanted nothing more than to curl up and shut her; she was so tired.

"Would you like to lie down?" Rachel asked. "Please."

Rachel put Beth on the bed and laid her with her head on Shelby's pillow. Rachel propped her up on her side and held the baby so she wouldn't roll over completely. It seemed to help because Beth started to calm somewhat when she was able to smell a mixture of Shelby's shampoo and perfume. Rachel knew that smell and smiled at Beth as she rubbed her little back in the same way Shelby always did for her.

"Are you better now?"

"Rachel," Judy said from the doorway of the bedroom as she knocked lightly on the frame.

Rachel jumped and turned her head to look at her. It seemed to startle Beth as well and the baby started to cry again. Judy stepped into the room and went to stand next to Rachel by the bed.

"Judy, I-"

"It's ok," Judy said as she picked up Beth and held her close. "I'm just glad you two are safe. We've all been so worried about you."

"Why?"

"Why?" Judy said. "No one knew where you were, Rachel. You skipped school and picked up Beth and disappeared."

"No, I didn't," Rachel said. "I've been here the whole time. At my house. Beth's house. I had to get everything done and there's no reason Beth shouldn't be with me all day."

"What did you have to get done that couldn't have waited?" Judy asked. "You could have been anywhere and no one knew about it. You scared us, Rachel."

"I didn't run off with her," Rachel said as tears formed in her eyes. "I just- I needed to get it all done. It has to be perfect when she gets home so I cleaned and did all the laundry. I can take care of Beth. I have to be able to take care of Beth." Her tears spilled over at the fact that her sister had quieted in Judy's cam embrace.

"Why does it have to be perfect?" Judy asked.

"So she'll stay longer," Rachel said.

"Why haven't you talked to your mom since she left?" Judy asked. She reached an arm out and tried to comfort Rachel.

"I don't want to make her angry again," Rachel confessed. "It'll be easier if I don't talk to her. My dads barely called."

"But she's not your dads," Judy said. "She's called a lot wanting to talk to you."

"It's her first time," Rachel said sadly.

"Where's your phone?" Judy asked. "I bet you have a ton of missed calls and messages from her. And from me and Quinn."

"I turn the sound off during school and never turned it back on when I got home," Rachel said. "I was too busy and she was crying."

"Well let's get your school stuff and get back to my house," Judy said. "Quinn is worried and so is your mom."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said.

"How about we talk about all of that tomorrow?" Judy said. "You look like you could use some sleep."

"I'm fine," Rachel lied. "Beth will need dinner soon."

"I'll take care of you guys," Judy assured her.

The ride back to the Fabray residence was in silence, but Rachel didn't dare close her eyes. She'd be asleep in no time. Instead she looked at all of her missed calls and messages and tears formed in her eyes again, but she didn't answer any of them. The only one that got even the hint of a smile was the few from Santana who promised to 'ship her little ass back to Munchkinland if she didn't come out of hiding soon.'

"Rach, are you ok?" Quinn asked when the trio came in through the door.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I'm sorry."

"No problem," Quinn said. She glanced at Judy who shook her head telling Quinn not to ask. "But next time you skip let me know and I'll go with you."

"Quinn!" Judy admonished.

"It was my first time," Rachel said. "It was liberating in a delinquent kind of way."

"There will be no more skipping from either of you," Judy said though she was glad to see Rachel able to joke around with Quinn. It was almost as if she could see her putting on her mask to cover the truth she had let out at her house.

"Rachel, why don't you go upstairs and take a nice hot shower," Judy suggested. "You'll feel better and I'll start dinner and feed Beth for you. And after you eat maybe you can lie down a little early and get some rest."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.

"I'm positive, honey. Go on now."

After Rachel had disappeared up the stairs, Judy relayed what Rachel had said.

"It's so sad that she gets so nervous," Quinn said.

"I know," Judy agreed.

They went their separate ways to make some phone calls. Quinn told Santana that Rachel was back and safe and she'd let the girl tell her about it later. Judy called Dr. Woodward and left her a quick message saying that Rachel and Beth were safe and a bit of where and how she'd been found. Her next call was to Shelby.

"She said she wanted everything to be perfect," Judy said.

"I can't believe I just up and went out of town after everything that happened," Shelby said. "How could I not see how she was feeling? I'm such an idiot."

"No you're not," Judy said.

"I'm on my way home," Shelby said. Judy nodded; she figured as much. "But don't tell Rachel yet. I've been in traffic for about thirty minutes there's a huge accident up ahead because of the ice on the road and I'm not sure how long it'll take to get around. I want her to get some sleep and not be wondering about me and when and if I'll be home."

Judy agreed and didn't mention Shelby's whereabouts to either of the girls. They ate dinner, though Rachel mostly just picked at it. Judy took Beth's little bed out of Rachel's room and put in her in own before Rachel could do in there to lie down. It was only nearing eight, but Rachel needed the sleep.

"Where's Beth going to sleep?" she asked when she saw the little girl's stuff gone from her room.

"I've got her in my room," Judy said. "You don't need to worry about her tonight."

"But-"

"No," Judy said firmly. "Not tonight, Rachel. Get in bed."

Part of Rachel was so relieved when she was able to lie down without worrying and shut her eyes without having to pop them open one more time to make sure Beth was ok. The darkness and quiet were welcome and finally Rachel slept.

**A/N – Again, I'm so sorry for the delay. I hope you guys liked this. I wasn't too sure about it so please, please leave me a review and let me know. Thank you. **


	66. Chapter 66

**A/N – Here's the update, guys. Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages I received. I hope you all like this one. Please let me know.**

**And I have a request. Go and check out my friend Vivi Dahlin's story called Seeing Red. It's centered on Santana, but has all and has a heavy theme and is dark, but it is so, so good. She's a phenomenal writer. The end of the URL is s/7467072/3/ Trust me, you want to give it a look. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Shelby anxiously drummed on her steering wheel as another hour rolled past and she was still stuck in traffic. The bad weather conditions had caused a huge pile up and the highway was blocked. There was a detour in place if only she could make it to the exit. They had been creeping along for ages and she just had another mile to go. She was doing everything she could to keep her cool because she still had another hour to drive once she got past this accident. As it was it would be after midnight by the time she reached Judy's house and Rachel. This wasn't exactly what she had planned when she rushed through packing her stuff in the hotel room and telling the poor kid behind the counter he was taking too long to check her out.

It was thirty-five more minutes before she reached the exit and was able to actually go again. The detour took them ten miles up the road and put them back on the highway. Shelby sent a quick 'finally moving' text to Judy and pointed the car towards home.

Beth opened her eyes and immediately let out a loud wail. The playpen serving as her bed was now in Judy's room and the light shining from the bathroom illuminated the otherwise dark room. Beth kicked her feet and waited for someone to get her. When no one magically appeared, the baby rolled to her stomach and got up on her hands and knees. Where was her pacifier? The tooth she had coming in was hurting and the medicine Judy had given her earlier after they got home with Rachel seemed to be wearing off and Beth was not happy about it.

Her cries only subsided slightly when she found the pacifier and put it in the side of her mouth like one holds a cigar and chewed to help her aching gums. She pulled herself up on the side of the playpen and held on to the railing so she could remain standing. She geared up again and let out another sob, opening her mouth wide and, in the process, dropping her pacifier out onto the floor and out of reach. Well, great. Beth looked at it forlornly and let go of the railing and plopped down on her bottom and sat and cried. Where was her mother?

Judy entered the room and quickly made her way over to the crying baby who was now holding her arms up. It wasn't her mother, but Judy would do in a pinch and to Beth this was most certainly a pinch.

"It's ok, honey," Judy cooed as she picked Beth up. "Shhh." She reached down and picked up the pacifier and handed it back to the little girl who went back to chewing on it. Didn't they know that her gums hurt? The crying didn't stop and Judy picked up Beth's blanket and made her way out of the room. She wanted to get the crying down to the first floor so that Quinn and especially Rachel wouldn't hear it and wake up.

Beth's crying started to slow when they reached the kitchen and she saw that Judy was giving her one of her cold teething rings. Judy took the pacifier and Beth greedily gnawed on the ring; the cold offering a welcome relief to her aching gums. Judy got the baby Tylenol and gave Beth a proper dosage to help with the pain and to get her back to sleep.

Judy stood in place for a few minutes and rocked Beth while the baby chewed to her heart's content. She gripped the ring with both hands and happily drooled around it when she offered Judy a smile. Judy moved to her sink and turned the water on so it could warm up and then started to expertly make a bottle one-handed. She knew that the medicine combined with half a bottle would fill Beth up and put her right back to sleep. Beth lost interest in her ring and tossed it to the ground when she saw that the bottle was ready and was more than happy to take it from Judy when offered.

Twenty minutes later Beth was wrapped in her blanket with her pacifier back in place and was sleeping peacefully in Judy's arms. The woman smiled wistfully at the perfect tiny face and brushed her thumb over the little fingers that were clutching the blanket. She looked so much like Quinn…

Judy was pulled from her thoughts when her phone chimed and lit up in the semi-darkness of the living room. It was a text message from Shelby letting her know that she had just pulled onto her street.

"She's home," Judy whispered to Beth and then got up to meet Shelby at the front door.

She waited by the window until she saw the headlights in her driveway and then Shelby getting out of the car. Judy opened the door for her and Shelby came in out of the cold carrying a small overnight bag. She looked at Judy with tired eyes, but smiled down at Beth.

"Her teeth were bothering her," Judy explained. "But she's fine now." Shelby nodded and then leaned down to kiss the tiny head.

"Thank you so much for looking after them," Shelby said.

"I love having them here," Judy said. "I'm just so sorry about all of this."

"It's not your fault," Shelby said. "I shouldn't have left her. I didn't know she was feeling this way. But looking back on it, all of the clues were there. I asked her so many times if she was ok with me going and she always said yes. But I could tell that she was withdrawing. We were doing so well," Shelby shook her head.

"She's just confused and scared, but she's going to see that you came back for her," Judy said. "She'll understand."

"I hope so," Shelby said as she took off her coat. "Do you mind if I just stay here with her tonight? I don't want to wake her up and take them out in the cold, especially if Rachel is finally getting some sleep."

"Of course you can," Judy answered.

Shelby smiled her thanks and took Beth from Judy's arms and held her close. The baby never stirred and Shelby was glad for it. She wanted to be able to focus on Rachel and agreed when Judy said she would keep Beth in her room for the rest of the night in case she cried and woke up again. Shelby returned Beth to her bed and Judy went back downstairs to get the bottle of water Shelby requested for Rachel. Shelby went into the bathroom and quickly changed out of her business attire and into sweats and a t-shirt so should would be more comfortable. The two met in the hallway and she was just about to go into Rachel's room when a door down the hall opened and a half-asleep blonde stepped out to talk to them.

"Quinn, what are you doing?" Judy whispered. "Go back to sleep."

"There was a butterfly," Quinn said. "And a lion. They were dancing and there was basketball with bowling pins and Rachel was crying. But the plane landed. Hi, Shelby."

Shelby and Judy exchanged humorous glances at the rambling, sleeping teen.

"Hi, sweetheart," Shelby said. She put an arm around Quinn's waist to help support her kissed her head. "Go back to sleep."

"Mom will be home soon," Quinn said. "I wanted to tell Rachel."

"I'll tell her," Shelby promised. "Bedtime now."

"Come on, Quinnie," Judy said as she took the girl from Shelby and helped guide her back to her room to put her to bed.

Shelby waited until they were in Quinn's room before she opened the door to Rachel's room and looked in at her. The girl had kicked the blankets to her feet and she was moving her head back and forth and whimpering in the midst of an obvious nightmare. Shelby quickly moved to her side and put the bottle of water on the bedside table before pulling the blankets back up to cover Rachel. The moonlight helped to illuminate the room somewhat and Shelby could see the distressed look and dried tears on her daughter's face proving that Quinn had been right when she said that Rachel had been crying. Shelby sat down on the edge of the bed and took one of Rachel's hands in her own.

"Rachel," she whispered.

Judy looked in and watched for a second as Shelby tried to wake the girl. She then quietly shut the door to give them their privacy and went to her own room.

"Wake up, Rach," Shelby said. "It's just a bad dream. Wake up, honey." She moved some of Rachel's hair away from her forehead and face that was damp with sweat and tears and then placed a kiss on her head. "Wake up for me."

Rachel's eyes popped open and she stared at Shelby in shock; her breathing was heavy and her heart was racing. It took a second for her eyes to adjust and her mind to shake off the nightmare. She never took her eyes off her mother and Shelby could see the moment Rachel registered she was there and the girl's eyes immediately filled with tears as she started to sit up.

"Mama?" Rachel asked.

Shelby wrapped her arms around Rachel and helped her sit up. Rachel put her arms around Shelby's neck and buried her head in her shoulder and cried.

"Shhh," Shelby soothed as she rubbed Rachel's back and rocked her. "It's ok. Mommy's here. You're ok."

"You - you were never coming back," Rachel hiccupped out. "My dream. I couldn't find you."

"I'm right here. Please don't cry," Shelby said though her own eyes were also filling with tears. "I'm right here."

"And Beth wouldn't let me hold her anymore, even though she was crying," Rachel said. "I wanted to take care of her."

"You did take care of her, honey," Shelby said. "It was just a dream. Beth is asleep and you're not alone."

"It wasn't just a dream," Rachel said.

"Yes it was, sweetheart," Shelby assured her.

Rachel shifted her position and turned her head away from Shelby and rested it on her shoulder. She let her arms rest to the side while her mother continued to hold her. The tears had slowed and only the occasional sniffles remained and they stayed like that for a few minutes. Shelby rubbed her back and kissed her head and, for a minute, she thought maybe Rachel had fallen back asleep.

"You're not supposed to be back yet," Rachel broke the silence.

"I left early so I could come home to you," Shelby told her.

"You left early," Rachel repeated. "For me?"

"Yeah. I know you were upset, Rachel," Shelby said. "And scared. Why didn't you tell me you didn't want me to go?"

Rachel shrugged and then mumbled, "It didn't matter."

"Of course it mattered," Shelby said. She took Rachel by the arms and made her sit back and look at her. "How many times did I ask you if you were ok with me going? I asked because I wanted to know the truth. I wanted to know how you felt."

"But you had to go and I understand that," Rachel said. "You said it was for work and that's important. But I tried to make it better. I cleaned the house. I just felt so bad for Beth though," Rachel's tears started again. "She's so little and if I hadn't gotten in trouble and made you want to leave us-"

"Stop it right there," Shelby said firmly and even shook her some. "I did not leave you or Beth. I did not walk out because you got in trouble."

"It's ok, I understand," Rachel said. "It's my fault-"

"I said, stop it," Shelby told her. "The timing was terrible, I know, but I did not leave to go to a conference because you got in trouble. I did not leave you or Beth. Period."

"But you were so angry," Rachel said.

"You're right, I was angry," Shelby said. "Justifiably so, Rachel. But that doesn't mean I would ever leave you."

"Why not?" Rachel asked innocently. Her eyes were wide as she searched Shelby's face in the darkness.

Shelby wasn't exactly sure how to explain it to Rachel. The girl wanted specifics that Shelby couldn't give and she didn't seem to believe in or understand the blanket statements. Why wouldn't her parent walk out on her when it's been done before? What makes from this moment on different? The end of the last year and up until now had been important but so had the first twelve years of Rachel's life. Progress had been made, but it was easy to see the instances of Rachel waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was comfortable and open and then distant and standoffish. They'd taken one step forward and two back.

What signs had she missed after the spanking? Rachel hadn't been as agreeable afterwards like the first time, but the circumstances had been completely different.

"I couldn't live without you," Shelby said. "You or Beth. It doesn't matter what either of you do or how much trouble you get in; I will always be there with you."

"Oh," Rachel said. "But I heard you talking to Nana."

"When?" Shelby asked, confused.

"I came downstairs for lunch and you were on the phone," Rachel said and Shelby nodded. She remembered. "I heard you tell Nana that you didn't know what to do with me. You had already punished me so it couldn't have been about that. You don't know what to do with me and then you said you were leaving for work. It was my fault."

"No, it wasn't," Shelby said firmly. "And Rach, it's an expression. I know you know that."

"But Nana knows what I did," Rachel said. "Was she mad too?"

"No," Shelby answered. "She actually laughed when I told her."

"At me?" Rachel asked, her chin trembling again.

"No, at me," Shelby answered. "I'm going to tell you a story."

Shelby stood up and had Rachel scoot over so she could get into the bed next to her. She handed Rachel the bottle of water and waited for the girl to take a long sip before replacing the cap and returning it to the bedside table. Shelby leaned against the backboard and pulled the blankets close as Rachel snuggled into her. Rachel turned sideways and leaned into her mom and rested her head on Shelby's chest and looked up at her. Shelby put her arms around the girl in the same fashion as if she were holding a baby and leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Do you think Nana and I have a good relationship?" Shelby asked.

"Yes," Rachel answered.

"Do you think she'd ever walk out of my life and never see or talk to me again?"

"No," Rachel shook her head.

"Even if I did something so terrible like waiting almost six years to tell her she had a granddaughter?" Shelby asked. "Or even worse, tell her I'd seen that granddaughter and turned down that girl's request to be a part of her life?"

"No," Rachel said again with her voice trembling.

"No," Shelby affirmed. "She admonished me and yelled and cried and held me while I cried, but she was right there when the sun came up the next morning. She told me to get my butt back to your school and tell you I was wrong, but I was too afraid. I was afraid of messing up your life even more than I already had. I was afraid that I would become so attached to you and then your dads would find out and never let me see you again. I was scared and so I didn't do anything. I imagined you as this happy girl who had everything she could possibly need. I held on to that scenario because it was easier for me and not what was best for you. But as soon as Quinn told me what was going on with you, everything changed. I was never going to leave you from that very moment. I wanted to go and get you that night, but Quinn stopped me. She wanted to make sure I wasn't going to hurt you again." Shelby looked at Rachel and made sure the girl was looking at her when she said this. "I have done things that are far worse and have made my mother angrier than you have ever made me and my mom is still right there with me. She's never left me."

Rachel nodded and closed her eyes as if trying to take all of that in. When she opened them again, she saw that Shelby was still looking at her and watching her process it all.

"But my dads-"

"Honey, your dads are the exception," Shelby said. "I am truly and deeply sorry that they treated you like they did, but they are not normal. They are the ones who messed up, not you. They could learn quite a lot from your Nana."

"But the car," Rachel said. "I knew I was breaking the rules."

"And that's why you were punished," Shelby said. "And it has absolutely nothing to do with me going out of town."

"But Nana was angry at you when you were already on your own," Rachel said. "If you had done what I did-"

Shelby laughed quietly and rubbed Rachel's back.

"Let me get back to my story," Shelby told her when she saw Rachel's confused expression at her laughter. "You know how I said Nana laughed when I told her about your adventure with the car?"

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"She was laughing at me because I was now in her shoes. You, young lady, are not the only one who has taken and driven a car they are not supposed to drive and been caught," Shelby explained.

"You?" Rachel asked, shocked.

"Yes ma'am," Shelby answered. "I had a license, but I was grounded and I didn't have my own car. I needed to get something from a friend's house and my mom was out with one of her friends and my dad was visiting my grandfather who was sick at the time. She couldn't come to my house and so I figured I would just drive over there real quick and pick it up and come home and no one would be the wiser. I took my mom's car since her friend had picked her up. It was all so perfect, Rachel."

"What did you have to get from your friend?" Rachel asked.

"Notes for a test we were going to be having in our class the following Monday," Shelby said.

"Why didn't you have them?"

"Because I had skipped earlier in the week," Shelby told her. "Which is why I was-

"Grounded," they said together.

"Right. So I got out with no problem and got over there and it was Saturday morning and I didn't want to be trapped at home and so I hung out for a few minutes. An hour actually, but then I had to get home before my mom did so I left. On my way home I was speeding and I hit a patch of black ice much like you did, but unlike the tiny dent in your bumper I hit a parked car."

Rachel's eyes went wide and she gasped at her mother's confession.

"Slammed into it is probably more like it," Shelby said. "I totaled both cars. I wasn't hurt, but knew I was going to be in so much trouble. The police came and made me go to the hospital and they called my mom to meet us there. She came running in to the emergency room yelling out my name until someone finally pointed out where I was. She hugged me and cried and scolded and tried to demand they run every test possible to make sure I wasn't hurt."

Rachel giggled, "I can picture that."

"The doctor finally assured her that I was perfectly fine and as she was talking to the police officer, she turned and looked at me and I'm telling you, Rachel, I wanted to floor to swallow me up so I could be anywhere but there," Shelby said. "I couldn't believe that the police officer and doctors were going to let me just go home with her. Couldn't they see that she was irate and my safety was at stake?"

"What did she do?" Rachel asked.

"You remember me telling you that you aren't the only teenager to ever have to eat her lunch standing up because she couldn't sit down?"

Rachel gasped again and nodded.

"Except that my mom had an old wooden hairbrush she liked to use as a paddle," Shelby said. "But when it was over, it was done. I was still grounded, but now had a sore bottom to go with it and no license for a long time. She held me while I cried and admonished my choices but still told me she loved me and never once left me because of it. Just like I will never leave you."

Rachel turned her eyes away from Shelby and the woman had to strain to hear her because when she spoke it was so quiet, "you didn't hold me."

A light dawned on Shelby and she nodded. Everything had been different for Rachel and, given her past, it wasn't hard to see how the girl had arrived at her conclusions.

"Oh Rachel, I'm sorry," Shelby said. She pulled the girl closer to her and squeezed her tight. "I shouldn't have been spanking you while I was angry and so I stepped out of the room. I should have held you when I came in to talk to you later. I am sorry. That's my fault, not yours. But honey, I don't know everything and if you need or want something from me and I'm not doing it, ask."

"Even if you're angry?"

"Especially if I'm angry," Shelby said.

"Will you hold me tonight?" Rachel asked.

"Of course I will," Shelby answered.

"Would Nana hold you at night when you were younger? If you asked?"

"Yes. All night," Shelby said.

Rachel settled deeper into Shelby's embrace and closed her eyes. Shelby started to hum and rubbed the girl's back. She could feel Rachel drifting off to sleep and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"You came home early," Rachel muttered, her voice full of awe.

She slipped off to sleep in her mother's arms and Rachel didn't hear Shelby when she said, "Anything for you, baby."

Shelby woke up to the sounds of other people stirring in the house. She was still resting against the headboard, but had slumped down a little bit and one arm was still resting on Rachel's back. She couldn't really feel the other one because Rachel was lying on it and it had long ago fallen asleep. She moved her hand to try and get the feeling back into it, but she needed to move it out from under her daughter before that could happen.

Rachel was practically on top of Shelby with her upper body resting on the woman's lap and her head nestled on her stomach. She was clinging to Shelby's shirt in the same way she always held onto her quilt. Shelby wrapped her free arm around Rachel and lifted the girl ever so slightly so she could free her trapped one. It started to hurt and tingle as soon as Shelby started to move it to wake it up. She was convinced for a second that the pins and needles sensation was never going to go away.

Shelby glanced at the clock and saw that it was after six and she knew that Rachel should be up and getting ready for school, much like she could hear Quinn doing. But she didn't have the heart to wake her up. Rachel was sleeping peacefully despite how uncomfortable it may look and Judy had told her how exhausted Rachel had been the last few days. Shelby made the decision to keep her home from school that day so they could spend it together. She wanted to make sure Rachel really worked through this and didn't go back to pretending. Shelby planned to call Dr. Woodward as soon as her office opened and see if she could get Rachel in there at some point today since her appointment yesterday was missed. They did not need to wait another week for Rachel to talk about this.

Once the feeling returned to her arm, Shelby rested her hands on Rachel's back and watched her sleep. She smiled down at her little daughter who looked peaceful and calm; a far cry from how she was when Shelby woke her up the night before.

Shelby looked up when she heard the door creak open and saw Judy looking in at her. Shelby motioned for her to come in and Judy smiled at the scene before her.

"I'm going to keep her home from school," Shelby whispered. "I want to take her to Dr. Woodward today if I can."

"That's probably a good idea," Judy said.

"Can you take Beth to Katie's for me?"

"Of course," Judy replied. "She's downstairs with Quinn right now. I didn't want to bring her in here and have her see you just yet."

"Thanks. I want Rachel to sleep as long as possible. I'll pick up Beth from Katie's this afternoon. I need to go over and apologize for Rachel scaring her half to death," Shelby said. "And you too. I'm sorry she disappeared on you."

"It's fine," Judy said. "Rachel has fears that none of us have been through."

"Good morning," Quinn said brightly when she barged into the room carrying Beth. She stopped short when she saw that Rachel was still sleeping and her mom and Shelby were glaring at her. "Oh crap, sorry!"

Beth started to wiggle excitedly when she saw Shelby and the woman couldn't help but smile even though Judy was scowling at her daughter.

"Quinn!" Judy admonished in a harsh whisper.

"I thought everyone was up," Quinn defended herself.

Rachel started to stir at the noise and Beth started to whimper and was ready to cry because she hadn't been given to her mother yet. Quinn climbed on the other side of the bed and passed Beth over to Shelby while Judy put her head in her hands.

"Quinn…"

"Mom," Rachel muttered

Beth was contented and happily played with Shelby's hair while she chewed on her pacifier. Quinn sat beside Shelby and stretched her legs out and rested them on top of Rachel's. Judy was horrified and Shelby just laughed and waved her off. Let the chaos reign.

Shelby put one hand back on Rachel's back when the girl started to move some more.

"Go back to sleep, Rach," Shelby said.

But it was too late and Rachel was awake. She looked up and saw Shelby and Beth smiling down at her and only then did it occur to her that she was laying on top of her mother. This is where she had fallen asleep and Shelby had, in fact, held her all night long. Rachel's eyes went far away and she smiled.

"You're going to be late for school, Rachel," Quinn said and Shelby groaned.

Rachel looked to the clock and her eyes went wide. "You didn't wake me up! I can't miss today; I already skipped yesterday…" her voice trailed off as she glanced up at Shelby with the look of a kid who has just given themselves away. She didn't know if her mother knew or not. Shelby just smiled down at her and tapped her nose.

"We can talk about that later," Shelby said. "And Quinn, I think Rachel is going to stay home with me today.

"But-"

"Awesome, can I stay home with you guys today too?" Quinn asked and Judy rolled her eyes.

"No," Judy told her. "You can go to school."

"Mom," Quinn whined.

"Quinn, you're on my legs and I can't move," Rachel said.

"So what, you're not going anywhere," Quinn pouted.

"Mom," Rachel whined this time.

This wasn't exactly the Rachel waking up moment she anticipated when she went to sleep last night, but Shelby found it endearing. They were a little family now and Rachel had woken up surrounded by people who love her.

"Judy, tell my mom I need to go to school," Rachel said.

"Shelby, tell my mom I need to stay home," Quinn countered.

"Quinn, get off," Rachel demanded.

Quinn moved her legs but leaned her head on Shelby's shoulder and batted her eyes at the woman to try and get her way. Rachel scrambled up off of her mom and the bed and tried to go for the door but was stopped by Judy.

"Stop it, both of you," Judy said sternly. "Quinn, you are going to school so get out of that bed. Rachel, you are staying home with your mother so get back into bed. And Beth, you are going to Katie's. End of story."

All three girls looked petulant and pouted and nobody moved.

"Now," Judy commanded.

Quinn got up and crawled across Shelby and received a swat from the woman as she did. Judy turned Rachel by her shoulders and helped to get her moving with a swat of her own. When the girls had switched places Judy took Beth from Shelby and the baby thought better of crying as she was carried from the room by the woman who was ushering Quinn out the door. Rachel curled up next to Shelby and pulled her blankets close.

"Oh Rach, don't forget about the sleepover with Santana and Brittany tonight," Quinn said as she popped her head back in the room. "You know, if you're still up for it. Santana might kill you if you're not, but I'll try and explain."

"I don't know," Rachel said with a furtive glance at Shelby.

"Right. We'll figure it out," Quinn said.

"Quinn," Judy called from downstairs.

"Bye," the blonde said as she shut the door behind her.

"You're supposed to have a sleepover here tonight?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know if I want to," Rachel said honestly. "Are you going back to your conference?" She was anxious.

"No," Shelby answered.

"But you said it was important," Rachel said. She knew she should feel guilty about her mom leaving something that she said she had to have in case she wanted to teach again, but Rachel didn't feel that way. She was stuck on the notion that Shelby came home early for her. Her dads had never come home early from a business trip; not even when she called and asked them to. They had no problems staying late though. Rachel was overjoyed that Shelby was there. She felt guilty about not feeling guilty though.

"You're more important," Shelby assured her.

"Thank you," Rachel said. She often times had trouble taking sentiment like that at face value, but she accepted it right now because they weren't just words and her mother had come back in the middle of the night to hold her while she slept. Rachel curled closer to her and felt rest her hand on her side and pat her hip a couple of times.

"So you can stay for that sleepover if you want," Shelby said after a few moments of silence. She didn't get a response and she looked down to investigate and saw that Rachel was back asleep. Shelby smiled and slipped out of bed and tucked the blankets close around her. "Sleep tight, baby girl."

Shelby had used the time to shower and pack all of Beth and Rachel's things and load her car. Rachel slept for two and a half more hours and woke up feeling better than she had in days. It didn't take them long to unpack at Shelby's house and they sat down for a late breakfast afterwards.

"I made an appointment for you to see Dr. Woodward at one this afternoon," Shelby said. "Since you didn't get to see her yesterday."

"Ok," Rachel said as she looked down.

"Why did you skip yesterday, honey?" Shelby asked. She had talked to Judy about this and she knew what Rachel had said about making everything perfect. She didn't really care about the missed day of school or a therapy session, but she absolutely wanted to talk about Rachel trying to fix things to make her stay around longer.

"It's the only time I had to be able to get over here on my own," Rachel said.

"You could have come over here anytime you wanted after school," Shelby said. "Judy or Quinn would have brought you."

"I didn't want to inconvenience them," Rachel said. "I got Beth because I can take care of her. She didn't need to be at a babysitter's house when she could have been with me. But I wasn't running off with her, Mom."

"I know that, Rach."

"And we came here and I cleaned everything and did all the laundry," Rachel continued. "I wanted it to be perfect when you came home. So you would want to stay longer," she whispered the last part and Shelby pulled her chair closer to Rachel's.

"Listen to me," Shelby said seriously. "You and Beth are what make this house perfect. Not clean laundry and vacuumed floors. I was not leaving you or your sister. I was not going to come home from that conference with plans to go to another one and another one. I was not walking out on you because you got in trouble. I didn't realize that you didn't see the difference in me going out of town as opposed to your dads going out of town. Can you understand that?"

Rachel just shrugged.

"When your dads left you were alone in the house," Shelby said. "I took you to Judy's so you would be with her and Quinn. I thought that would be fun for you. We enjoyed having Quinn here. I kept asking if you were sure and you said yes. Rachel, you have to tell me the truth. I would not have gone if you would have explained how you were feeling."

"But why should you have to sacrifice for me?" Rachel asked, still not looking at her mother.

"Honey, that's part of being a parent," Shelby said. "You make sacrifices every day for your kids. Everything from sleep to time to the nice shoes you wanted to buy to trips out of town for whatever reason. But those things are done willingly and happily because your children are the most important thing."

"How come my dads didn't think like that?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know, sweetheart," Shelby answered. "But I think like that. I need you to remember that for me. And if you are confused, I need you to talk to me about it."

"Sometimes I think I understand," Rachel said. Her voice was shaky and tears were threatening to fall. "Why is it so hard for me? You've told me and Dr. Woodward has told me. How come my dads never told me? Why do we have to keep going through this?"

Shelby pulled Rachel up from her chair at the table and sat the girl on her lap and held her close. "Honey, I can't answer that about your dads. Even though I talked to them, I half wonder if they even understand the problem themselves. But as for us having to keep going through this, you haven't even been here a year. You gain confidence and then are faced with a new situation and have to work your way through it. There is no magic fix. I wish there was, believe me. But this is why you have Dr. Woodward. You can talk about all of this and know that you are safe and loved. You can talk to me. Or Judy. Or Quinn. Talk to whomever you need to. And as many times as you need to. You are not wrong for needing or wanting that."

"Will you sit in with Dr. Woodward and me today?" Rachel asked.

Shelby was taken aback for a second because Rachel had never asked for that before. "Of course," she answered. "Whatever you need."

"What are you going to do about the skipping?" Rachel asked timidly after a minute.

"What do you think I should do?" Shelby asked.

"I could have to stay with you all day," Rachel said sweetly as she turned and wrapped her arms around Shelby's neck and hugged her tightly. "You could make me clean my already clean room or put me in the corner for a couple minutes. I could have to write a note about how much I love you or be sent to bed without any dessert tonight," Rachel rattled off a list of easy 'punishments' and Shelby shook her head at her daughter.

"The corner, really?" Shelby said when Rachel sat back to look at her.

"No, I-

"I was going to tell you that I called the school and told them you absence for today is excused, but it wasn't yesterday and that you now have detention Monday morning and I was going to let it go at that because I understand and am sympathetic to how you were feeling, but if you think some corner time is necessary…" Shelby smirked.

"No, Mom, I don't think that," Rachel said quickly. "I was just kidding."

"Oh, I don't think so," Shelby said.

She stood Rachel up and took her hand and walked her into the living room and positioned her in an open corner.

"Mom," Rachel whined and looked over at her, but Shelby motioned for her to look back at the wall.

"Stay here."

Rachel crossed her arms and stared at the corner petulantly. This was worse than that time-out her mother had given her and Beth on her birthday. This was the last time she opened her mouth when her mother asked what type of punishment she thought was good. That was nothing more than a trick!

Shelby did nothing to hide her smile at her daughter's predicament. The sight of her sixteen-year-old standing in the corner was pretty funny and she knew that despite Rachel's annoyed posture, she needed a light interlude from questioning herself and why she didn't understand normal parents' behaviors. Shelby imagined that if she'd had Rachel with her as a small child, that little girl would have spent a fair amount of time in the corner.

Only five minutes passed until Shelby returned and stood by Rachel's side. She leaned over and kissed Rachel's scowling cheek and smiled when her daughter darted a not so amused look in her direction.

"When are you going to skip school again?"

"Never," Rachel answered.

"Good girl," Shelby said and she uncrossed Rachel's arms and took her hand. "Come on out then."

Rachel turned and looked at her mom and Shelby couldn't help but laugh at her daughter.

"That wasn't funny, Mother," Rachel stated dryly.

"One day when you've got a sixteen-year-old daughter, you'll love it," Shelby said. She pulled Rachel into a hug and the girl happily accepted. Lesson learned, punishment over, and safe in Mom's arms. Rachel smiled at her understanding.

Dr. Woodward was happy to see them and even though Rachel wanted Shelby in the session with them, she asked to speak to the girl alone for a few minutes first. She wanted to get Rachel's perspective on what had happened to set this all off without Shelby overhearing. Rachel told her everything about the car and Shelby's reaction and all that followed after. The doctor understood Rachel's train of thought and found it easy to see why the girl reacted the way she did, but she also could see why Shelby didn't see it at the time.

When Shelby entered the room she suddenly felt nervous. Rachel was sitting in a chair by herself like she always did and so Shelby sat in opposite her with Dr. Woodward on the couch in the middle.

"Pretty bad timing, huh mom?" Dr. Woodward asked.

Shelby understood what she meant and nodded and immediately tears threatened to fall. Rachel hadn't expected Shelby to have this reaction and she looked on with worry in her eyes.

"I should have known how she felt," Shelby said. "I thought I was making her feel secure and in control by having her stay with Judy and asking if she really wanted me to go. I would have cancelled in a heartbeat if I knew how she was feeling."

Rachel had only seen Shelby this upset by her actions once before and that was when she ran off to the park without telling anyone. Watching Shelby cry that day when she was found had been very tough on Rachel.

"When Judy told me that she didn't know where Rachel and Beth were, I think I stopped breathing," Shelby continued.

"Mom?" Rachel said with a watery voice. "Please don't cry."

This was exactly what Dr. Woodward wanted. She knew how Rachel felt and she knew how Shelby acted from Rachel's words, but she needed the girl to really see how much it affects Shelby and not just herself. The girl needed to know how frantically they all searched for her and how Shelby sat in traffic for six hours to try and get home to her. She needed to be told how taking Beth scared them all, including the babysitter. Rachel was hurting, but so were other people and that she needed to acknowledge that hurt. Rachel had lived with two people who were not affected by her actions even though her entire world was turned upside by theirs. She needed to really be shown that that wasn't the case anymore and what she did mattered. Dr. Woodward hoped that it would make Rachel stop and think in the future before she reacted.

Rachel couldn't sit and watch Shelby cry for long before she got up and sat with her in the chair. Rachel held her hand and tried to be as comforting as possible just like Shelby always was for her.

"Please don't blame yourself for any of this, Mom," Rachel pleaded. "Please."

"Rachel, do you blame yourself for this whole incident?" Dr. Woodward asked.

Rachel nodded and Shelby squeezed her hand tighter.

"Don't you think it's just as hard for your mom to watch you blame yourself as it is for you to see her do the same thing?"

Rachel looked at Shelby and her mom nodded her head. "You are not to blame, Rach."

"Well neither are you," Rachel countered.

"There is no blame," Dr. Woodward said. "This series of events happened and you are both learning a great deal from it, but there does not have to be anyone to blame. You're both causing yourselves unnecessary pain. The faster you let the idea of blame go and communicate with each other fairly and honestly, the faster you can move on and start to let the hurt go too."

Shelby and Rachel both felt drained emotionally when their hour was up, but they both felt better.

"I love you, Mom," Rachel said when they got in the car.

"I love you too, Rachel," Shelby said. "More than you'll ever even realize."

A contented silence fell over them until Rachel's phone chimed signaling that she had a text message. She pulled out her phone and saw it was from Santana. 'Ok squirt, you've been out of school for two days now and Q is not giving me satisfactory answers and only says that you might not want to leave your mom tonight so we are moving the sleepover to your house. Tell your mother. I'm worried and I hate to worry and I don't want to have to go all Lima Heights Adjacent on your ass. So we'll see you at 7.'

Rachel couldn't help but smile as she read the message. When they stopped at a red light she held the phone out for Shelby to read.

"Lima Heights Adjacent?" Shelby asked.

"It's a thing," Rachel answered.

"What if I said no?"

The phone chimed again and Rachel looked at another message from Santana. 'If your mother says no, don't worry, I'm already working on a plan to sneak you out.'

Rachel held the phone out for Shelby to see again and smirked as her mom narrowed her eyes at the screen.

"Do you want to have the sleepover?" Shelby asked.

"Even with everything going on, I was kind of looking forward to it," Rachel confessed. "But I don't want to leave you tonight either. You came home early for me."

Shelby smiled at her and said, "Then I guess you better tell them they can come over tonight. Because good luck on them trying to sneak you out."

"You don't think I can sneak out?" Rachel asked innocently.

Shelby looked at her as if to say, 'I dare you to try.' Rachel gave her a crooked smile that caused Shelby's to falter a little bit before she turned back to the now green light. She cast a sideways glance and saw Rachel beaming as she sent a reply to Santana. It was going to be an interesting night.

**A/N – I hope you all liked this one. Please leave me a review. And please, please go and check out my friend's story. It's really fantastic and you won't be disappointed. **


	67. Chapter 67

**A/N – Sorry about the delay with this one, everyone. I got busy because of the holiday and these past few days haven't been the best for me. But that's neither here nor there because here's the update. Thank you all so much for all of the reviews and messages I've received. It means so much to me. You guys have no idea how exciting and awe inducing it is that you all continue to read and review. Thank you so much.**

**I hope those that celebrate it had a wonderful Thanksgiving! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

"I've almost got them, Beth," Rachel said as she stood up higher on her tip toes. "Almost."

Beth was looking up with eager eyes and a maniacal grin. They were so close and she could have them again. Rachel was holding her with one arm around the waist so she faced out from her and the little girl was reaching her arms up in support of her sister. Why couldn't Rachel be taller? They needed a stool. Or a chair. Precious moments were passing.

"Rachel," Shelby called out from upstairs.

Both girls stopped, momentarily frozen by the threat of getting caught. It only took a second for their actions to become more serious and focused. They had to do this and they had to do it now.

"If I could just tip the box," Rachel said.

"Rach?" Shelby called out again. Was she getting closer?

Tip it! Tip it!

"Got it!" Rachel said triumphantly as she tipped the box enough so that it fell and she could catch it. Beth kicked her feet in excitement; she loved her sister.

"There you ar- what are you doing?" Shelby asked when she entered the kitchen.

Rachel had spun around at the sound of her mother's voice and had hidden the box behind her back. She and Beth smiled at their mom, the faces of innocence.

"Nothing," Rachel answered.

"Nothing?" Shelby repeated with a nod and a knowing expression. She took a couple of slow steps towards her daughters. "Really?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. She took a couple steps to the side so she could try and move herself around the table. She couldn't back up because the counter was right behind them.

"What have you got?" Shelby asked, reaching her hand out indicating she wanted Rachel to hand it over.

"Beth," Rachel answered. She bounced her sister up and down a little bit for emphasis as she continued to try and move away from her advancing mother. Beth played along and smiled at her mother.

"And what's behind your back?" Shelby asked.

"My hand," Rachel answered.

"Show it to me," Shelby said as she kept moving closer. Rachel thought the woman's smile had an evil glint to it.

"I don't think that would be wise," Rachel told her.

"Oh, you don't?"

Rachel shook her head no. Beth was proud of her. Be strong, Rachel. Don't give in. Mom couldn't hide them forever because it just wasn't fair. Nana. They needed Nana.

"One," Shelby said and Rachel's eyes went wide and she stopped walking.

Beth didn't understand what was happening. Why did Rachel stop?

"Two," Shelby continued.

Beth could tell that Rachel was faltering. What was going on? They were so close. All they had to do was finish rounding the table and they'd be able to get out of the kitchen. Rachel looked down at her little sister and apologized with her eyes. 'I know you don't understand now,' Rachel's eyes said to the little girl, 'but one day you'll know that the counting is no joke. Never let your parent get to three.' It was a life lesson and Rachel was sad that Beth was having to learn it so soon.

"Thr-"

"Here," Rachel said as she moved hand from behind her back and showed her mother what she was holding.

The box of pure sugar marshmallow treats that Nana had given to Beth last month weighed heavy in her hand before Rachel set it on the table and took a step back. Beth slumped in Rachel's arm; thwarted again!

Shelby took a couple steps closer to them and picked up the offending box and looked at her youngest daughter and shook her head. She knew who the mastermind of this operation was. Nana had given Beth three boxes of the sugary treats and Beth had grown so enamored with them that she threw a fit one night a couple weeks ago when she couldn't have them for dinner. Shelby had hidden this half eaten box and the two other full boxes away after Beth had tossed her plate full of food on the floor when she wasn't allowed to have anymore. Shelby had not taken them out since.

Shelby raised an eyebrow at Rachel who shrugged innocently.

"She wanted some," Rachel said. "It's not my fault."

Beth looked away nonchalantly as if she thought that blaming her was simply ridiculous.

"You should talk to her about it," Rachel said.

"Should I tell her that they were put away for a reason and that talking her big sister, who should know better, into getting them for her is wrong?" Shelby asked.

"Something like that," Rachel said. "And I'm sure she would say that she's sorry and that she loves you very much."

Rachel stepped forward and kissed Shelby on the cheek and then leaned into her mom and rested her head on her shoulder. Beth kicked her feet in annoyance and reached for the box that was still in Shelby's hand. Shelby kissed Rachel's head before the girl stood back up and then set the box on the table out of Beth's reach.

"Ok, hand her over," Shelby said.

Wait, what? Beth glared at her sister as she was passed to her mother and held firmly in the woman's arms though she started to squirm. She watched as her sister laughed and then left the kitchen for safer regions of the house. Rachel, you traitor!

"And what do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" Shelby asked her youngest.

Beth looked at her mom as she weighed her options. The box was out of reach and she knew a tantrum would get her nowhere right now. The day was lost, but she was far from defeated. Peace must be brokered and plans remade. She had to play the game and let the woman think she had won. Maybe Rachel was on to something after all. So Beth followed her lead and smiled sweetly at her mother and then rested her head on the woman's shoulder. Shelby laughed and hugged Beth and rubbed her back. Beth's smile turned knowing and her eyes glinted. Well played, big sister, well played.

Shelby returned the box to the high shelf in the cabinet just as the doorbell was ringing. Beth looked over her mother's shoulder forlornly at the closed cabinet before turning her attention to who was on the other side of the door. Shelby could hear someone start talking as soon as she turned the handle.

"Listen here, Tiny, I don't appreciate you skipping out on me in school two days in a row and making me worry and shi-"

Santana stopped talking when she saw that it was Shelby and Beth at the door and not Rachel. The woman's eyebrows were raised as if she wanted Santana to continue with her rant. Santana knew better. Quinn couldn't help but smirk when her tough friend clamped her mouth shut.

"Hi, Shelby," Quinn said cheerfully and stepped past them and into the house.

"Hi," Brittany said as she followed after Quinn.

"Hello girls," Shelby said and then glanced back at Santana.

"Coach Corcoran," Santana said as she stepped past.

"Miss Lopez," Shelby greeted.

Shelby and Beth shared a smile when Santana walked past them and into the house. She wasn't going to admit it to the girl because this was way more fun, but Shelby loved the genuine concern and friendship that Santana had developed for Rachel.

"Rachel's probably upstairs in her room," Shelby said. "Or the music room. Go on up. You can leave all of your stuff in her room."

The three girls entered Rachel's bedroom to see the young brunette standing in the center of the room smiling brightly at them. No one even made a move to put their bags down because it seemed as if Rachel was about to make a proclamation and she held all their attention.

"Welcome to my room," Rachel spoke brightly and quickly. "This can be the command center, as it were, for our festivities this evening. I have to admit that I did not have a lot of time today to formulate a proper plan for our activities tonight. It has been a long, but pretty wonderful day, and I want to assure you that my lack of planning will in no way inhibit our enjoyment of our time this evening. We have a large selection of movies and my mother and I went shopping for plenty of snacks and beverages this afternoon and I'm sure there will be more than enough and that you will all be able to find something you like. I have not put together any party games, but there is a decent selection of board games available for our use if we so choose. And of course, we can always get in some extra practice for some of our songs with my mother who promised that she is ready and willing to coach us tonight. I have taken the liberty of pulling out a few selections for each of us to use as solo pieces as well as some songs that we can sing together that will highlight all of our particular strengths and should allow us to showcase our different, yet almost equally good, voices. If we perfected a few tonight we could perform them Monday for the club and Mr. Schue to help jumpstart the Regionals preparation. I also, of course, have a laptop and there is an Xbox 360 in the house with some games. My mom got it for her nephews to play when they visit, but don't let her fool you; she likes to play sometimes as well. So, bearing all that in mind, what would you guys like to do first?"

Quinn, Santana, and Brittany just stared at Rachel as they tried to wrap their heads around what the girl had just said. Rachel stood waiting expectantly for an answer and it was Quinn who finally broke the silence.

"Food. I vote food." The rest was too much to process.

"Right," Santana agreed. "Me too."

"Perfect," Rachel said. "My mom is going to order pizzas. Let's go."

She moved past them out of the room and towards the stairs leaving the three stunned girls still rooted to the floor in her room.

"Did you catch all of that?" Santana asked.

"No," Quinn answered. "I heard snacks so that's why I said food."

"I have no idea what's going on," Brittany said. For once the other two understood how she felt.

"So what are you guys going to do tonight?" Shelby asked them about twenty minutes later after pizzas had been decided on and ordered.

"Well," Rachel sat up straighter and prepared to give her speech again. "Upstairs I was telling them how-"

"We're just going to hang out," Quinn cut her off. "Movies and snacks and stuff."

"Sounds good," Shelby said.

Two hours later the coffee table had been moved to the side in the living room and Brittany was giving an impromptu dance show. Beth sat on Quinn's lap and squealed happily as she watched Brittany. Shelby was up in her room blocking out the loud music as she read. She was waiting for a good time to remind the girls they were going to have to turn the music down some so that the neighbors didn't complain later. Rachel got up in between dances to get another drink from the kitchen and Santana followed.

"Are you having a good time?" Rachel asked as she retrieved bottles of water for them from the refrigerator.

"Are you ok?" Santana didn't beat around the bush.

"Yes, of course," Rachel said. "I'm having a great time."

"I mean in general, Rachel," Santana said. "Why were you so sad the last few days? Why did you miss school? Why are we having this here because you're reluctant to leave your mom? Why is your mom even home yet?"

"Oh," Rachel said as she sat down at the table and folded her hands in front of her and stared down at them. "She came home early for me." Rachel smiled at Santana.

"Because you missed her?" Santana asked. "She was only gone a couple days."

"I got in trouble," Rachel said. "And then she told me she had to go out of town. I thought she was leaving because of me being in trouble."

"I thought she was going to a conference," Santana said. "How do they relate?"

"They-" Rachel stopped talking and really thought about what she was trying to explain. She didn't want Santana to think that she was crazy or stupid or anything else. "They don't relate," she finally said after a minute. "They don't relate." It was a little stronger that time and said with more confidence.

"She came home because you were in trouble?" Santana asked, confused.

"No," Rachel said. "I lied to you about the stitches," she put her hand to her head and felt them. "I didn't exactly slip on the ice. I took my car and drove it when she was gone and then the car slipped on the ice in the driveway and I hit a tree and knocked my head and that's how I got the stitches."

"Jesus, Rachel, are you ok?" Santana said.

"I'm fine," Rachel assured her. "But I told my mom the same story I told you guys about falling on the ice and she believed it for a while. But she found out the truth and needless to say I was in a lot of trouble."

"Geez, I bet so."

"But she told me later that night she was going out of town," Rachel continued. "I thought she was leaving because I got in trouble."

"You think she went online and found some random conference to go to really quick because you got in trouble?" Santana asked. "That doesn't make any sense, Rachel."

"My dads used to leave me," Rachel said looking down once more. "I think I got in trouble before they left the first time."

"Oh," Santana understood. "I hate to say it, Rachel, but your dads sound like assholes."

"No, they just-"

"Just nothing," Santana cut her off. "What were you? Twelve? My grandmother still wanted me to hold her hand when we crossed the street when I was twelve. It sounds like their issue, Rachel, not yours. And as frightening as your mother is, she seems pretty damn devoted."

"She is," Rachel agreed. "But I get so afraid, Santana." Her voice was serious and her eyes begged for reassurance.

"That doesn't mean you have to make everyone else afraid," Santana said. "No one could find you. You should have told someone if you were afraid."

"It's not that simple," Rachel said.

"Of course it is," Santana said.

"What have you ever been so afraid of?" Rachel accused. "I was afraid my mother was walking out on my sister and me. After my dads had already walked out on me."

"I told my parents that I was afraid they would kick me out if I ever told them that I love Brittany," Santana shot back. "My mom found a letter Brittany had written me with all of these crayon drawings and big hearts that said 'I love you' that I'd been able to keep hidden for months. I had to whisper if to her because I was too scared to hear myself tell her."

Rachel was taken aback and stopped wallowing so she could ask, "What did they say?"

"My dad said that he knew I was in love with Brittany before I did and that they loved me and wanted me to be happy," Santana said.

"But it doesn't always work like that," Rachel said. "Quinn was afraid to tell her parents about her pregnancy and with good reason because they kicked her out."

"And other people stepped up to help her," Santana said. "No one can help you if you don't open your mouth and say something."

"It's not like I've ever really had any friends to help me before," Rachel argued.

"But you do now, doofus," Santana said. "You could have talked to me or Quinn or Mrs. Fabray or your therapist or Miss Pillsbury and the list goes on. Friendship and trust are built both ways, Rachel, and you have to learn as much as we do."

"But what could you have done?" Rachel asked softly. It wasn't unkind, but rather like she was going to file away the answer in case she ever needed Santana in the future.

"Well for one, maybe you wouldn't have felt so alone," Santana said. "And two, I'd have called your mother."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You think I'd have any problem with getting on the phone and saying, 'Shelby, get your ass back here; Rachel needs you.'"

"You wouldn't say that," Rachel giggled.

"Something like it," Santana muttered.

"Thank you, Santana."

"You're welcome, Rachel."

Their sincere moment was ruined when Brittany yelled, "Where's my water?"

"Come on, munchkin, let's get back to the dance party."

Rachel picked up the two waters from the table and left the room while Santana reached into the refrigerator for two more. Rachel didn't see her mother standing in the shadow off to the side of the kitchen when she passed and Shelby only stepped out when she was gone. Santana shut the fridge door to find Shelby looking at her.

"God! Do you always just appear like that?"

"When I need to," Shelby answered.

"How long have you been there?" Santana asked.

"Long enough," Shelby told her. "Thank you, Santana."

"I didn't mean to talk so roughly to her."

"No," Shelby said. "She needs to hear that. Especially from her friends. And I'm proud that you are included among that list of friends."

Santana shrugged and smiled and ducked her head.

"Go on back to your dance party," Shelby said.

Santana looked up and Shelby and a genuine smile graced her features as she passed by the coach. Santana was proud to be included as well.

At midnight Shelby told them she was going to bed and that the noise needed to be kept at a minimum. The girls, including Beth who had had a power nap and was wide awake now, waved her off. They were watching _Moulin Rouge_ and were all focused on the movie. Shelby kissed Rachel, Quinn and Beth goodnight. She put a soft hand on Santana's cheek and they shared a look and then she ruffled Brittany's hair as she was leaving the room and heading for the stairs.

"I don't know why you're always saying she's scary, San," Shelby heard Brittany say.

Shelby reluctantly opened her eyes and looked to her clock at one in the morning. She could hear the pillow fight that was going on downstairs and the peals of laughter that went with it. She heard a loud thud of something falling to the ground and it got quiet for a second before she heard Quinn say, "it's fine" and the laughter starting again.

"Girls!" Shelby hollered and the quiet instantly came back. "Do I need to come down there?"

"No," came the response from Rachel.

"Make sure that I don't," Shelby yelled back. She rolled her eyes when she heard them start to giggle. She pulled the blankets close and drifted back to sleep.

At three Shelby woke again but not because of any noise. It was the opposite, in fact. She couldn't hear anything. There was no laughing or sounds from the TV. She couldn't hear any whispers or arguing. Shelby shut her eyes with the knowledge that the girls had finally gone to sleep only to sit up a minute later because she couldn't shake the feeling that she better check on them.

Shelby crept down the stairs and then into an almost empty living room. The only occupant was Beth and she was fast asleep in her play pen. She took a second to note that the living room was fairly clean and she was actually surprised. She expected it to look like a disaster area. She checked the kitchen next and found it empty as well. She was about to go up and check the music room when she heard it; laughter. And it was coming from outside. Shelby looked to the back door and sure enough it was unlocked. She walked to the front closest and pulled out a coat, hat, gloves, and some boots and put them on quickly and made her way to the back door.

Shelby opened the door quietly and slipped out into the darkness and watched. As best she could tell the snowball fight was being wagered in teams. Rachel and Quinn vs. Santana and Brittany. They were doing their best to be quiet, but it didn't always work. The darkness added to the fun of the game because the girls had left the back porch light off and they were hiding behind trees and hastily made snow forts. Shelby surveyed each girl to make sure they were appropriately dressed and except for the pajama bottoms peeking out from under jackets and boots, they were.

Shelby stepped back inside and made her way to the kitchen. Part of her felt like the responsible thing to do would be to make them all come inside immediately and get some sleep, but the willingness to let them play won over. She moved around the kitchen to get out the things she would need to make hot chocolate.

Quinn dodged a few snowballs that were lobbed her way as she ran to the tree Rachel was hiding behind. Rachel returned the volley and grinned when she caught Santana square in the face. She quickly ducked back behind the tree when she saw her friend begin to gather even more ammo.

"Rach," Quinn said breathlessly. "Did you just see that your mom was out here?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I was surprised she didn't say anything."

"Me too. Do you think she'll be back?"

"Probably," Rachel answered.

"We need a plan in case she does," Quinn said.

Rachel matched her Cheshire cat grin and nodded.

"Good. Go tell Santana and Brittany to come here."

"What?" Rachel asked as she was pushed from behind the tree and immediately pelted with snowballs. Quinn threw her head back and laughed.

Shelby left four piping hot mugs filled with hot chocolate on the table and went back outside to tell the girls in hopes that the warm treat would bring them in from the cold. She was met with absolute silence and she scanned the yard to try and figure out where the girls went. But there was nothing for her to go on. There was no movement or laughter or crunching of the snow.

Shelby stepped off the porch and started to make her way into the yard and peered into the darkness. Where had they gone?

There was a sudden noise behind her and Shelby did not turn around quickly enough and felt someone grab her around her waist and pin her arms to her sides.

"Now!" Rachel said.

The other girls stepped out from behind three different trees and Shelby saw the snowballs being hurled her way. She tried to shake her daughter off her back, but Rachel held on with all her might. Rachel tucked herself behind her mother so that she wouldn't be hit and did her best to hold her in place.

The girls were delighted when their snowballs started hitting their intended target and Shelby couldn't do anything to block them or move out of the way. Ok, little girls. This was war. Shelby dropped down to her knees, taking Rachel with her. The girl was not ready for this development and her grip loosened enough for Shelby to break it all together. She reached around behind her and pulled Rachel to her side. Rachel tried to scamper away, but Shelby was quicker and grabbed the back of the girl's jacket and held on. She stood them up and positioned Rachel in front her like a shield. The snowballs stopped flying when the others realized that Shelby had a hostage.

"How many more snowballs do they have?" Shelby asked her prisoner.

"A lot," Rachel answered defiantly. "You'll never win."

Shelby just laughed and kept Rachel in front of her as she made her way to take cover behind a tree.

"Release her," Santana said.

"You wish," Shelby replied.

"It's still three against one," Quinn said quietly to her team. "She can't beat us. She doesn't even have any snowballs made."

"But there's plenty of snow," Brittany said making perfect sense. It was eerie when she did that.

"You have another stash, don't you?" Shelby asked quietly from her hiding spot.

"I won't talk," Rachel said.

"I will torture you," Shelby said seriously.

"I can take it," Rachel replied.

Shelby left one hand gripping the back of Rachel's jacket as she reached down and tickled the girl behind her knee. Rachel laughed and tried to move away, but Shelby was relentless.

"She's going to talk," Quinn said when they heard Rachel's laughter.

"No," Rachel laughed. "I'm not- not telling."

Another peal of laughter rang out and Shelby stopped her tickle torture and stood up and quickly cupped her hand over Rachel's mouth.

"Shh," she laughed into her ear. "Don't wake the neighbors."

Rachel nodded and Shelby gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now, tell me where it is."

"Never," Rachel whispered.

"Ok," Shelby nodded. "I can take drastic measures."

Her grip remained strong on Rachel's jacket and she made sure the girl was turned away from her when she bent down and scooped up as much snow as she could. Rachel only had a second to think about it when her mom let go of the jacket. What was going on?

"Oh!" Rachel gasped and then squealed when she felt her mom pull the waist band of her pajama bottoms back and dump snow down the back of her pants.

Shelby quickly caught her around the waist when she tried to run. She placed pats on Rachel's backside to help rub the snow in.

"Mom!" Rachel admonished as she moved her legs around to try and free the snow. It was so cold!

"Now talk," Shelby said.

"There's a stash of snowballs by the tree in the back corner," Rachel told her.

"Good girl. Let's go."

Shelby repositioned her hostage in front of her and they moved towards the tree in the back corner of the yard.

"Back corner," Rachel said so her friends could hear her. "By the tree."

Shelby shook her to make her stop talking and her eyes gleamed when they reached the tree. She just needed some ammo. But when they got there she didn't see anything. There were no snowballs prepared. She held on to Rachel as she looked around and realized she'd been set up. She could hear the approaching footsteps of the others and when she looked back she was met with more snowballs being thrown her way.

"You tricked me!" Shelby said.

"You put snow down my pants. Of course I tricked you," Rachel said.

The assault only lasted a few more minutes and they all ended up laughing as Shelby tried to keep them somewhat quiet. The neighbors were going to hate them. After Shelby's announcement that there was hot chocolate inside, the girls all agreed that it was time to get out of the cold. Shelby made them stand on the back porch and brush themselves off before going inside. Santana, Brittany, and Quinn finished first and went straight for the kitchen while Rachel was still stomping snow off her boots and pants on the porch. Shelby tried to help her out and was pleasantly surprised when Rachel suddenly hugged her around the waist and rested her head on the woman's chest.

"I love you, Mom," Rachel said.

"I love you too, Rach," Shelby returned the hug and held her tightly.

In a flash Rachel was gone and inside to join her friends in the kitchen and Shelby grinned as she shut and locked the door behind them.

Shelby woke up at seven and stretched in her bed. She was convinced it was much later and groaned when she saw the time on her clock. Was she turning into Rachel or something with her incessant need to wake up early? Shelby rolled over and closed her eyes so that sleep could take her again, but it never did. She reluctantly got out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower. She expected the girls to sleep for a while so maybe she could surprise them with breakfast. Besides, she knew Beth would be up soon and needed to take care of her.

When Shelby emerged on the bottom story forty minutes later she stopped and stared at the mess that was her living room. There were pizza boxes and dishes and glasses and movie cases and everywhere. Balled up paper towels she assumed had been napkins were strewn about. There were ice cream bowls and three banana peels and what looked to be about sixteen bottles of water. Chips and salsa completed the chaos and Shelby sighed. How had this all happened so quickly? It was clean after the snowball fight and Shelby just assumed they had gone to bed. At least she had a full cleaning party in the living room.

Shelby heard a noise that sounded like a plastic bag as she stepped all the way into the room. When she peered over the couch that held Quinn she saw Beth sitting on the floor in the center of the room happily munching on her forbidden marshmallow treats from Nana. The little girl was the only one awake and the box was turned on its side and the contents spilled everywhere. Beth used both hands to pick them and put them in her mouth. She smiled at her mother triumphantly.

Shelby picked Beth up from the mess and carried her to the kitchen, leaving the box on the floor.

"How did you get those?" Shelby asked. "And how did you get out of the play pen?"

Beth only smiled and kicked her feet. She'd never tell.

Two hours later Shelby's cleaning brigade was awake and grumbling through their work. When they were finished Santana and Brittany said their goodbyes and left to head home. Quinn took up residence on the couch ad fell right back to sleep. Shelby started to say something to Rachel she realized that the girl was nowhere in sight. Shelby found her upstairs in her room fast asleep.

Beth was her only company and Shelby attributed that to the sugar coursing through her veins, but she'd crash eventually too.

"What do you say we go window shopping?" Shelby asked the little girl. Beth was all for it.

Shelby left a note for Rachel on her bedside table where she knew the girl would see it explaining where she went and when she expected to be back. She then placed a quick call to Judy to see if she wanted to go along and left the girls to their slumber.

Six weeks passed and they were soon into the middle February. Rachel had her license and had just received the privilege of driving on her own and was ecstatic to do so. Her first trip by herself turned out to be an errand for Shelby, but Rachel didn't care.

Rachel's phone rang while she was in the grocery store and she smiled as she answered it.

"Hi, Nana," Rachel said.

"Hello, sweetheart," Rebecca greeted. "I wanted to talk to you about your mother's birthday. It's in a few weeks, you know?"

"Do you have any ideas?" Rachel said. "I don't know what to do for it. I want it to be special. I have an idea for a gift, but you might be a better party planner."

"I've got a couple ideas," Rebecca said, "but I want to run them by you first. Can you sit and talk about them right now?"

"I'm at the grocery store," Rachel answered. "Can I call you when I get home?"

"Of course. I'll talk to you then."

Rachel turned the corner and found the last thing on her list; the cold and flu medicine her mom wanted. Shelby had assured her she was fine, but that she felt like she might be coming down with a minor cold and wanted to head it off while she could. Rachel grabbed two boxes just in case.

**A/N – Thank you all very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this one. Please leave me a review if you can. It means a lot. Thanks! **


	68. Chapter 68

**A/N – I understand that I'm a broken record, but I am very sorry for the delay. I'm having some sort of confidence crisis with this and needed some time to get this written. Thank you all so much for your reviews and messages. They mean so much to me. I hope you like this chapter.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. Because if I did, bringing Idina back would not have been 99% about Puck and his awful hair. Come on, writers. Are we serious? **

Shelby ended the call on her phone and reached her hand above her head in an attempt to set it on the table beside the couch. She was lying there half asleep when her phone had broken the silence and she had answered it reluctantly and tried to keep the conversation as short as possible, though the person on the other end had suddenly wanted to talk forever. She knew she should have just ignored the call, but it almost certainly had something to do with Rachel. It only took her a few seconds to realize that wasn't the case and she spent the next six minutes trying to figure out a way to hang up and deal with it later.

She thought she had found the table, but set the phone to close to the edge and heard it hit the floor. Whatever; she'd get it later. Shelby peeked one eye open and looked to see that Beth was still sleeping in the playpen. Thankfully she was and the woman shut her eyes and soaked in the quiet. She'd sent Rachel for the biggest list of groceries she'd ever put together and knew she had some time to rest. She could feel this cold starting to grow and Shelby was adamant that she could cut it off before it got any worse. That last thing she needed was to be sick right now. Or at all.

The front door slamming open almost an hour later startled Shelby from her sleep and she sat up and rubbed her face. She cast an envious glance at Beth who hadn't even stirred despite the loud noise. Shelby leaned over and picked up her phone from the floor and set it on the table before getting up to go see Rachel. Well, she hoped it was Rachel coming through the front door.

Shelby stepped into the kitchen and saw Rachel carrying more bags than she could count and struggling to life them up onto the table.

"Rach, what are you doing?"

"Bringing in the groceries," the girl answered. "I hate to have to make more than one trip."

Shelby rolled her eyes and helped Rachel lift the bags onto the table. "Is that everything?"

"No," Rachel answered with a sigh. "There were just too many of them and I had to leave some in the car."

"Well fifteen bags at once is pretty impressive," Shelby deadpanned. "Go and get the rest and I'll start putting this stuff away."

Rachel returned a few minutes later with more bags and she flopped them on the table with the rest. "I've never bought this many groceries at once."

"Yes, I see you got the important things," Shelby said as she pulled out a couple magazines and various snacks that weren't on the list. It looked like Rachel had raided the vegan friendly section of the grocery store.

"Beth wanted some stuff," Rachel shrugged.

"Did you get anything that was actually on the list?" Shelby asked.

"Of course," Rachel answered. "I just enhanced it some."

"Can I have my credit card back?" Shelby asked. "Before you add some enhancements to your car or something."

"I wouldn't do that," Rachel scoffed as she handed over the credit card. Mainly because she didn't know enough about cars to know what type of enhancements to get.

Rachel started emptying a bag to put the groceries away when she stopped and looked to her mom. "Oh no…"

"What?" Shelby was concerned as she turned to look back at her daughter.

"I forgot your coffee."

Shelby just stared at her for a few moments as if she was trying to process what Rachel had said.

"I was looking for it and then my phone rang and I talked for a while and I guess I just got distracted and forgot."

"That's not funny, Rachel," Shelby said.

"I'm not being funny," Rachel assured her. "Besides I read that coffee isn't good for you to drink while you're sick so maybe you should hold off on drinking it for a few days. We've got plenty of juice and water. I can pour you a glass if you want."

Shelby stared at her child like the girl had three heads. "I am fine. And I'm going to want my coffee. It makes me feel better. I need it."

"Mom," Rachel said seriously. "You're overreacting. It's not that important. But I suppose I can stop by the store in the morning if you need it that badly."

"You can't do that; you've got school," Shelby told her.

"Oh yeah. Then I'll just go on my way home."

"Tomorrow afternoon?" Shelby squeaked out. "I need it tomorrow morning. No, I think I need it now. You need to go back to the store right now."

"Don't they close soon?" Rachel asked.

"They don't close until midnight," Shelby told her. "Never mind, I'll go. You stay here with Beth."

"Mom, you shouldn't do that," Rachel tried to soothe her. "It's really cold out and there and if you're sick, you should just stay in." She plucked Shelby's car keys from the hook and pocketed them. "How about I make you some hot tea?"

"Rachel," Shelby growled out as she finally put down the loaf of bread she'd been holding this whole time and stepped around the table to get closer to her daughter. "I want my coffee."

"Are you always this cranky when you're sick?" Rachel asked lightly.

"I'm not sick!" Shelby exclaimed. "You deprived me of my caffeine. That's not fair. What did I ever do to you?"

"Nothing," Rachel smiled sweetly. "You've always just given me what's best for me. And I'm trying to do the same for you."

"I'm going to give you what's best for you in a second," Shelby threatened. "Now hand over my keys."

"Ok," Rachel said reluctantly. "But there's really no need for you to go anywhere." She started to walk out of the room and looked back over her shoulder to find her mother watching her go. "I got your coffee. It's in a bag on the table."

It took a second for the news to sink in, but when it did Shelby moved back through the table and started sifting through the bags until she found them. She picked up the two canisters and held them close, even rocking a little bit. She loved her coffee.

"I don't know why that evil child tried to hide you from me," she said.

She stopped herself from engaging in further conversation with the coffee and went about putting the rest of the groceries away instead. Shelby found the cold medicine and took a dosage right then and put them aside to carry up to the medicine cabinet in her bathroom when she was done. On her way to the stairs, Shelby found Rachel sitting on the couch flipping through one of her magazines. The mother took a moment to grab a pillow and give Rachel a good whack with it. She gave a satisfied nod at the perfect hair that went everywhere along with Rachel's squeal of shock. Never mess with Shelby Corcoran's coffee.

Dinner was simple that night with salads and sandwiches because Shelby wasn't up for cooking anything. Rachel was watching her mother carefully and knew that she was feeling worse. She had offered to make dinner but Shelby had sent her away for the safety of her kitchen. She promised they would work on her cooking together later, but right now she wanted to get a quick dinner out.

"Mom, did you take any of the medicine?"

"Yeah. And I'm fine," Shelby answered. "It's just a little cold."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "Because you look like you don't feel well at all."

"No, I'm fine," Shelby brushed it off. "I will tell you that I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep and I'm sure I'll feel back to normal in the morning."

"Maybe you should make an appointment to see your doctor," Rachel said.

"No," Shelby laughed. "It's not that serious; just the sniffles."

"But-"

"I got a call from Mr. Schuester earlier today," Shelby cut her off in an attempt to distract her and change the subject.

"Oh?" Rachel said, suddenly aloof. She sat up straighter and asked, "Why would he call here to talk to you?"

Shelby was amused by Rachel's sudden change in demeanor, but she kept her face neutral. "Why do you think he needed to call here and talk to me?"

"I don't know," Rachel played up her innocence. "I can't think of anything I've done that would warrant a phone call home."

"And what have you done that wouldn't warrant a phone call home?" Shelby asked.

"Nothing," Rachel answered quickly. She clamped her mouth shut and smiled at her mother.

"Sure," Shelby said. "Make certain that whatever it is you're up to doesn't result in a phone call home."

Rachel feigned shock and wore an expression as if to say, 'I would never!'

Shelby fixed her daughter with a stare before letter her off the hook and said, "He wanted to talk about Regionals preparation and to see if I would like to help out again. He said he wants to get an earlier start on set lists this year."

"That's a great idea," Rachel said enthusiastically. "He likes to wait until the last minute to decide on anything."

"I told him I would come in sometime next week and talk about a schedule."

"That's great, Mom. I know everyone will be excited."

"We'll have to work even harder for Regionals," Shelby warned. "The competition will be even stiffer and if you want to make it to Nationals-"

"We will make it to Nationals," Rachel interrupted. "And while I was hoping it would be in New York City this year, I'm also excited to get a chance to visit Washington D.C. Our nation's capital is rich with history and culture. Plus, performing at the Kennedy Center will be a once in a lifetime experience. That is, until I've established myself on the stage and perhaps in Hollywood and have put out a few CDs and then embark on a successful, sold-out nationwide concert tour."

"Sounds like a plan," Shelby indulged. "But before any of that happens, you guys have to win Regionals."

"Did Mr. Schue give you any hints as to what he's planning?" Rachel asked.

"No, we'll discuss it later."

"But not too much later because like I was just saying, he-"

"Rach," Shelby stopped her. "I know. Now finish your dinner."

Shelby tried to do the dishes after they ate, but Rachel wouldn't let her help. The girl did all of the dishes and cleaned the kitchen and then found her mother just as she was starting a bath for Beth. Rachel took her sister and tried to shoo her mother away.

"Rachel…"

"Mom, you should go ahead and try and get some sleep. I'll give Beth a bath and put her to bed tonight."

"Rach-"

"No. Go on. Beth and I are fine."

"Ok," Shelby relented. "Just make sure you're in bed when you're supposed to be." Shelby smiled gratefully at her daughter and put a hand on hers and Beth's head as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Rachel and Beth played in the bathroom for a while before the little girl was finally washed up and wrapped in a towel. Rachel dressed her in the nursery and then took her downstairs so if she made a lot of noise, it wouldn't disturb their mother. Beth played for a while and Rachel watched TV. She had wanted to finish the movie that was on, but Beth became increasingly cranky as grew tired. Rachel gave her a bottle and the baby was almost asleep before she could finish it all.

Rachel carried her up the stairs and opened Shelby's bedroom door so she could put Beth in her crib. Shelby was asleep and Rachel didn't want Beth to cry in the middle of the night and wake her up. She had said she wanted a good night's sleep and so Rachel decided to keep Beth with her. She shut the door behind her quietly and then grabbed some extra blankets from the linen closet in the hall on the way to her own room. She made a make-shift bed on the floor and got Beth situated on it before turning in for the night.

Rachel crept into her mother's room the following morning to check on her. Shelby was still asleep and so Rachel turned the tables on her and switched off her alarm. She put a gentle hand on the woman's forehead and could tell she had a fever. Rachel pulled the blankets up and leaned down and gave her mother a light kiss on her temple. She left just as quietly as she entered and went to Beth who was just starting to stir.

It took Rachel longer than she expected, but she got them both ready for the day. She was pleased that even Beth seemed to understand that they needed to be quiet and kept her babbling at a quiet tone as they ate breakfast and cleaned up. Rachel left the girl in her swing so she could get everything she would need together. Thank goodness it was Friday. Her mom was sick and she wanted to be able to be at home with her. She seriously thought about skipping to stay with her today, but somehow knew that Shelby would not be pleased with that.

Shelby rolled over and kept her eyes shut as she tried to will herself to go back to sleep. God, she felt like death. But she had to get up and get Rachel off to school and take care of Beth. And she had lessons to give today. She finally opened her eyes and looked over to her clock to see how much longer she had before her alarm would go off. Her eyes widened and she quickly sat up when she saw that it was after nine.

"Rachel," she yelled out despite her scratchy throat that led to her starting to cough.

Shelby threw her blankets back and started to get out of bed but stopped when she saw the bottle of water and medicine that were left on her bedside table. There was a note as well.

"Mom," Shelby read, "Don't worry about anything. I called and cancelled all of your lessons this morning because you are clearly in no condition to give vocal instruction today. I am taking Beth to Katie's on my way to school. She said she would be happy to watch her all day so you can get some rest. So take the medicine and go back to sleep. Or go and see your doctor. Feel better. Love, Rachel. Oh, and I took your car today so that I wouldn't have to move the car seat around for Beth."

Shelby wanted to be angry and her daughter's presumptuousness, but smiled instead. She really did feel awful and perhaps taking a day to rest would be just what she needed. And with both girls out of the house, she could do just that. She couldn't lie around and sleep all weekend with two kids to take care of so getting some sleep now would be perfect. Shelby took the medicine and got out of bed so she was going to head downstairs to watch a movie.

Lunchtime at McKinley came quickly for Rachel and she was glad the day seemed to be going by so quickly. She was resisting the urge to call home and check on her mother because she didn't want to risk waking her up.

"How's your mom feeling?" Quinn asked when she sat down at the table. Rachel had told her about Shelby being sick that morning when she got to school.

"I don't know," Rachel confessed. "I haven't called home. I don't want to wake her up."

"Your mom's sick?" Kurt asked.

"She has a cold," Rachel confirmed.

"It's not that new strain of the flu, is it?" Sam asked. "I heard that one is hard to shake."

"I don't think so," Rachel answered. "She just started feeling bad yesterday. She got a flu shot months ago."

"The article I saw about it said this new strain is resistant to the current flu shot," Sam said. "And it makes people sick for longer."

"I'm sure it's nothing like that," Quinn said pointedly to Sam when she saw Rachel's increasingly worried expression. "Everyone gets a cold now and then."

"Unless it's something else altogether," Kurt shrugged. "Was she in any pain?"

"No, I don't think so. But she didn't really say."

"High fever?"

"Yeah."

"What if it's her appendix or something?"

"But she said it was a cold," Rachel was faltering.

"Did you leave her anything to eat?" Finn chimed in.

"No, I-"

"She needs to eat if she's sick," Finn continued.

"We thought my grandma had a simple cold once and it turned out to be pneumonia. Has your mom ever been really sick in the past?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Rachel was not interested in discussing what little bit she knew of Shelby's medical history with her friends. She had heard bits and pieces about how her mother couldn't have any more kids, but she had never really asked for all the details before. Could it be something like that again? "But I don't think it's anything like that." She hoped.

"Guys, it's a cold," Quinn said. "Shelby is fine."

"I should go and call her," Rachel shot up from the table and quickly walked away.

"Could the three of you be any more oblivious?" Quinn asked.

"What?" Finn asked as he took another large bite of his pizza.

Shelby smiled at the name on her phone when it rang. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi, Mom. How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok," Shelby said. "I'm half asleep on the couch."

"I didn't mean to wake up," Rachel said. "I'll let you go now."

"No, hang on. It's fine," Shelby said. She broke into a coughing fit and Rachel frowned.

"Mom, are you sure it's just a cold?" Rachel asked. "You should see your doctor."

"No, baby, I'm fine," Shelby said.

"But, Mom-"

"Rach, I said I'm fine."

"You made me go and see my doctor when I was sick," Rachel protested. "What if you need medication like I did?"

"Honey, you hadn't seen your doctor in three years," Shelby reasoned. "I saw mine three months ago. If I start to feel any worse, I'll go."

"You promise?" Rachel asked, child-like.

"I promise," Shelby told her. The bell sounded in the background and Shelby smiled. "It's time to get back to class. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Mom."

Shelby ended the call and her smile turned into a grimace. She ached all over and she could feel another wave of nausea coming on. She bolted up from the couch and went to the bathroom, making it just in time. When she was sure she was finished, Shelby rinsed her mouth out and splashed cold water on her face.

She slowly made her way out of the bathroom and up the stairs to her room so she could brush her teeth again. She didn't even really know why she had gone back down to the couch after the last time. She wanted this miserable feeling to pass.

Shelby crawled back into her bed and tried to get comfortable. She hoped to get some more sleep and wake up feeling better by the time Rachel and Beth got home.

Rachel hurried out to the car after glee practice that day so she could get on the road. She hadn't talked to her mom since that conversation at lunchtime and she was anxious to see her. But she did want to make a stop first and she needed Nana's help with it.

"Hi, Rachel," Rebecca answered her phone. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"Hi, Nana. I'm fine."

"Did you come up with any ideas for your mother's birthday party?"

"No, that's not actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Rachel answered.

"Oh?"

"Do you know what Mom's favorite soup is?" Rachel asked. "Can you send me a recipe and instructions on how to cook it?"

"Her favorite soup? Why can't she tell you?"

"She's not feeling very well and I wanted to surprise her," Rachel answered. "Everyone likes soup when they're sick."

"What's the matter with her?" Rebecca asked, concerned.

"It's just a cold, she says. She had a fever this morning and she's been coughing," Rachel told her.

"Has she seen her doctor?"

"No, she won't go. She said she would go and see her if she started to feel worse. Can you believe how stubborn she is?" Rachel asked.

"I certainly know where you got it from," Rebecca said with a laugh.

"I am not stubborn!" Rachel defended herself.

"Whatever you say, dear. Now, about that recipe; you are in luck," Rebecca said. "I have it saved on my computer. I've been putting together a recipe book for a while now so I can give it to everyone. I'll send it to you."

"Thanks Nana!" Rachel said. "I love you."

"I love you too. And Rachel, call me back and let me know how she's doing," Rebecca instructed.

"I will. Bye."

Rachel received the recipe in an email on her phone while she was driving to the grocery store. She took her time to make sure she had everything she needed for the classic chicken noodle soup, including pre-cut chicken because there was no way she was cutting it up herself. When she was sure she had everything she needed, Rachel left and picked up Beth from Katie's and then went home.

The house was dark when they arrived and Rachel put Beth in her swing in the hopes that it would occupy the little girl for a while and then brought in her new groceries. She went to check on Shelby next and found the woman asleep in her room.

Rachel turned on a lamp so the light was softer than the ones overhead and stood next to Shelby. She felt her forehead and knew the fever was bad. Shelby started to stir at the touch and Rachel leaned down and kissed her head.

"Mama," Rachel whispered. "Beth and I are home."

"Rach?" Shelby questioned as she looked at her daughter and started to get up. She immediately felt nauseous.

Rachel had to step out of the way as Shelby quickly moved to the bathroom. Shelby's tears came naturally as they always did when she vomited and wished Rachel wasn't there to see her feeling so badly. The girl was holding her hair back and didn't say anything as she waited for her mom to finish. Shelby flushed the toilet and sat back and leaned against Rachel's leg. Rachel poured a glass of water for her and helped her mom to her feet.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked. It was a stupid question and she knew it.

"I'll be fine," Shelby said after rinsing her mouth. "It's just this flu."

"I thought you said it was a cold."

"Or cold."

"Mom, did you go see your doctor? You said you would if you felt worse."

"I'll go tomorrow."

"But, Mom-"

"Rach, honey. Please," Shelby pleaded. "I don't get sick often, but when I do it's usually bad. I'll be feeling better by the morning, I know it. If you give me a minute to wake up, I'll come down and start some dinner for you and Beth. Where is she anyways?"

"She's downstairs in her swing," Rachel answered. "And you don't need to worry; I'll take care of dinner and everything else for Beth and me. Have you eaten today?"

"I had some juice. And some crackers earlier."

"That's it?"

"I wasn't up for it. I'll have something later," Shelby told her. "I've got stuff I need to do right now anyway so it's good that I'm up."

"No, you need to lie back down and go to sleep," Rachel said.

"Honey, there's stuff that needs to be done around here. I've slept most of the day away."

"I'll do it," Rachel said.

"No, I need to be up and moving around," Shelby said. "There's laundry to be done and-"

"Mommy, please," Rachel said. "I'll do it. You need to stay in bed. Besides, if you're contagious, you might give it to Beth."

Shelby had to concede that point. "Like I've probably already given it to you. Beth is going to be exposed either way."

"But I'd hate to see her get sick too and she has more of a chance of it from you than me," Rachel said. She didn't know how true that was, but it sounded good.

"Ok, I'll lay down for a little while longer, but not all night," Shelby said.

"I'll make you some dinner later," Rachel said after Shelby got back in bed.

"Ok," Shelby said. "Thank you, honey."

Rachel gathered up all of Shelby's laundry before she left the room and wasn't all that surprised to see that her mother was already back asleep. She made a quick stop in her room for all of her dirty clothes and then went back downstairs. Beth was nodding off in her swing and Rachel left her to it for the time being so she could get the laundry started.

She made dinner for Beth and another salad for herself and then woke up her baby sister. That did not go over very well with Beth who was immediate cranky and refused to sit in her high chair. Rachel wasn't able to eat her dinner because she had to hold Beth in order to get the baby to eat hers. Rachel left her salad abandoned on the table in order to try and get Beth to calm down. Rachel set her on the floor in the living and sat with her to try and play with her blocks. Beth wanted to be held and sat with Rachel and threw a block across the room. Rachel found a cartoon she knew Beth liked and the girl wanted nothing to do with it. Even the pacifier and her blanket were not doing the trick right now and Rachel was growing more and more frustrated.

"What is wrong with you? Did you have to pick tonight of all nights to throw this type of fit? I wanted to make Mom her soup. Nana said she loves it."

Beth rested her head on Rachel's shoulder, but her tears didn't stop. Rachel's next attempt was to give the girl a bath. Beth usually loved the play and the warm water soothed her. Usually.

Beth fought her the entire time and Rachel was certain she was covered in more water than the baby by the time it was over.

"Why can't you just cooperate?" Rachel asked in an exasperated tone as she worked to get Beth into her diaper. "What could you possibly have to cry about for over an hour now?" Beth just screamed louder.

"Rachel, what's the matter with her?" Shelby asked from the doorway to the nursery. She had clearly just gotten out of bed and had her hand on her head as if it would help dull her headache.

"I don't know," Rachel answered. "She's been cranky since dinner. She ate, we walked, we played, we watched TV, she had a bath, but nothing helps. But I've got her. You should lie back down."

It was too late for that, however, because Beth had already spotted her mother and wanted desperately to be held by her. Shelby obliged by stepping into the room and sitting in the rocking chair and reaching for her baby. It took a few minutes of coaxing from Shelby, but Beth finally did quiet in her mother's arms. Shelby rocked her smiled gently at Rachel who threw her arms up and left the room.

It was unladylike, but Rachel shoveled her salad into her mouth as quickly as possible after she'd changed into some dry clothes. She was folding a load of laundry on the couch after starting another when she heard her mother calling for her from the nursery.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked when she ran into the room.

"She's asleep," Shelby said wearily. "And I was going to go lie back down."

"Do you want something to eat first?" Rachel asked. She hadn't had a chance to make the soup yet, but there was other stuff she could have.

Shelby shook her head as Rachel took Beth from her arms. "Not right now. My stomach's been hurting and I'm certain I won't keep anything down."

"Why does your stomach hurt?" Rachel asked.

"Must be part of the bug," Shelby said.

"Are you sure it's the flu?" Rachel asked. She couldn't help but think about Sam asking if Shelby had been sick before. What if this was something like last time where her mother was sick enough to warrant the surgery she'd had? What if Shelby should have been at the hospital hours and hours ago? Rachel had never experienced a sick Shelby and it was weighing on her mind.

Shelby nodded. "Don't worry, ok? I'll be good as new soon."

"Ok, Mom," Rachel answered though she didn't mean it. She was worried. She took Beth to her room and laid her on the make-shift bed she'd created the night before.

Rachel finished up the rest of the household chores she could think of and it was after ten before she sat down to print off Rebecca's recipe. She was determined to make this soup tonight. She wasn't any type of cook at all, but Rachel hoped she'd be able to follow the directions enough to make something edible. She had all of her ingredients out and ready and a pot on the stove when she heard her mother getting sick again. Rachel pulled out some saltines and a bottle of water and carried them up the stairs for her mother.

Shelby was sitting on the floor of the bathroom after what turned out to be mostly dry heaves because of her empty stomach. She was wiping at her tears when Rachel walked in.

"You need to eat something."

"I don't feel like it," Shelby muttered.

"It'll help you feel better," Rachel insisted. "Just a few crackers. Please."

Shelby relented and nodded and her head and Rachel sat down on the floor with her. She watched her mother eat one cracker and then take cautious sips of water. Shelby drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them.

"Do we have any ginger ale?"

"I don't think so," Rachel answered.

"Oh," Shelby shut her eyes.

"I can run out and get some. The store doesn't close until midnight, remember?"

"No, sweetie, don't worry about it," Shelby said. "You know what the real problem is? I didn't have any of my coffee this morning." Shelby tried to make a joke, but neither of them laughed.

"Please eat some more."

Shelby shook her head. "I haven't felt this sick in a long time."

"Please can we go see a doctor?" Rachel asked.

"No. Tomorrow if I'm not feeling better," Shelby said. "I'm not taking Beth to sit in some ER tonight."

"I'll call Quinn and Judy," Rachel said. "We can drop her off."

"It's eleven."

"They won't mind," Rachel said. "Let me get my phone."

"Rachel, no. Tomorrow. I'm going to take some more medicine and lie back down and hopefully sleep all night. You should be getting ready for bed too."

"I'm fine."

"I don't want you to end up sick again."

"I'm not worried about me," Rachel said.

"I am," Shelby said.

They sat there for a few more minutes before Rachel helped Shelby with the medicine and then back into bed. She looked in on Beth who was still sleeping and then went back to the soup. Tears of frustration and worry pricked at Rachel's eyes and threatened to fall and she started to try and chop some vegetables for the broth. Shelby had said it had been a long time since she felt this sick. Like that time? But Rachel didn't know what had even happened. All she'd ever been told was that her mother couldn't have any more children, but she didn't know why. She needed to know in case something was seriously wrong again.

The phone rang twice before it was answered on the other end.

"Rachel?"

"Nana, hi. I'm sorry to call so late. Did I wake you?"

"No," Rebecca said. "I'm not in bed yet. What's going on? Is everything ok?"

"Mom's really sick," Rachel said as her voice started to shake.

"Really sick how?"

"What was it like last time? When she had her surgery?" Rachel asked. "Was she sick? Was there an accident?"

"Rachel, is she ok?" Rebecca was getting anxious. "You said it was the flu."

"She says it's the flu," Rachel told her. "But she's been throwing up and her fever is so high and she won't eat. She said she hasn't felt this bad in a long time. Could it be like before? I don't know what happened and so I don't know anything symptoms to look out for and I'm really worried. I've never seen her like this."

"Rachel, I'm sure it's just a bad case of the flu like your mom says," Rebecca said.

"Then how come she won't go and see her doctor?"

"I don't know."

"What if she's too scared?"

"She's not," Rebecca assured her. "Hard-headed and stubborn, yes, but she's not too scared to see a doctor. She takes care of herself."

"She's not doing that right now."

Rebecca sighed and knew she had to explain to Rachel. She knew it was not something that Shelby was trying to hide, but it was just one of those things that didn't make its way into normal conversation.

"Rachel, let me start by saying that I'm sure that your mom is right and this is just the flu," Rebecca said. "I know you're worried, but you don't need to worry over what happened in the past."

"What happened in the past?" Rachel asked. "What was it?"

"Honey, your mother had cancer."

**A/N – I hope you guys liked this one. Please leave me a review if you can. I could really use it this week. **


	69. Chapter 69

**A/N – Hey look, guys, I got this out within a week! Thank you all so much for your many kind reviews and messages for the last chapter. You all made me feel so much better and I am truly appreciative. I hope you like this chapter as well. Thank you all so much for hanging in there with me and continuing to read and review and send me messages. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. Because seriously.**

Rachel let the tears that had been building in her eyes spill over as she stepped away from the stove and sat down at the table. She felt like she was in shock and she needed a moment to wrap her head around and process the news her grandmother had just given her. Her mom had cancer. How long ago? How long did she have to fight it? How had she found out? How did she know she was sick? Had she been feeling like she was now? She must have been so scared. Could she get it again?

"Rachel?" Rebecca asked after a long silence.

"Mom had cancer?" Rachel's voice was small and scared.

"Yes, sweetheart, she did."

"How? What? But she's fine now, right? Could she have it again? What do I need to do?"

"Honey, slow down," Rebecca said. "Your mom says she has the flu."

"But she said she hasn't been this sick in a long time," Rachel argued.

"She hasn't had the flu in a few years," Rebecca told her.

"But what if she's wrong about it being the flu?" Rachel asked. "What if she has it again? What if I lose her?" Rachel's fears and insecurities immediately took her to the worst possible scenario. "Nana, I'm scared."

"Oh, no no, Rachel. You don't have to be scared," Rebecca cooed. She glanced at her husband who didn't need her to say anything to know what she was going to do. Paul got up and helped her start to get ready.

"But she's so sick right now," Rachel said. "I've been trying to take care of her, but what if I can't do everything? I have to help her. I have to take care of her. She's asleep right now, but I can finish her soup. I need to finish it."

"Rachel, calm down. You're doing fine. The soup can wait until the morning," Rebecca said. "It's almost midnight and you need to rest as well."

"No. You said it was her favorite," Rachel said as she tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder. "She only ate a few crackers all day."

Rachel got up and hurried back over to the stove and tried to remember where she was in the recipe. It was only then that she realized the covered pot of broth was boiling over. She had turned the burner up as high as it would go to speed the process along before she ever got on the phone. She looked to the vegetables that she had tried to chop a few minutes ago and decided that they were good enough. Rachel removed the lid on the pot and picked up the cutting board full of vegetables with her right hand and then grabbed the handle of the pot to steady it with her left. She cried out in pain when a large amount of the boiling broth splashed and spilled over the side on her hand when the clumps of vegetables slid off the board and into the pot.

"Rachel? What's going on?" Rebecca asked when she heard her granddaughter's tears renew.

"Ow, god!" Rachel cried. She stepped back from the stove and the pot. "Ow ow."

"Rachel!" Rebecca demanded, her voice was stern and definite as she tried to capture the girl's attention. "What happened?" She could now hear water running in the background.

"I burned my hand," Rachel explained. "The soup was boiling and it splashed on me. It really hurts."

"Hold it under the water in the sink," Rebecca instructed.

"I already am," Rachel told her. "But it still hurts. I can't even make stupid soup. How am I going to take- take care of her?" Her tears of pain and self-pity, exhaustion and worry were on full display she was finding it harder to talk.

"Rachel, listen to me," Rebecca instructed. "Is the stove still on?"

"Yeah," Rachel even nodded.

"Can you turn it off without burning yourself again?" Paul stopped what he was doing and raised his eyebrows at his wife's question for Rachel.

"I turned it off," Rachel answered after a few seconds.

"Good girl. Now, Rachel, you can't do anything else tonight and you're not doing your mother or yourself any favors by staying up and worrying all night. You need to get some sleep or you're going to end up sick as well."

"I'm not that tired," Rachel lied. "I need- I have to check on Mom soon."

"Check on her and then I want you to go to bed," Rebecca said. "But before you do that, make sure you hold your hand under the water for ten minutes or so. I'm going to come to your house tonight and help you, ok?"

"Nana, I'm sorry," Rachel cried.

"Stop right there," Rebecca said. "Someone needs to help you with your stubborn mother." Rebecca phrased it so that Rachel knew she was helping her and didn't think the girl needed looking after as well, which, clearly she did right now.

"Will you make her see her doctor?" Rachel asked.

"If I think she needs to go then she will be going," Rebecca assured her.

"Thank you, Nana," Rachel said softly as she started to calm down.

"Rachel, I want you to be in bed asleep by the time I get there," Rebecca instructed gently.

"Ok, Nana," Rachel replied softly.

Rebecca entered the house a little after two in the morning and moved quietly into the kitchen. She surveyed the mess Rachel had made and set her bag down in a chair at the table. She was tired herself, but didn't want to leave the mess until the morning since there was so much food out. She made quick work of salvaging the vegetables that Rachel hadn't chopped putting them away. She emptied the pot and put it in the sink before wiping down the stove and counter. Someone was going to have to teach that child how to cook.

When the kitchen was clean enough for the middle of the night, Rebecca crept up the stairs and opened the door the Rachel's room so she could check on her granddaughter. She sighed when she saw that the bed was empty, but then noticed Beth on her bed of blankets and surrounded by pillows in case she started to roll around. The baby was fast asleep and so Rebecca put her bag on the bed and then left the room. She opened Shelby's bedroom door and knew she would find Rachel. The girl was asleep in the chair in the corner with her feet up on the ottoman. She was covered by her quilt and had obviously been doing her best to keep a vigil over her mother. Shelby was in a fitful sleep and the congestion she had wasn't helping. Rebecca felt Shelby's head and could tell she had a good fever.

Rebecca moved closer to Rachel so she could look at the hand that was sticking out from under the quilt. It was dark in the room, but the moonlight sneaking in through the blinds might allow her to see if any blisters were forming on the burned hand. She lifted Rachel's arm to start her inspection, but the movement was enough to wake the sleeping girl. Rachel had been sleeping lightly, as if she wouldn't allow herself to relax enough to sleep deeply in case she needed to wake up and help her mother. Rebecca silently cursed herself when Rachel started to move and then opened her eyes.

"Nana?" Rachel said and then burst into tears.

"Shhh," Rebecca said as she quickly moved the quilt back and got Rachel to her feet. She moved them to the closest room away from her sleeping daughter and shut them in the bathroom. In hindsight she realized it may have been better to go into the hall, but they were there now. She gathered the crying girl in her arms and held her. "Don't cry, sweetheart."

"I don't want her to be sick any longer," Rachel said.

"She's got the flu," Rebecca said. "Everyone gets sick once in a while. You did last year. And you fought it just like your mother is now."

"She made me go and get medicine," Rachel said. "What if she needs medicine?"

"We'll have her go to the doctor in the morning," Rebecca said. "She needs rest as much as anything else. So do you."

"My dads never got sick," Rachel said. "Or if they did, I didn't really know it. I don't know what to do and it scares me to see her like that. She sat in here on the floor and cried after she threw up. What if it's something more than the flu? She had cancer, Nana. How come she didn't tell me? What if she gets it again?"

"She's not going to get it again," Rebecca said with the same certainty she always displayed whenever she had to think about this. She had to believe it because she couldn't bear the thought of it happening again. The day Shelby told her and Paul had been the worst day of their lives. It was worse than hearing treatment plans or watching your twenty-nine year old daughter come to terms with the fact that she'd never carry another child. That first moment of hearing the word cancer carried enough fear and uncertainty to last a lifetime. And even though it was over and Shelby had been in remission for years, it was new to Rachel and she was now having to process and deal with it.

"I just got her," Rachel said as she leaned against her grandmother's shoulder.

"Stop it now," Rebecca said. "You can't think like that. I know you just found out about this and need some time, but you have to calm down."

Rachel nodded though her tears didn't stop and she held on tighter.

Shelby opened her eyes to the darkness in her room and tried to figure out what noise she was hearing. The muffled talking and crying sounded like someone had left the TV on in another room and now that she heard it, she needed to know what it was because she was certain that she wouldn't get back to sleep until it stopped. Her clock told her it was only quarter to three in the morning and she sighed.

Shelby looked to the crib to see if it was Beth who was crying and sat up in bed when she saw that her daughter wasn't there. She didn't feel nauseous, she noted, and that was a good thing. She saw the light coming from under the bathroom door and made her way to it. Rachel must have had Beth in there.

"Rachel is everything ok- Mom?" Shelby questioned when she opened the door. "What's going on? What are you doing here? Why is Rachel crying? Where's Beth?" She was suddenly more awake then she'd felt since Rachel made her go to bed early a couple nights ago.

Rachel stood up straight and wiped at some of her tears and Rebecca held her hands up to calm everyone down. "Beth is asleep in Rachel's room. Rachel made a bed for her out of blankets on the floor and she's sleeping just fine. I came in to see you and the girls because Rachel was a little bit worried about you."

Shelby looked at Rachel's tear-stained face and red eyes and shook her head slightly before turning back to her mother. "I'm sorry, Mom. You didn't need to come all the way out here for this, especially not in the middle of the night. Rachel, I told you I was fine. It's the flu."

"But you said you would see a doctor if you felt worse and then you never went," Rachel said as he chin started to quiver again. "What if you need to see a doctor?"

"I felt like that all day," Shelby said. "I didn't feel worse. I told you if I was still like this I would go in the morning." Shelby had to stop and cough. "You didn't need to call and ask Nana to drive all the way out here in the middle of the night."

"But you said you hadn't been sick like this in a long time," Rachel's tears started again at the scolding she was receiving. "I didn't know- I was worried."

"Shelby, she didn't ask me to come," Rebecca cut in. "I told her I was coming out here."

"She shouldn't have bothered-"

"Shelby." Rebecca cast her eyes over to Rachel and Shelby followed suit. The girl was crying and shaking her head and Shelby softened her expression.

"I'm sorry," Rachel looked down at the ground. "I didn't mean to be a bother."

Shelby sighed and put a hand to her aching head and closed her eyes for a second. "Hey, no. You're not a bother. I'm sorry you're so worried."

Shelby stepped up next to her and took Rachel's left hand in her own.

"Ow, ow! Let go," Rachel pulled her hand away and hugged it to her chest. She clenched her fist to try and make the pain stop.

"What happen?" Shelby asked even as Rachel shook her head. She stepped up closer to her and tried to get Rachel to release her grip on her left arm. "Let me see."

"She burned it," Rebecca answered for the girl as she too stepped closer to look at the red hand that Shelby was now cradling on her own.

"How?" Shelby asked as she looked it over. She turned the water on at the sink and moved Rachel and held the hand under the faucet to help alleviate some of the current pain.

"She was trying to make your favorite soup," Rebecca told her. "She called earlier and got the recipe and bought the groceries."

"I couldn't even do that right," Rachel was a mess. "I didn't chop the vegetables right and I couldn't even start it until eleven because Beth cried all night and I had to finish the laundry and dishes and you hadn't eaten anything. I wanted you to have something to eat, but it splashed on me when I put the vegetables in. You needed to have it because Nana said it always made you feel better and I want you to feel better. I don't want you to have cancer again."

She took her hand out from under the water and quickly wrapped her arms around her stunned mother's neck and held on for dear life as she cried. Shelby looked at her mother who had tears in her eyes and watched as the woman nodded as if to say, 'she knows,' and then wrapped her own arms tightly around Rachel.

"Shhh," Shelby soothed. "Don't cry, honey. I'm fine."

"But- but you don't- you won't see a doctor," Rachel said. "You're so sick."

"But not sick like that," Shelby said. "You don't need to be worried like this, sweetheart."

"I need you," Rachel said as she buried her face into Shelby's neck.

"You've got me," Shelby assured her. "I'm not going anywhere."

They stood in silence for close to a minute with Shelby rubbing Rachel's back as she held her to calm the girl down. Rachel began to relax at Shelby's touch and even found herself yawning as her tears slowed. It was Rebecca who broke it up to be the voice of reason.

"There is clearly a lot that needs to be discussed, but we don't need to do so right now because you two need to get back in bed and get some sleep."

"I'm fine," Shelby and Rachel said at the same time. They then looked to the other to argue that assessment. Rebecca just rolled her eyes.

"Rachel, Nana's right," Shelby said. "It's time for you to go to bed."

"But you're the one who is sick," Rachel said.

"I'm going too," Shelby told her. "So go on now."

"But-"

"Rachel," Nana cut in. That's all she said; one word, but Rachel couldn't argue with it. Shelby kissed her on the head and ushered her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Her mother and grandmother didn't come out behind her, however, and the door closed. Rachel sighed but it turned into a yawn as she went to grab her quilt.

Shelby sat down on the closed toilet seat lid and put her head in her hands. Rebecca stood next to her and moved some of her hair back from her forehead and placed a hand there.

"Your fever is pretty bad," Rebecca told her.

"I know," Shelby agreed. "What happened with Rachel?"

Rebecca sat on the edge of the tub and conveyed the conversation she'd had with Rachel earlier in the evening. "She said she didn't know what to do to help you and she was so worried there was something she should be doing or seeing. She wanted to know why you were sick before. She knows you couldn't have more kids, but she didn't know why. She also said she didn't remember her dads ever being sick like this and I just think she didn't know how to handle it. I had to tell her and that just wound her up even more. She was so worried scared and then I heard her burn her hand and I had to come out here."

"Thank you," Shelby said softly. "I've been telling her for two days now that it's the flu. I didn't know she'd react like this."

"She's just out of her comfort zone," Rebecca said. "She's not used to seeing you sick and it's not like you've simply got a runny nose; she said you've been vomiting. And then you refuse to go and see your doctor. You scared her."

"I didn't refuse," Shelby argued. "I just didn't think it was necessary. I know how I feel and I know how I get when I'm sick."

"She doesn't," Rebecca said. "How did she act when she was sick that last time?"

"She insisted she was fine and that she didn't need any help or looking after," Shelby said. "She was so stubborn."

Rebecca shook her head and then asked, "And what did you make her do?"

"I took her to see her doctor to get her on the medicine she needed," Shelby answered. "She finally relaxed and admitted she was sick after the doctor talked to her. But she fought having to go the entire time."

"So let me make sure I understand," Rebecca started, "when Rachel asked you how you were feeling you said you were fine and when she said that maybe you should see a doctor you've been fighting it. Maybe if you had indulged your daughter who has never been around to see how bad the flu usually is for you and gone to the doctor to get checked out, she could have known you were going to be fine instead of letting her imagination take over with speculations."

"Mom," Shelby whined.

"When you two get up in the morning, you are going to go and get checked out and you're going to take Rachel with you so you can get some proper medication and she can hear from a doctor that her mom will be just fine in a few days. So the next time you come down with the flu, she'll know it's going to be like this and she won't have to worry herself into exhaustion."

Shelby nodded and said, "I was planning on going anyway, but I was going to leave Rachel here."

"Well plan on taking her now," Rebecca said. "Let them look at her hand."

"Yes ma'am," Shelby relented. "My poor baby." It was a murmur, softly and sadly.

"Come on, let's get you back into bed," Rebecca said.

Shelby stood up and followed after her mother back into the bedroom. They both looked to the bed where Rachel was sleeping with her quilt.

"When I told her to go to bed, that's not the one I had in mind," Shelby whispered. "I don't want her to end up sick sleeping with my germs all night."

"Good luck keeping her away," Rebecca replied. "I'll stay in her room with Beth."

"I need to go look in on Beth."

"I'll be with her," Rebecca said, "you get into bed."

"But-"

"Shelby," Rebecca again only needed one word in that same tone she used with Rachel earlier and her daughter sighed and switched directions to the bed.

Rebecca left the room and Shelby crawled in next to her daughter and Rachel shifted and barely opened her eyes when she started to speak.

"You still have to listen to Nana," Rachel spoke through the hazy sleep.

Shelby smiled and leaned over to kiss Rachel's head. "Yeah hon, sometimes I do."

"I'll still be listening to you when I'm your age," Rachel said and even smiled a little.

"Thanks," Shelby chuckled. "You can start by listening to me at this age."

"Ok, Mom," Rachel said as her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep once more.

Shelby didn't wake up until after nine that morning still felt just as rotten as she had the night before. It really was going to be a long couple of days if she didn't start to shake this sickness soon. Rachel was lying on her side watching as her mother started to stir. She'd been awake for about half an hour and found that she wasn't in any type of hurry to get out of bed today.

Shelby blinked a few times because of the sunlight making its way past the blinds and then finally turned her head in hopes that Rachel would be there and still asleep. Well, she was half right. She could tell that Rachel was watching her closely and scrutinizing each movement or look of discomfort for signs that something else was wrong.

"Morning," Shelby said. "How long have you been up?"

"Not too long," Rachel told her. "Are you feeling any better? Do you need anything?"

"No. And no," Shelby answered. "I'm going to go to the hospital this morning and get seen and hopefully they can give me a strong medicine to help me fight this thing."

"I'm going to-"

"Come with me. Yes you are," Shelby said. "I need someone there with me. And maybe they can look at your hand. Can I see it?"

Shelby sat up and leaned against the headboard and Rachel sat up as well, but she sat cross-legged so she could look at her mother. She held her hand out and Shelby looked it over for signs of blisters that could lead to infection if broken. There were, thankfully, just a few tiny ones and it didn't seem as if Rachel's hand would be any worse for the wear.

"How come you never told me?" Rachel asked. "You did everything you could to learn all about me."

"I wasn't trying to hide it from you," Shelby said. "It's not something that comes up all the time. I try not to think about it, quite honestly. But now that you know, I don't want you to be in a constant state of worry or panic. I am fine, honey."

"But couldn't it come back?" Rachel asked. "Isn't that always a possibility?"

"Yeah, it is," Shelby conceded. "But I get regular check-ups. I stay on top of it."

"What type of cancer was it?" Rachel asked. Shelby understood that Rachel must have a lot of questions and she was going to do her best to answer them all.

"I had ovarian cancer," Shelby told her. "I hadn't been feeling well and it took seeing a few doctors and a lot of tests before they were finally able to diagnosis it."

"How old were you?"

"I was twenty-nine," Shelby told her. "You were six."

"Were you scared?" Rachel questioned, her voice a little shaky that time.

Shelby sat forward and pulled Rachel to her so she could hold the girl. Rachel turned so she could lean into her mother, resting her head against her chest as Shelby wrapped her arms around her.

"Not at first," Shelby answered. "I was more shocked than anything. In all honesty, I liked having a name to give to the reasons I'd been feeling so bad. I could research a name and I could fight a name. It wasn't until later when the treatments weren't working and they started talking about more drastic measures that I really became scared and just so sad. In those months it changed from something I could beat to something that was beating me and I became really down and afraid."

"They told you, you couldn't have any other kids," Rachel said.

Shelby nodded and took a moment to find her voice again. That had been the most devastating day for her. "My doctor explained to me that the treatments weren't working. She said it was spreading and more and more cells were affected. But they still felt like they could get it all. One surgery and then chemo again afterwards and they thought it would be all gone."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Rachel told her sincerely.

"I had only told my parents about you a few months before I was diagnosed," Shelby said. "What an evil twist of fate. I remember wanting so badly to just be able to see you one time and know what you looked like and see that you were happy so that I would know that I had given life to a wonderful little girl. I just wanted to know that part of me would go on because I was losing my chance to do it again. I felt like I never even had a chance to have you and now I'd never get that again. My parents would never get to know the only grandchild I would ever be able to give them. I had failed them in such a horrible way."

Shelby had to stop talking for a minute as her tears fell as she remembered how that felt all those years ago. Rachel turned in the bed so that she lying on her stomach against her mother so she could hug her. Her own tears were falling and wetting Shelby's shirt as the woman held her as tightly as she could. She had her baby right here in her arms.

Rebecca opened the door and walked into the room carrying Beth and marched over to the bed and spoke to Shelby. Her voice was strong and certain despite her own tears that threatened to fall.

"You did not fail your father and me," Rebecca said. "We never once thought that." She held Shelby's chin so that the woman had to look at her. "We have always been so proud of you. You fought with more bravery than I've ever seen someone carry. You gave us the two most beautiful granddaughters anyone could ask for."

Shelby nodded at her mother as her tears spilled down onto Rebecca's hand. Beth wasn't sure what all the crying was about, but she was happy to be set free on the bed so she could crawl up to her mother and be held. Rachel kept herself latched to Shelby as if she somehow wasn't able to let go yet. Rebecca eventually climbed onto the bed to sit with them and they stayed like that for the next forty-five minutes, talking and crying.

Rachel drove her and her mother to the hospital about an hour and a half later. Shelby had called her doctor and told her the symptoms and the woman agreed to meet them at the hospital. There wasn't a large crowd in the ER, but Dr. Godley was still able to usher them back to be seen without having to wait.

"Thanks for coming to see me on your day off," Shelby said when the three of them were situated in an exam room.

"It's no problem," the doctor said. "I was just sorry to hear you were feeling under the weather. And I didn't want to miss my chance to meet the famous Rachel."

Rachel blushed and looked to her mom who had obviously been telling stories about her. "It's nice to meet you too. I've been trying to get her to come and see you since yesterday morning."

"You probably should have won that argument," Dr. Godley said. "I could have had her on some better medication."

"See!" Rachel said and Shelby rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes. You were right," Shelby said.

Dr. Godley declared her to have the flu and to also be dehydrated. Shelby was given an IV and blood was drawn, as it always was whenever she came to the hospital. Shelby was given a dosage of her prescription and she and Rachel settled onto the exam bed together to wait while the IV bag fully drained. Dr. Godley examined Rachel's hand and put a burn cream on it for while they were there and otherwise she only needed to keep it clean.

Shelby fell asleep with Rachel snuggled into her shoulder and the doctor smiled at them when she entered the room to check on them. The IV bag was about halfway finished and the stronger medications were taking over while Rachel kept a watchful eye on her.

"You two are quite a pair," Dr. Godley said, sitting down on the roller stool next to the bed.

"When will she be feeling better?" Rachel asked.

"Soon," the doctor replied. "She just needs to take it easy tonight and tomorrow and really let the medicine work. You'll make sure she's not exerting herself too much, won't you?"

"Of course. I don't like seeing her sick," Rachel said. "The flu scared me so I don't know what I would do if it was anything else. It's not, is it? Anything else? Like before?"

"No, it's not," Dr. Godley said. "Your mother is healthy. Her immune system is as strong as could be expected and she takes care of herself. But the flu gets the best of us. But I watch your mother like a hawk and we take every precaution. You can't spend your life worrying."

"But I can worry when she's sick," Rachel said.

"Absolutely you can. Everyone needs someone worrying and fussing over them when they're sick. But I will give you one piece of advice. Getting hurt yourself usually doesn't help."

Rachel blushed and looked down at her hand and then cast a sideways smile at the doctor. "I'll stick to playing with the knives next time."

"You better not!" Dr. Godley laughed. "You're going to need all your fingers intact to keep your mother in line."

"I'll remember that," Rachel said.

"I'll be back to remove the IV when the bag is empty," Dr. Godley said. She patted Shelby on the leg and thought she could see the woman's lips curve up in a slight smile.

The house smelled like cooking elves had taken over when they returned home and both Rachel and Shelby stopped just after entering the house and smelled the air, "Mmmm."

"Don't just hover in the doorway," Rebecca called out to them. "Come in here and have some lunch."

They entered the kitchen and Rebecca greeted them each with a kiss to the head and had them sit at the table.

"I made Shelby's chicken noodle soup and I made a vegetable soup for you, Rachel. There's enough of each for you both to eat on for a few days at least," Rebecca said.

"Thanks, Mom," Shelby's eyes lit up at the mention of her soup. She was finally feeling a little bit hungry and the soup had been her go-to comfort food for as long as she could remember.

"I couldn't even make one soup and you were able to make two in the few hours we were gone," Rachel lamented. "I bet you didn't even burn yourself."

"I sure didn't," Rebecca said as she served them their respective soups. "And Shelby, really, you need to teach this child to cook. I will have my granddaughter going off to New York City without any idea how to feed herself. I don't want her relying on take-out and bagels."

"We'll work on it," Shelby agreed.

"I'd do anything to be able to cook like this," Rachel said after taking a bite. "Nana, this is fantastic."

"Thank you. And it's really very simple. All it takes is a little practice," Rebecca said.

"And a fireproof kitchen," Shelby said.

Their banter was interrupted by a knock at the door and Rebecca didn't get a chance to answer it because Quinn came in and greeted them with a hello.

"How are you feeling, Shelby?" Quinn asked when she sat at the table. Rebecca served her a bowl of the chicken noodle soup and Shelby narrowed her eyes at it. Why didn't she give Quinn any of Rachel's soup? Why was her soup being given away willy-nilly? She loved this stuff.

"Not as bad as I did yesterday, but not great," Shelby answered.

"Oh. I hope you feel better soon. Oh my god, this soup is amazing," Quinn gushed.

"Thank you," Rebecca said.

"What brings you here today?" Shelby asked. "Besides my soup?"

"I was just hoping that I could hang out for a while," Quinn told them. "But I don't want to intrude if you're still feeling so bad."

"You can hang out here," Shelby said. "You don't need to ask to be over here."

"Thanks," Quinn said as she looked down at her bowl. "I just needed to get out of the house for a while."

"What's going on?" Shelby asked. "Did something happen with your mom?"

"No," Quinn said. "I mean, not really. My dad is over at my house right now and I needed to get away. He still doesn't like- I just needed to get away."

**A/N – Please leave me a review if you can and let me know what you thought. Thanks!**

**And I am in no way, shape, or form a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. My knowledge is limited and so I hope it all made sense. Thanks for reading! **


	70. Chapter 70

**A/N – I'm so, so sorry this is late. I really do apologize, everyone. I got so busy at Christmas and like I said on the other little story, I ended up really sick at Christmas. I've been trying to get this finished and out and here it is. Finally. I am desperately trying to get back on track and should be good now. Thanks for sticking with me and thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews and messages. You guys rock! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. I thought maybe I'd get it for Christmas this year, but instead I got food poisoning and a cold. Thanks, Santa. Thanks a lot. **

Rachel's spoon was half way to her mouth when Quinn told them her father was over at her house and that's why she was there visiting with them. She cast a quick glance at her mother who was eyeing Quinn as if she was trying to figure out what Russell Fabray wanted without actually having to ask. Rachel, however, had no such qualms or pretense of tact.

"What is he doing there?" she blurted out after a second.

"He said he wanted to talk to my mom about me and my behavior," Quinn answered. "He wouldn't talk to me or let me in the room."

"What an assh-"

"Rachel," Shelby and Rebecca warned at the same time.

"And my mom just agreed to talk to him and made me leave the room," Quinn continued. "He wanted to talk about me; I should have been able to be there and stick up for myself."

"Honey, your mother is defending you," Shelby said gently.

"I guess," Quinn grumbled. "I tried to listen at the door, but he caught me and so I left."

"I'm sure everything is fine," Rebecca said diplomatically. "There's no sense in getting worked up until we know what's going on."

"But he could be telling her anything in there," Quinn argued. "And why would she even agree to speak with him in the first place? She let him run her life all those years."

"Do you want me to go back over there with you?" Rachel asked. "I'll tell him to leave you alone." Rachel had had a hard time standing up to her own fathers, but she was certain that she'd be more than willing to let Quinn's have a piece of her mind.

"Absolutely not," Shelby said immediately. "Quinn, send your mother a message and let her know where you are and you can stay here until she calls or comes to get you or you feel you're ready to go home. But you, young lady," she looked at Rachel, "are not going over there to tell him anything. Understand?"

Rachel relented and nodded. But if she ever saw him in a store or something…

They all ate their soup in silence for close to a minute before Rebecca noticed that Shelby was really starting to slow down and then finally pushed the meal away. As much as she loved it, she'd only eaten half a bowl. But some food in her system was better than nothing.

"Shelby," Rebecca said to get her attention. "You need to go lay down for a little while."

Rachel's head shot up immediately and she studied her mother. "Are you ok? Are you feeling worse? Can I get you anything?"

"No, sweetheart, I'm fine," Shelby said. "I'm just still worn out."

"Do you need some more medicine?" Rachel asked.

"Not right now," Shelby said. "And you could do with getting some rest yourself. You were up most of the night and didn't get much sleep."

"I'm fine," Rachel waved her off. "I'm not the one who is sick."

"Even so, why don't you and Quinn put on a movie and just hang out," Shelby suggested.

"We'll figure it out, Mom," Rachel said.

Shelby wanted to eye her suspiciously but she was met with a coughing fit and forced to get to her feet and go up to bed. Rebecca followed after her to get Beth who was napping in her crib in Shelby's room. She would move the baby so mother and daughter didn't disturb each other.

"I wish my mom would call," Quinn said when they were gone. "Why is she even letting him stay this long?"

"Do you have any idea what he wanted to talk to her about?" Rachel asked.

"No, he just said my behavior," Quinn answered. "How would he know about my behavior at all? Good, bad, or otherwise? I hate that he just waltzes in there and it's like we have to drop everything to talk to him and listen to him. And what if she agrees with him?"

"She won't," Rachel said. "She knows more about you than he does."

"But she did all for all those years."

"But she changed, right?"

"Yeah," Quinn mumbled.

"We need to go over there," Rachel declared.

"But-"

"Look who's awake," Rebecca said as she walked into the kitchen carrying Beth. The little girl was resting her head on her grandmother's shoulder, but smiled around her pacifier when she saw Rachel and Quinn.

"Did you have a nice nap, Beth?" Rachel asked as pushed the chair back from the table so Rebecca could set Beth on her lap. Rachel kept her burned hand away from Beth's grasp and the little girl leaned into her and shut her eyes. "Do you want to watch Elmo?"

That got Beth's attention and she sat up and looked at Rachel eagerly and started to babble. Don't toss around promises like Elmo unless you mean it! Rachel handed Beth off to Quinn and then stood up from the table.

"What did you do to your hand?" Rebecca heard Quinn ask as the girls went into the living.

"It's a long story," Rachel responded.

Rebecca started to clean up the dishes and put away leftovers while the girls set up an Elmo DVD for Beth. She could hear the music start and the sickeningly sweet high pitched voice of the Muppet welcoming Beth to the neighborhood before Rachel and Quinn came back into the kitchen.

"Nana, Quinn and I are going to go to the mall for a little while," Rachel said.

"What happened to staying here and watching a movie?" Rebecca asked. "Rachel, I know you must be exhausted."

"I'm ok," Rachel said. She stepped up close to her grandmother and smiled sweetly before whispering, "Wandering around the mall might help distract Quinn."

Quinn stood back pretending not to know what was going on or being said.

Rebecca nodded and kissed Rachel's head. "Ok. Be careful."

"Thanks, Nana!" Rachel said. "We shouldn't be gone all that long. Call me if Mom needs anything."

Rebecca shooed them off and then went into the living room to sit with Beth and Elmo.

Ten minutes later Rachel and Quinn pulled up across the street from the blonde's house. They actually parked a house down so they weren't directly across from the house and Rachel turned the engine off. Russell's car was still in the driveway and Quinn slumped back in the seat.

"I can't believe he's still here," Quinn said. "Why would she be listening to him for so long?"

"I'm sorry," Rachel said.

They had only planned to go inside if Quinn's father was gone and decided they would just watch if he wasn't. As much as Rachel wanted to storm in there, Quinn told her it wasn't worth it. She knew her father and knew that he would barely acknowledge Rachel's presence or words. He would brush her off the same way he brushed off anything that he didn't like or agree with.

Rachel stared at the house and somehow wished she'd brought some binoculars or something so she could see better. This really wasn't a well-thought out spying mission. But now that they were there, they couldn't leave until Russell left.

"I could go to the door and ask if you were there," Rachel offered. "Then maybe I could figure out what's going on."

"That wouldn't work," Quinn said. "I'm sure my mom assumes I went to your house and you'd normally just call me instead of showing up."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed.

A silence fell over them as they continued their watch. They both settled down into their own thoughts as the minutes ticked by and Rachel used the time to send a message to her grandmother asking how Shelby was doing. The report she got was that the woman was still sleeping. Rachel smiled and turned back into the silence.

After another minute or two, Rachel turned and looked at Quinn and said, "My mother had cancer."

Tears pooled in Quinn's eyes and her chin started to quiver. "Shelby has cancer? Rachel, we shouldn't be out here. You need to go back home and be with her. Does she need to go to the hospital?"

"Had," Rachel emphasized. "She had cancer. She's fine now."

"Oh," Quinn put a hand to her chest. "God."

"It was years ago, but I just found out about it last night," Rachel told her.

"Wow, that's crazy," Quinn said. "But as long as she's fine now."

"But I can't believe she didn't tell me," Rachel said. "She's been so sick the last couple of days and I was really worried and I knew she'd been sick at some point in the past, but I didn't know what it was. And then my grandmother told me she had cancer when she was twenty-nine."

"Maybe she was waiting to tell you in her own time," Quinn shrugged. "She didn't plan on getting the flu."

"Yeah," Rachel said. "It makes me realize, though, how little I know about her. I'm learning some things and I hear stories from when she was a kid, but I don't know all about her."

"I don't know everything about my mom," Quinn shrugged. "From when she was younger. I know stories and stuff like that, but that's normal, right?"

"I guess," Rachel said.

Their conversation was interrupted when Quinn noticed the front door to her house opening and her father storming out. Rachel turned back to watch as Russell got in his car and slammed the door and took off. Judy stood on the porch watching him for a few moments before going back into the house. Quinn looked down at her phone as if she expected it to ring any second and sighed in frustration when it didn't. Judy came out of the house a few minutes later with her purse and they watched as she got in her car and drove off.

"Should we follow her?" Rachel asked.

"No, forget it," Quinn grumped. "Let just go back to your house and watch a movie."

The girls stopped at the Lima Bean and picked up some lattes for themselves and one for Rebecca before going back to Shelby's. They were both surprised to see Judy's car in the driveway and entered the house looking for her.

"Mom?" both girls questioned at the same time when they saw Judy sitting with Shelby in the living room. Rebecca was also there and Beth was busy with her blocks on the floor.

"You two didn't stay at the mall very long," Rebecca said.

"We got bored," Quinn answered.

"We came back to watch a movie," Rachel continued. "Mom, aren't you still tired?"

Shelby shook her head as Judy stood up to greet Quinn.

"I figured you came over here," Judy said. "I came to get you."

"I have my car," Quinn said defensively.

"I know that, but I wanted to talk to you."

"Now that he's gone?"

"Yes, now that he's gone," Judy answered.

Rachel stepped away from them and handed Nana her latte as she passed and then went and settled down next to her mother. Shelby pulled her close and kissed her head as Rachel didn't even try to hide the fact that she was blatantly watching the scene before her play out.

"What did he want?" Quinn asked. "Did you have to let him kick me out like that?" The question hung heavy in the air and Quinn didn't even mean it the way it sounded or the implications with it. Judy looked away all the same.

"Rachel, Mom, why don't we go upstairs and give them a chance to talk," Shelby said as she nudged her daughter to get her to her feet.

"But Mom, I-"

"We'll be upstairs if you need us," Shelby said to Judy as she ushered Rachel past them and to the stairs. Rebecca followed behind with Beth on her hip.

"You didn't sleep very long," Rachel said when they reached the second story. "You should go and lie back down. I'll just hang around."

"Snoop around, you mean," Shelby said. "Judy wanted to talk to me and I can go back to sleep later. So let's go upstairs and put in a movie. They are having a private conversation."

Rachel grumbled as Shelby put an arm around her and led her to the stairs leading up to the third story. Rebecca and Beth had already made it there and the baby was sitting on the floor under the piano pressing on the foot pedals and smiling at her mom. Did they have another musician in the family? Shelby smiled down at her little girl who was at the center of the problems downstairs.

Quinn closed her eyes in frustration and looked down. "Mom, I… I didn't mean it like that. He just showed up out of the blue and barely even looked at me and then told me I couldn't be around when he wanted to talk about me. I have a right to know what he wanted."

"I know that," Judy said. "I came over here to tell you. But you know how he gets and I didn't want you to be hurt by having to listen to him. And he wasn't going to let up until you were out of the room. Sending you away let me deal with him and get him out of the house."

"Why did he come over?" Quinn asked. "What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Judy said.

Rachel stood up from the couch and moved around it like she was going to sit at the piano, but then changed direction at the last second. "I'm going to go and get my quilt." And with that she was out the door and headed down the stairs.

"Rachel," Shelby called after her. She quickly passed Beth to Rebecca who did nothing to hide her amused smile at Rachel's so-called sneakiness and watched her daughter go to try and collect her.

Judy reached out and took Quinn's hand and did her best to silently reassure her daughter before she explained what Russell wanted. "Honey, one of your dad's friends saw you with Beth and Rachel at the mall last week."

"So?" Quinn said.

"He doesn't think you should be spending time with Rachel and he doesn't want you to have anything to do with Beth," Judy said.

"What?" Quinn said. "What does he care?"

"He told me that he doesn't want you to have anything to do with the baby because she brings shame to him," Judy said. "And that you shouldn't see Rachel because of her fathers."

Quinn's features grew dark and Judy could tell she was about to explode when Rachel came bursting down the stairs.

"He said what?" the girl demanded to know.

"Rachel," Shelby scolded, hot on her heels.

"How dare he!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Mom, this is ridiculous," Quinn said. "I hope you told him that he can go fu-"

"Quinn."

"No, I'm pissed!" Quinn said. "He has no right to say anything about me like that."

"Honey, I told him that."

"Beth is perfect," Rachel was saying. "He's the jackass that has no right to get to know her. Not that I'd ever want him anywhere near her. I've never met a more homophobic, hateful human being in my life."

"Mom, I'm going to find him and tell him to never talk about me again."

"Quinn."

"Guys," Shelby tried to intervene. They were all starting to talk over each other.

"I'll go down to that stupid country club and find him and his horrible friends."

"We should have gone in there," Rachel said and Quinn nodded absently even as she continued her own rant.

"Rachel."

"I'll tell him once and for all-"

"Quinn."

"Mom, I can't believe-"

A loud, high-pitched whistle pierced the air and there was immediate silence as they all turned to look at Shelby who was removing the two fingers from her mouth.

"Judy, I'm so sorry we interrupted," Shelby said.

"No, it's ok," the woman responded. "Rachel deserved to know too."

"It's not ok," Shelby said. "You two were having a private conversation. We'll get out of your hair and I will talk to Rachel about it."

Judy nodded and turned back to her seething daughter while Shelby took Rachel by the arm and led her back upstairs.

"Mom, did you know he said that?" Rachel asked as Shelby took her into the master bedroom and closed the door behind her.

"Yes, I did," Shelby answered.

"And you didn't say anything?"

"I was going to talk to you about it, but in my own time because I wanted Judy to have a chance to talk to Quinn first."

"What a stupid man," Rachel said.

"Yes, he is," Shelby agreed. "He is ignorant and hateful and nothing he says matters. His words don't change how much we all love Beth. He didn't change anything."

"But it doesn't make it any less hurtful," Rachel said.

"No, it doesn't," Shelby said. She stopped for a second to cough before turning back to Rachel. "Quinn has every right to be hurt and so do you and so do Judy and I, but we are all better than that, do you understand? He has no control over Quinn or Judy anymore."

"If he ever goes near Quinn or Beth…"

"He won't," Shelby said.

"I need to go talk to Quinn," Rachel said and she moved to step past her mother.

"I don't think so," Shelby said as she stopped her daughter. "You, young lady, are grounded for the rest of the evening."

"What?" Rachel was shocked.

"You went down there and listened in and interrupted their conversation after you were told it was private," Shelby said. "You knew better so now you can just stay in here for the rest of the day."

"But Mom," Rachel whined. "That's not fair."

"Neither is your interrupting a conversation between Judy and Quinn that you were told to stay out of," Shelby said sternly.

"But Quinn is my friend-"

"And you could have been there for her later," Shelby finished for her. "Now why don't you get into bed and lie down for a while? I'll tell Quinn you'll talk to her later."

"Mom," Rachel whined again. "There's nothing to do in your room. I don't even have my phone with me."

"Aww, poor baby," Shelby teased. "And you're grounded which means you don't get your phone or anything else anyway. So this room is perfect for you right now."

"But-"

"Rachel, I don't want to hear it," Shelby said. "You could have listened earlier and we wouldn't be here. Now I'm going back upstairs with your grandmother and sister. I don't want to see you out of this room until I come and get you. I suggest you take a nap."

Rachel scowled and stepped away when Shelby tried to kiss her head.

"I love you," Shelby said to her as she left the room and shut the door behind her.

"Whatever," Rachel muttered as she kicked her shoes across the room. She stood there defiantly with her arms crossed for about ten minutes before giving up and lying down in the bed.

Quinn was pacing the room downstairs as Judy tried to get her to calm down. "Seriously, Mom, how did you marry that man? He has nothing to do with us anymore so why would he feel shamed for me to be seen with Beth?"

Judy knew this entire conversation wasn't going to be pleasant, but she was going to be completely honest with her daughter.

"He said that he thought the point of the adoption was to get rid of the baby. He said people will think he's a bad father if they continue to see you with that baby."

"He is a bad father!" Quinn yelled. "This is unbelievable. What else did he say?"

"He wanted me to make you go and talk to him and to let him be in charge of your behavior from now on since apparently I'm not doing a good enough job of keeping you in line," Judy told her.

"Mom," Quinn's eyes grew wide.

"Don't even say it," Judy said. "I would never agree to that." Judy stepped closer to her and cupped her cheeks in her hands and looked into the intense and hurt eyes of her child, "You are wonderful, Quinnie. You have done nothing wrong. Do you understand?"

Quinn nodded and then stepped back and started to rant again. "Oh, I know I didn't do anything wrong. That son of a-"

"Quinn."

"That person doesn't deserve to feel like he has any say in my life anymore," Quinn continued. "And he damn sure doesn't get to talk that way about Beth. She's perfect and is a better human being that him and she's not even one yet. So he can kiss my-"

"Quinn," Judy scolded again, but with a smile and a playful swat to her daughter's backside.

Judy sent a message to Shelby that they were going to be leaving so she and Rebecca, along with Beth, came downstairs to see them off. Shelby explained about Rachel and said it would stick even though Judy said it wasn't necessary. Shelby started to walk towards the door when Quinn stepped up and hugged the woman tightly around her neck. Shelby was taken aback for a second, but soon returned the hug.

"Are you feeling better?" Quinn asked.

"Yes," Shelby said. "The medicine I got this morning and the nap I had are really helping."

"And you're not going to be sick again?"

Shelby understood that Rachel must have told Quinn and she rubbed the girl's back soothingly. "I can't promise that, but I'm fine, honey. Ok? You don't need to be worried."

"I hope you beat this flu soon," Quinn told her.

"Me too."

Quinn finally let go of her hug and leaned over and kissed Beth's head from her spot in Rebecca's arms. "You're perfect, Beth." Beth smiled. She knew that.

Four hours later, Rachel was awake after the nap she was forced into and lying on her mother's bed and staring at the ceiling. "This is no fun, no fun, looking at the ceiling," she improvised a song. She'd been at it for almost half an hour now. She'd slept and then paced the room and then made a mess in the bathroom out of spite and then went back and cleaned it up before she got in more trouble. None of Shelby's books caught her attention and she was too busy whining and complaining to herself to do much of anything else.

Shelby knocked and then entered the room just as Rachel started her short song over again. She sighed dramatically once she had an audience and turned her head to look at her mother. Shelby was biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing.

"I've come to spring you so you can help with dinner," Shelby said. "Nana's orders."

"Thank god," Rachel said as she rolled off the bed and stood up.

Shelby smiled and held her arms out and motioned for her daughter to come and give her a hug. Rachel rolled her eyes, but complied, and Shelby held her tightly.

"Rachel, I know you wanted to jump in there and defend your sister and friend, but I made it perfectly clear that they were having a private conversation and we weren't going to disturb them," Shelby said. "Judy's focus was rightfully on Quinn and she didn't need you interrupting them. I know you understand the importance of privacy and it is childish and rude to jump in to a situation that, at the moment, had nothing to do with you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said, taking the reprimand.

"Good," Shelby smiled. "Consider yourself un-grounded."

"Thank you," Rachel said as she pulled back from the hug. "And I love you too."

Shelby smiled and kissed her head and this time Rachel didn't move.

"Did you ever get any more rest?" Rachel asked.

"I slept on the couch for a while," Shelby told her. The antibiotics are really helping and I'm feeling better. Give me just a day or two more and I'll be back to normal."

"I'm glad."

"Me too," Shelby said. "Now, let's go downstairs." She led them out into the hallway, but Rachel turned towards the third story while she turned towards the first.

"Let me just grab my phone," Rachel said. "I left it up there earlier."

"Get it later," Shelby said as she took her hand and pulled her the other way. "Go downstairs and let your Nana try and teach you to cook something before she goes home."

Rachel slumped her shoulders, but still smiled when she walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

By the following Friday, Shelby had made a full recovery and was feeling great. She and Judy thought their daughters had let the incident with Russell go because neither of them had mentioned it and life seemed to have gone back to normal. But the girls couldn't get it off their minds and had been talking about it all week. The finally decided to let a couple more people in on why they were so upset. Puck was a logical choice because he cared so much about Beth and it was always good to have Santana on your side for something like this.

"I can't believe he said that about her," Puck said. "And you, Rachel. I want to punch his face in."

"Very subtle," Quinn said as she took another bite of her lunch. "You wouldn't get caught doing that or anything."

"But I agree with Noah, that it could be very satisfying," Rachel said. "Not that I've ever hit anyone in the face."

"I know people," Santana said. "What are we looking at doing?"

"I don't know," Quinn said. "I just want to send him a message telling him not to ever try and dictate my life again. He thinks he's so perfect and that he can do no wrong and all of his stupid friends believe him. I'd like to show them the truth."

"I think I've got an idea," Puck said. "Where does he usually spend his weekends?"

"At the country club with the rest of the snobs," Quinn answered.

"Perfect," Noah smiled. "And do you know what type of car he drives?"

Santana smiled too. She already liked this idea. Rachel caught on and so did Quinn who nodded to answer the question. The four friends leaned in so they could talk quietly as they started to put together a plan; one that hopefully left Russell Fabray wondering what hit him.

**A/N – I hope you guys like this one. Please, please leave me a review if you can. I'm sorry again about the delay. **

**And 17 and a half million cool points will go to the people who can tell me where the little song Rachel sings while she's grounded comes from. I only changed one word to fit the situation. **


	71. Chapter 71

**A/N – I've got an update for you! And I absolutely loved how many of you knew that the song was Full House. I honestly didn't think many people would get that which was why the points for it were so high. Cool points for all of you even if you didn't get it because all of you are so awesome. Thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages. I really wish I could convey to you all how much it means to me. **

**I got a question about Beth's age that I want to answer. The story starts in late August/early September of 2010 which was when the second season would have aired. So now in the story it's in February of 2011. The first season Regionals episode aired in June, but realistically the Regionals competition couldn't be so late in the school year if they were going to have Nationals as well later on. In the second season the Regionals episode aired in April, so that's what I've been basing Beth's age on. So in the middle of February, she is 10 months old. I hope that all makes sense. Clearly I just ignored everything else from the second season for the sake of this story. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Glee related. **

Rachel entered the house after glee rehearsal Friday afternoon with a mischievous smile and a glint in her eye. The foursome has spent the rest of the lunch period and most of glee practice working out a plan. Mr. Schue had been so shocked when he had to tell Rachel to pay attention and stop talking because it was so unlike her. Each kid had the details down and knew what their part of the plan was. It was almost going to be too much to have to wait until tomorrow to put it into action.

"Mom," Rachel called out as soon as the front door shut behind her.

"Rachel," Shelby called back. And after a moment added, "Beth." Beth smiled at Shelby from her spot on the changing table in the nursery. "We're all present and accounted for."

Rachel rolled her eyes and she made her way up the stairs and to the nursery. She dropped her school bag in the hall and stepped into the room. "Hey Mom, can I… god, what did you feed her for lunch? Beth, that is horrid." Rachel waved her hand in front of her nose and scrunched up her face to try and get the smell away from her nose. "We need some better air fresheners in here or something. Do you want me to open the window?"

Shelby and Beth shared a look as they listened to Rachel's dramatics. The new diaper was taped into place and Shelby spoke as she worked to put the little pants back on. "I'm sure you weren't any different when you were a baby."

"You have no proof," Rachel said.

"Here," Shelby handed Beth over to Rachel, who held the baby at arm's length, and smiled as her daughters followed her into the bathroom where she went to wash her hands.

"Are you sure she didn't need a bath after all of that?" Rachel asked. "Or maybe to be sprayed down with a hose?"

"We're going to spray you down with a hose, aren't we Beth?" Shelby said.

"If I ever smell as badly as that, I give you permission," Rachel said and Shelby laughed.

"So, can you what?" Shelby asked as she dried her hands.

"What?" Rachel asked. She was distracted because she was making funny faces at her little sister and Beth was trying to copy them.

"You said-"

"Oh! Can I run out for a couple hours tonight?" Rachel asked.

Shelby shrugged. "Where are you going?"

"I just have some errands to run," Rachel was non-committal.

"I don't see why not," Shelby said. "Beth and I will come with you."

"Oh… uhh… I was actually planning to go by myself," Rachel said.

"Oh," Shelby said. "Ok. That's fine. Who else is going with you?"

"No one," Rachel answered. "I'm going alone. I just need to go a couple of places, Mom, please."

"Of course," Shelby said. She understood the need to get a couple hours to yourself. She was curious about what errands Rachel said she needed to run because Shelby equated errands with picking up groceries and dry cleaning and paying bills and that sort of thing, but she decided not to ask. Rachel was sixteen and if she wanted to go to a store and wander around for a couple of hours and call it errands, Shelby didn't mind.

"Thanks, Mom," Rachel said.

"No problem, honey," Shelby said. "Finish up your homework and then go ahead before dinner."

"My homework is done," Rachel said. "I could go now and then come home and help you make dinner."

Shelby smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead. "I'd like that."

"Thanks!" Rachel smiled. "Here, take your little stink bomb back and I'll get going."

Beth kicked her feet to show that she was offended as she was passed from daughter to mother.

Thirty minutes later, Rachel parked her car and headed into a local hardware store. Each of the four had specific things they needed to buy and Rachel picked out a cart and readied her list. Puck was calling in some favors from friends and he assured them all that they wouldn't get caught. It was all going to be so perfect.

Rachel left the hardware store a little while later and put the bag in her trunk in one of the side nettings so it wouldn't roll around. She had one more stop to make and then she could go home. She sent a text message to Quinn and asked if she had everything she needed and Quinn answered that she was still out. Santa was finished and Puck said everything was ready. Rachel smiled and started the car.

She next stopped at a novelty shop and spent close to an hour making sure she had everything she could possibly need tomorrow. She put those items in her trunk as well and then made a quick stop by Target to pick up a few personal items and an iTunes gift card for herself before heading home. She needed to have something to carry in the house so her mom could see what she had picked up. The rest of the items would stay in the car overnight.

Rachel was up before the sun the following morning and didn't waste any time getting showered or dressed and ready to go. The only problem was that she didn't need to leave the house until close to noon to meet her friends. She ate a quick breakfast and then tried to occupy her time with watching TV, but she only spent about fifteen minutes surfing through the channels before that was too boring. This was one time she wished she liked to sleep in. Puck probably wouldn't roll out of bed until ten minutes before they had to be there. Maybe she could get Beth and play with her for a while; that would help to pass the time.

Shelby was awake, but had yet to open her eyes. She could hear that Beth was awake but the babbling and moving around in her crib had yet to turn to whimpers and cries. If Shelby was lucky, Beth would drift off again. Doubtful, but one could hope. But Shelby enjoyed getting to listen to the little girl having a conversation with some of the toys in the crib. If only Shelby knew what she was talking about. Then again, she figured that it was probably about her and Shelby wasn't so sure she wanted to know after all.

Rachel opened the door to her mother's bedroom quietly and snuck a peek. She could see that the woman was still asleep and she smiled because Beth was already up. Shelby heard her creep into the room and chanced opening one eye to see what Rachel was doing. She watched with curiosity as her eldest spoke quietly to Beth and then lifted the smiling baby out of the crib. She quickly shut her eye and heard Rachel whisper about being quiet so as not to wake mom as she walked out of the room. Shelby didn't open her eyes again until she heard the door shut and she stared at it for a few seconds. What was Rachel up to? She almost considered getting up to find out, but a glance at the clock told her it was only 6:47 and Shelby rolled over and got comfortable again. More sleep on a Saturday morning? Yes, thank you.

Shelby got another hour and a half of sleep and gave a stretch of satisfaction as she made her way down the stairs. Rachel was sitting on the floor in the living room leaning up against the couch with Beth standing in her lap.

"Beth, say Rachel. Can you say Rachel?" Beth babbled in return but none of it sounded like Rachel.

"Say mama. Ma-ma," Shelby said as she sat down on the couch and put her hand on Rachel's head. "You're going to say mama first, aren't you Beth? Good morning, sweetheart," Shelby added to Rachel.

"Morning," Rachel said. "And I really think she's going to say Rachel first. I've been working with her."

"She won't," Shelby said. She leaned down to look at Beth, "You'll say mama first, won't you? I'll give you some of Nana's marshmallow treats."

"You can't bribe her!" Rachel said in a scandalized tone. Beth didn't give away the fact that Rachel had already promised her the same thing.

"It's not a bribe so much as promise," Shelby said.

"Sure," Rachel said.

"What are you up to today?" Shelby asked.

"Nothing much," Rachel told her. She got up from the floor and sat down on Shelby's lap with Beth resting on her own. Beth sat on Rachel's legs with her back to Shelby's chest and Rachel slung an arm over her mother's shoulders while Shelby wrapped an arm around her waist. "Quinn and I were planning to go and see a movie and maybe meet Santana for lunch. She might drag Puck along with her."

"Oh," Shelby said. "What movie are you going to see?"

"I don't know yet," Rachel said after a moment. She really had no idea what was even out. "We haven't figured that out yet. I think Quinn said there was something she wanted to see, but I don't remember what it is."

"Sounds interesting," Shelby joked. "And don't worry about your sister and me. We'll figure out something to do today. All alone."

"You've got each other," Rachel told her.

"And that's why she'll say mama first," Shelby said. Beth turned her head so she could look at up at her mom and smiled.

Rachel tried to race out the front door at 11:30 only to be stopped by Shelby who made sure her jacket was pulled tight.

"Mom," Rachel complained as she tried to shoo Shelby away.

"Be home by ten."

"I know," Rachel said. Did they have to go through this every time she went out?

"Call me later and let me know where you are," Shelby said.

"I always do," Rachel said. "Don't you have other things you should be doing? Go bother Beth."

"Beth is napping," Shelby said. "Do you need a nap before you go out?"

"Mom," Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Ok, ok," Shelby smiled and then kissed her head. "Bye."

"Bye!" Rachel said as she quickly left the house so Shelby couldn't stop her again.

"Don't get into any trouble today," Shelby called from porch as Rachel walked to her car.

Rachel spun around mid-stride and smirked at her mother. "Me?" The innocent tone didn't match the look.

"Yes you," Shelby said with a laugh. "Be careful."

Rachel waved her off as she got in her car and started it up and then blared the music on the radio. Shelby was almost back inside when she turned back around and pointed her finger at her daughter. Rachel laughed at her reaction before relenting and lowering the music and backing out of the driveway. Shelby watched her go with her hands on her hips. That girl.

The four kids met at a shopping center not far from the country club and piled all of the supplies, and themselves, into Santana's car and set out again. Puck called in some favors from a couple of friends who worked as valets who were more than willing to help him after he explained whose car they needed and what he said. To them it was icing on the cake that Russell never tipped any of the valets when they returned his car.

It didn't take them long to reach the club and the gaudy, too big parking garage that went along with it. It had three more levels than what was needed even if every member of the club was there at the same time. Building it too large almost seemed like another way for the members of the exclusive club to show off their prominence in the town. But those extra levels were going to come in handy today. Puck got his friends to park it on one of the empty levels at the top. They waved Santana through at the gate and directed her to the seventh level of the garage. Puck spoke with his friend whose older brother managed the parking deck and assured him that all the cameras had been turned off and it could be blamed on a power outage later if they looked.

"It scares me how well you planned this out," Quinn said as they were driving to the seventh level. "And in just a day."

Puck gave a cocky shrug and said, "This isn't the first bit of vandalism I've ever had to plan out. And once I told them whose care we wanted, they were all for it. Your dad is apparently a real asshole."

"You're telling me," Quinn replied.

The kids parked far away from the car so Santana's car wouldn't inadvertently end up in the cross fire and then got out and got their supplies. It was time to shut Russell's mouth once and for all.

Twenty-five minutes later the four kids stood back and surveyed their work, each wearing satisfied smiles. No one was going to miss this car and the message it would send. They quickly packed up all of their supplies and got back in Santana's car. They stopped at the valet office on the way out and Puck handed over his video camera to his friend Calvin who was going to continue to help them with the next part of the plan. They obviously couldn't hang around to see Russell's reaction so Calvin was going to film it for them. Quinn especially liked the idea of having something permanent to keep of this moment.

"We are going to be in so much trouble if we get caught," Rachel said when they reached the shopping center parking lot where they had met earlier. All of them missed the irony that it was a little late for that worry.

"We won't," Puck assured her. "There won't be any proof."

"But what if-"

"Don't worry about it," Santana said. "We just gave him what he deserved."

"I agree," Quinn said. "Him and all of his stupid friends will get to see what a jackass he is."

"I know that," Rachel said.

"Then stop worrying," Santana said. "Let's go grab some lunch and see a movie."

The others all agreed and just like all of the worries were pushed aside. And to make it even better, Rachel now wasn't lying to Shelby about where she had gone that day. She was proud to have defended her sister and her friend and her fathers' relationship. She certainly had her issues with them, but they had been in love once and there was nothing wrong with that. They stopped by a dumpster before leaving the parking lot and threw away all of the supplies that were left over. They were free and clear and Rachel smiled.

Calvin, Puck's friend, laughed as soon as he got off the elevator on the seventh level and saw what they did the Russell Fabray's car. That man was going to flip. He took out the camera and filmed it from every side so he wouldn't miss anything because he wouldn't be able to get this close again once the car was parked and waiting for Mr. Fabray. The man had left word that his car be delivered by 4p.m. and so Calvin planned to drop it off about half and hour before that so it would give lots of people plenty of time to look at it. His brother was already removing the record of who parked and delivered the car so they couldn't be traced that way.

The black 2010 Cadillac CTS had been perfect when it was driven to the club that morning, but now it was covered in paint and bumper stickers. The word 'CHEATER' was spray painted across the windshield courtesy of Puck and Quinn was used pink paint to write 'BAD FATHER' across the hood. Rachel used purple to spray 'HOMOPHOBE' on the driver's side and Santana didn't beat around the bush when she used green to write out 'ASSHOLE' on the passenger side. The back was covered in bumper stickers that represented everything from the Human Rights Campaign to one that read, 'Honk if you think I'm a Douche.' White glue had been dumped onto the roof and was dripping down onto all the windows and about two gallons of glitter had been dumped on top of that and left to dry. Puck had used a screwdriver to key the sides of the car and the air had been let out of the tires one-by-one. Calvin knew it would take a few minutes to get to all the way to the front of the club.

Calvin received a text message telling him that the coast was clear and so he got in the car and drove slowly and on unsteady, flat tires to the club and parked it out front and away from other cars so it was sure to be seen. He turned the car off but left the keys in the ignition and got out and went to his own car which was parked nearby to wait. Employees were not allowed to use the parking garage and that turned out to be a handy rule in this instance.

Calvin started to film the scene as more and more people were stopping to look at the car and see everything that had been done to it. They all knew whose car it was because Russell had been showing it off for weeks now. He'd only had it about a month. It was top of the line everything and he wanted everyone to know it.

A good crowd had formed by the time Russell emerged from the building with a few of his friends. Calvin leaned against his car and smoked a cigarette as he held the tiny camera up. Even from the short distance he looked just like anyone else who was watching the scene because the camera was too small to be seen from that distance. He couldn't keep the smile away as the crowd parted and Russell got the first look at his car.

Calvin wasn't sure he'd ever seen a fit of rage quite like this one. Russell immediately started to demand to know who had done this to the car. He walked around it and looked at it from all sides and continued to scream at those who were watching the scene. Other people started to take out their cameras and take pictures or videos and that only made Russell angrier. One of his friends tried to be helpful and handed him a handkerchief and Russell tried to wipe some of the paint away, but it was already dry. He threw the handkerchief back at the man. He was string out obscenities and people were starting to ask questions. One man walked up and asked Russell what he had done to make someone want to do that to his car and Russell grabbed his jacket and then tried to take a swing at him. The man pushed him back and they had to be held back so that a full-on fist fight didn't occur.

People started to file out of the club to come and see what was happening because they had no doubt been receiving texts from the people already on the scene. Russell became so angry that he slammed his fist down on the hood of his car and quickly recoiled it in pain and Calvin really wasn't sure if he had broken it or not. Russell started to shake it a few seconds later so that probably wasn't the case.

The police officer that worked at the country club finally arrived and Russell immediately started to yell at him, demanding that he fix this and find who was involved. He questioned everything from the entire police force to this one man's whereabouts and why he wasn't there to prevent this crime from happening in the first place. The officer didn't take too kindly to being berated and only stayed long enough to take a simple statement and to say that he would look into it, but no promises. He told Russell he'd eventually have to file an official complaint.

The crowd was still waiting when the tow truck arrived and the driver laughed when he got out of the car. Russell started to yell at the man until he was told he could find another tow truck if he didn't shut up. Calvin filmed all the way until the tow truck left with the car on the back and Russell fuming in the front seat.

When the movie was over, the kids went their separate ways and Quinn and Rachel ended up back at the Fabray house to hang out and wait for Puck to send them the video. They were both so anxious to see how it all turned out.

Rachel was following Quinn in her car and her eyes widened when she saw her mother's care in the driveway at Quinn's house. The girls parked and got out of their respective cars and shared a look of dread. What was Shelby doing there? Had their mothers found out what they did?

"Do you think they know?" Rachel asked as they walked towards the house.

"They couldn't," Quinn reasoned. "They just couldn't."

"Ok, we just play it cool," Rachel said. "Don't mention anything and don't act like anything is wrong. They may not know." Quinn nodded in agreement.

The girls opened the front door and looked in before actually stepping into the house. Quinn shut the door behind them and they stepped forward apprehensively as if Shelby or Judy was going to jump out and scare them at any second.

"Quinn," Judy called out from the living room. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, Mom," Quinn called back. "And Rachel."

"Rachel," Shelby said.

"Hey, Mom," Rachel greeted when they entered the living room and saw both women sitting side-by-side on the couch looking at a book. Beth was sitting on the floor with some of her toys. "What are you doing here?"

"Judy invited me over a couple hours ago because she wanted to show me something," Shelby answered.

"I was cleaning out one of the closets and found an album of your baby pictures, Quinn," Judy said. "They were all so cute and I had to share them with someone. There are so many pictures of you where you look like Beth."

Quinn groaned and Rachel smiled as she leaned over the couch to look at the album in her mom's hands.

"Awww, look," Rachel said. "You were so cute." Rachel turned a page and started to laugh when she saw a picture of Quinn standing up in the bathtub holding up a handful of bubbles for the camera.

"God," Quinn said when she leaned over to see what Rachel was laughing at. "Seriously, Mom? Bathtub pictures?"

"You were so cute," Shelby teased and she pinched one of Quinn's cheeks.

"Shelby," Quinn whined as she shooed her hand away causing the woman to laugh.

"How was the movie?" Judy asked after their fun.

"It was really good," Rachel said.

"What did you see?" Shelby asked.

"_The Green Hornet_," Quinn answered. "It was really ok. We had something else in mind, but Puck refused to see a girl movie."

"It was really stupid," Rachel clarified.

"I could see that," Shelby laughed.

"I'm going to start on dinner soon," Judy said. "Shelby agreed to stay because we have more pictures to get through."

"Geez," Quinn rolled her eyes. "We'll be up in my room. Come on, Rach." They both wore smiles of relief and satisfaction as they made their way up the stairs.

It was an hour before they got the email from Puck with the video and instructions to take the video off the computer and put it on an external drive and to never post it to any websites. Quinn sent a reply promising all demands and then she and Rachel settled in to watch it. They were both lying on their stomachs on the bed with the laptop in front of them. The car almost looked better than they remembered it at the beginning of the video and the girls were proud. He deserved this.

They could not stop their laughter at Russell's reaction when her burst on the scene and started yelling. They loved that other people were laughing at him and asking questions. This was so awesome. There were tears of laughter by the time he almost got into the fist fight. This was all working out so perfectly. It had to be all over the country club and Quinn wouldn't be surprised if she ended up seeing pictures going around very soon.

"Girls," Shelby said as she knocked and stepped into the room.

Quinn hastily shut the video and the girls stared up at Shelby with wide, innocent eyes. "Yes?"

"What's so funny?" Shelby asked. She stepped a little closer like she wanted to be let in on the joke.

"Just a video we were watching on YouTube," Rachel answered.

"What is it? Can I see it?"

"I already closed it," Quinn answered. "It was just a dog being stupid. You know…"

"Oh. Well dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes," Shelby said. "Can you two come down and start to set the table?"

"Sure, Mom," Rachel answered brightly. Neither girl made an effort to move or get up.

"Ok," Shelby said as she rolled her eyes and turned to leave the room. "Five minutes. Go back to your funny video you don't want me to know about." The girls just smiled at her as she left.

Quinn made quick work of transferring the video to her external hard drive and hiding it away. Once it was deleted from the laptop, the girls left the room to go and do as they were told.

Judy was setting a final glass on the table when her phone chimed signaling that she had a text message. She picked it up to look at it and was confused when she saw it was from a friend she knew from the country club. The message was a picture with the caption that read, 'Have you seen this?' The picture was a windshield with the word 'cheater' written on it. Judy furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What is it?" Quinn asked as she looked over her shoulder and down at the picture. Oh, god. "Is that a car?" she asked pointedly and Rachel's head shot up to look at her.

"It's the windshield," Judy said. "I don't know whose it is."

"Oh," was all Quinn said.

"I'll reply after dinner to see what it is," Judy said as they all sat at the table.

"Ok, Mom." She didn't look at Rachel when she sat down. She was actually glad her mother was seeing it as long as it couldn't be traced to them.

The doorbell fifteen minutes later and ended the conversation that had been taking place and both girls looked to the door apprehensively. Judy excused herself to answer it and Quinn could hear him yelling before her mother even got there.

"Judy, I know she did it!" Russell yelled once the door had been opened. "Let me in. Quinn, you come here!"

"Russell, what are you talking about?" Judy asked calmly. She was blocking his entrance into the house.

"Your daughter and her friend with gay fathers destroyed my car!" he spat. "Quinn! Come here!"

Shelby watched as the girls exchanged looks held a silent conversation with their eyes. Just what was going on here?

"Russell, I don't know what you're talking about," Judy said. "Now if you'll kindly leave…"

"I won't kindly do anything," Russell shot back. "You think I don't know what happened today? I know it was her. Quinn, I mean it!"

"Don't move," Shelby said. "Either of you."

Shelby placed a comforting hand on Beth's head when she got up from the table and left the room. Her well-trained ears did not miss the "oh shit" that was muttered by Quinn as she headed for the front door. First things first; Russell needed to leave.

**A/N – I hope you guys liked this one. Please leave me a review if you can. Thanks, guys! **


	72. Chapter 72

**A/N (added) – Hey, I'm not sure why the chapter wouldn't show up for everyone. I uploaded it and tried it out on the computer and my phone and it worked and then I went to bed so I didn't see any of the messages telling me it didn't work until this morning. Sorry about that! I'm trying again. I hope it works this time. Thanks for the heads up, you guys! **

**A/N – Thank you all so much for all of the reviews and messages. I can't even begin to explain to you how much I appreciate it. I love you all for sticking with me through this whole thing. And without further ado, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.**

Quinn and Rachel were staring at the dining room wall in front of them as if they could somehow see through it to the front door if they looked hard enough. Beth was sitting in Rachel's lap and was straining to see around the corner to see what all the yelling was about. She finally was able to squirm her way out of her sister's arms and was happy when Rachel put her down. She was going to investigate.

"Deny," Quinn said.

"Yep," Rachel answered before Quinn had even finished saying the word.

Shelby reached the front door and gave Russell a look before turning to Judy to ask, "Is everything alright?"

"No, everything is not alright," Russell fumed. "And this is a family matter so if you would leave us alone-"

"Russell, this is Shelby Corcoran," Judy cut him off. "Shelby, this is my ex-husband Russell. Shelby is Rachel Berry's mother."

Russell's eyes changed with realization and he glared at Shelby who was not impressed with him at all.

"Your daughter is the one that was raised by those-"

"Is there something we can do for you?" Shelby interrupted knowing that the girls could hear every word.

"Your daughter helped destroy my car!" Russell shouted. "The police said they don't have anything to go on, but I know who it was. It's not very hard to figure out. I want answers and I want them now. I will not let them get away with this. Quinn, get your ass over here now!"

Quinn flinched at how loud he was and instinctively started to get up at the tone of his voice. Rachel put her hand on her friend's arm and stopped her. "Do you want to go upstairs?" Quinn shook her head and didn't move any farther. She wasn't afraid of her dad; he'd been tough when she was in trouble growing up, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. But Quinn knew that tone of voice and she had always known not to argue with it.

"Russell, I don't really know what happened to your car, but you need to leave," Judy said. "Quinn and Rachel did not do anything to your car. We know where they were this afternoon. You said yourself that the police have no proof so why do you automatically suspect your daughter?"

Russell was seething as he pulled out his phone and took a second to bring up the pictures he had taken of the damage. Shelby felt something on her leg and looked down to see that Beth was using her as something to hold onto as she tried to stand up. She bent down and picked up the baby and held her close. Russell found the first picture and looked up from his phone and stopped short when he started to hand it to Judy. He couldn't take his eyes off of Beth and she was frowning at him.

"This is my youngest daughter Beth," Shelby said and his glare flicked to the woman before he looked back to the baby in her arms.

Judy held her hand out for the phone and had to reach out and take it when she realized Russell wasn't paying attention to it anymore. She let out an annoyed sigh when she took it from his hand. The first picture she saw was the same one she'd been sent earlier with the word 'cheater' written on the windshield. She scrolled to the next picture and then the next and shut her eyes in a quick moment of frustration and resignation because she knew the girls had done it. Judy showed them to Shelby and they exchanged a look.

Judy closed the album on the phone and held it back out to Russell but he wasn't paying attention. Beth was idly playing with Shelby's necklace as she watched the man in front of her. Russell looked over the baby and couldn't help but think about how much she looked like Quinn. Judy had to clear her throat to pull his attention away from the little girl. "There is nothing in these pictures to prove that Quinn or Rachel had anything to do with what happened to your car."

Russell flashed a look of anger over at Judy and snatched his phone back from her. "Are you stupid?" he shouted.

Quinn started to get up again, but not out of worry about being in trouble. She was going to defend her mother.

"I cannot believe you let this baby and that other girl into our house," Russell said.

Rachel was suddenly hot on Quinn's heels.

"My house," Judy corrected. "And you need to leave."

"That baby was never supposed to exist," Russell yelled. "She was supposed to be taken care of. The point of adoption was to get rid of her. You," he pointed at Quinn as she rounded the corner with Rachel right behind. "You ruined this family."

"Russell, leave," Judy commanded. She and Shelby turned to look at the girls who were coming their way. "Go back and wait in the dining room."

"You ruined this family!" Quinn shouted back at him.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" Russell yelled. "I am your father!"

"You don't know what it means to be a parent," Rachel said to the man. "You are the worst kind of man."

"Girls," Shelby reprimanded. "Please go and wait in the other room."

"I'm more of a man and a father than the fairies who raised you," Russell sneered at the girl.

"Shut up!" Quinn yelled. "Don't talk to her like that!"

"I'm tired of you destroying everything," Russell said as he reached out and grabbed Quinn by the arm and pulled her forward.

"Hey!"

"Let go!"

Rachel stepped forward and took a hold of Russell's hand to try and pry it off of Quinn's arm, while Judy did the same. The woman was trying to get Rachel's hands out of the way so she could try and regain some control. Quinn was attempting to pull away, but Russell's grip was strong.

"Rachel, let go," Judy said.

"Let her go," Rachel said over her. She wanted to kick him in the shin.

"Mom," Quinn cast her eyes at Judy for help.

"Get your hands off me," Russell said to Rachel.

He used his free hand to grab Rachel's wrists and push her away. She had to take a couple of steps back to get her balance and then tried to step forward again, but Shelby wrapped her free arm around her daughter's waist and held her back.

"Stop it right now," Shelby commanded to Rachel. The girl tried to move forward again, but the arm holding her was steadfast and strong.

"Mom," she looked up at Shelby helplessly.

Judy was able to get Russell's hand off of Quinn's arm and moved to stand in front of the girl. She turned a steely glare on her ex and said, "Leave. Now."

He scoffed at his wife trying to exert any control over him and was gearing up to argue again, but Shelby cut him off.

"Russell, you need to leave now," Shelby said, her tone emanating control and authority. She let go of Rachel so that she could step over and stand by Quinn. She hugged Beth closer to her and started rubbing her back because the little girl was becoming increasingly upset with all the shouting and commotion.

"Don't talk to me," Russell said to Shelby. "You shouldn't even be here. This house used to be a Godly home, but everything changed when Quinn got pregnant and dragged my name through the mud. And now you," he pointed at Judy, "let her be around these people." He turned his attention back to Shelby, "Your children are abominations and-"

The sound of it startled everyone and they all needed a second to comprehend that the cracking noise they had just heard was Judy slapping her ex-husband across the face. Beth started to cry and Quinn and Rachel both had tears welling in their eyes at his actions and words and they looked at Judy in shock. Russell put his hand to his cheek and stared down at the smaller woman he'd always been able to control and seemed to realize in an instant how much she had changed.

"Get off of my property," Judy said quietly; dangerously. "If you try and contact Quinn or either of these girls, I'll get a restraining order and will really tell all of your precious friends the type of man you are."

"This isn't over," Russell said.

"Yes it is," Judy said with an air of finality.

He turned and stormed off the porch and then slammed the door of his rental car when he got it in. They all watched in silence until he drove away.

"Mom, that was-"

"Quinn, you and Rachel go back to the dining room and sit down," Judy said.

"But-"

"Right now." She had never done anything like that in her life and she needed a moment to process it.

Shelby handed Beth over to Rachel and took a couple of steps with the girls to guide them back to the other room. "Go on," she said softly. "Finish your dinner." She could tell that Quinn was about to argue again so she placed a few gentle pats on her backside to keep her moving. Rachel was looking up at her as if she was unsure if she should obey or stay with her mother. Shelby kissed Rachel's head and then did the same for her to get her to follow behind Quinn. She waited until they disappeared into the room before going back to Judy.

Shelby walked back over to her friend and placed a hand on her back to offer support. "Are you ok?"

Judy nodded and then looked at Shelby and dared to let a smile grace her features. "Do you know how good that felt?" she asked in a hushed voice so the girls wouldn't hear her. Shelby couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. "I listened to him say those awful things for all those years and it felt so wonderful to make him stop. I'm so sorry about what he said about Rachel and Beth though."

"Don't apologize for him," Shelby said. "I know you don't believe anything he said. Rachel's right, he's a hateful human being. And a homophobe."

"And Quinn is right," Judy said. "He's a bad father. They destroyed his car."

"I know," Shelby nodded. "And honestly, I can't say I blame them."

"Me either," Judy agreed. "But what if they'd been caught? What if he had proof? He would press charges against them."

"I know," Shelby said again. "I'm honestly at a loss for how to punish them though."

"Me too," Judy agreed. "My heart isn't in it." They shared a laugh.

Quinn slumped down in her seat in the other room and moved her mashed potatoes around her plate with a fork.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked. "Is your arm ok?"

"Yeah," Quinn muttered. She flexed her arm out and it was no worse for wear. She just wished his words weren't so hurtful. "Are you?"

"I'm fine," Rachel said. "It hurts to be called names, especially from a grown man who should know better, but I always come to the conclusion that it doesn't mean anything even though the initial sting is always there."

"Yeah," Quinn said again. She dropped the fork and sat back and looked at Rachel and Beth, who was sitting in her big sister's lap. "Did you see the way my mom slapped him?"

"I couldn't believe it," Rachel said. "From my mom, sure, but yours? It was pretty awesome."

"I know," Quinn smiled. "My mom's awesome."

"I agree," Rachel said with a nod. They were both silent for a second as they turned to try and peer around the corner to see if they could see their moms and know what they're talking about. "Do you think they believed him?"

"I don't know," Quinn shrugged. "It didn't seem like they did."

Judy and Shelby had moved to the kitchen and were sitting on stools at the island as they tried to figure out what to do.

"We could ground them?" Judy suggested.

"Yeah. But then we have to deal with them while they're grounded," Shelby said with a whine and they both laughed. "How about something simpler? To say we don't approve of vandalism, but we understand their need to make a statement to Russell."

"Such as?"

"I was thinking I would take Rachel's phone away for a week," Shelby said. "It's usually attached to her hand so it would give her something to think about. And no using the house phone either."

"And you didn't want to deal with them while they're grounded," Judy laughed. "Take away their phones and they may just lose their minds."

"True, but by them not being grounded they can still go out and lose their minds elsewhere," Shelby said.

"You've got a point," Judy said. "So what do we do if we ask them if they did it and they tell us no? It's not like we have any proof either."

"I guess that we lecture them on how wrong it is to vandalize someone else's property and hope that they trust us enough to come clean," Shelby said.

The words hung in the air for a second before both women started laughing and then got up to go back into the dining room.

Both girls sat up straighter when their mothers finally came into the room and looked them over.

"Are you ok, Quinnie?" Judy asked as she made her way to her daughter and kissed her head. Judy moved Quinn's arm to try and see if Russell had left a mark.

"I'm fine," Quinn answered. "He just makes me so angry."

"Me too. And I'm sorry that you girls had to be here for that," Judy started. "Quinn, your father said some hateful things and none of them were true."

"I know," Quinn said softly.

"None of it," Judy reiterated. "Not about you or Rachel or Beth. Do you two understand?"

"Yes," Quinn said while Rachel nodded.

"Why was he even here?" Rachel asked innocently. She figured that it would be good to establish from the very beginning that she and Quinn didn't know what was going on.

Shelby and Judy exchanged a glance as they sat down in their chairs.

"Well," Judy started, "someone, or some people, vandalized his car. They messed it up pretty badly and he came to the conclusion that you two were involved."

Both girls wore shocked expressions and then looked at each other as if this was the craziest thing they'd ever heard.

"Why would he think that we were involved?" Quinn asked. "He knows that I don't want anything to do with him."

"He determined that you two were involved because of some of the things that were written on his car," Judy explained.

"What was written?" Quinn asked.

"Bad father, for one thing," Judy said and she looked at Quinn pointedly and the girl did her best to keep from smiling. He deserved that. "And homophobe," she looked at Rachel who kept her expression the same.

"The damage to his car looked to be pretty severe," Shelby said. "It's going to cost him a lot to be repaired."

"Oh," Rachel said.

"Do you girls know anything about this?" Shelby asked.

"No," Quinn said and Rachel shook her head. "Why did he come here instead of calling the police? It sounds pretty serious."

"He talked to the police and they told him that they don't have anything to go on," Judy told her. "So we'll ask again, did you two have anything to do with the damage to his car?"

"No," Rachel answered this time. "Did this just happen today?"

"Yes."

"We went to the movies today," Rachel said. "And lunch. Puck and Santana were with us."

"What time was your movie?" Shelby asked.

"2:10," Quinn answered. She stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out the ticket stub. "See?"

Judy took the stub and looked at it before passing it to Shelby who then looked to Rachel. "Do you have one?"

"It was an awful movie so I threw it away," the girl answered. "I only like to keep the tickets for the movies I liked." Shelby knew the truth in that. Of course, more often than not she ended up removing those tickets from pockets before she put clothes in the wash which inevitably led to Rachel telling her all about the movie again when she gave it back to her. If one ended up being washed and ruined, Rachel always declared that she'd have to go and see the movie again to get another ticket.

The women exchanged a look and knew there wasn't anything they could do about it because the girls had an alibi and there was no proof. The evidence pointed right to them, but was circumstantial. They didn't know what time his car had been destroyed. Judy didn't know how any of them could have gotten in and out of the parking garage at the country club without being seen.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that neither of you were involved," Shelby said. "Because if you were, we' d have to all sit down and have a serious discussion about vandalism and the many ways it is wrong and how you can get in trouble for it."

"Shelby is right," Judy continued. "If the people who ruined that car had been caught by the police they'd be in a lot more trouble than just their parents finding out."

"Pranks like that can become part of your permanent record and that can affect the colleges you can get into," Shelby said. "You could alter your future for one moment of fun."

"Breaking the law is very serious despite the reasons you may think it is justified," Judy said.

Rachel and Quinn nodded along and tried to listen, but both knew they were getting away with it. They tried to say they were going to get up and go back to Quinn's room, but Judy stopped them and made them sit back down. She and Shelby gave a tag-team lecture about how it is never right to vandalize for over forty-five minutes and the girls couldn't just sit there quietly; the moms made them engage in it the conversation so they could be sure they were actually listening.

"In conclusion, I would like to say again how happy I am that neither of you were involved in vandalizing the car and say thank you for not lying to us about what happened today," Judy said. "I'd hate to think that you two felt like you couldn't come to us with the truth and know that we would be fair and reasonable in our responses. We trust you with the truth, and we're proud you do the same with us."

The mothers watched as the girls sank a little lower in their chairs, but kept their interested, if not neutral, expressions.

"Uh-huh," was Quinn's only reply.

"Ok then," Shelby said to change the subject. "Rachel we need to go soon, but you need to help Quinn with all of the dishes first."

Both girls started to protest and whine, but Shelby held her hand up to stop them. They didn't argue further, but that didn't stop the girls from grumbling as they started to clear the table and make their way to the kitchen.

"A few extra chores this week might do them some good," Judy said with a smile and Shelby nodded.

"Do you think Puck and Santana were in on it as well?" Shelby asked.

"Knowing, both of them like I do, yes," Judy replied.

"Too bad we couldn't have saved that lecture for all of them," Shelby said. "But there might be something else we can do with all four of them. Let me look into it and I'll keep you posted." There may have been a touch of evil in their smiles.

By Thursday evening, Rachel was exhausted. Every day after school that week, Shelby had been assigning her an extra task around the house to keep her busy. Rachel had to show her mother her homework so Shelby could make sure it had been done and then she would set her to work cleaning. On Wednesday Rachel had decided that she wouldn't finish her homework at school in hopes that she would be able to get out of whatever chore she might have to do that night. Shelby made her finish the homework and then get to work. She told Rachel it was spring cleaning and that it all had to be done. Rachel had reminded her several times that it was still winter, but to no avail. She was kept so busy that she rarely had time to socialize on her computer or phone and those items usually lay forgotten in her room. Her iPod was getting a workout right along with her though because she'd be damned if she was washing windows and vacuuming floors without any music.

Her current music selection of _Oklahoma!_ was doing nothing to help with her aching arms as she stood in a chair so she could dust the top of the bookshelf in the guest room. She still wasn't quite tall enough in the chair and had to stand on her toes and reach above her head to wipe it down. Her mother was crazy. It was official. Shelby Corcoran was certifiably crazy. If the dust wanted to live on top of this bookshelf then so be it. Who was she to disturb it?

She took one last swipe as far as she could reach and then dropped her arms, unable to go on. She just wanted to go to sleep. She didn't care that it was only 9:00. It only then occurred to her that she'd fallen asleep before her normal bedtime every night this week. This better not be some precursor to the real spring cleaning her mother had planned for later in the year. She was only going through this once a year.

Rachel stepped down from the chair and stopped her music and pulled the ear buds out and placed the iPod on desk. She stepped over to the bed and bent over it to rest her upper body and arms. Her feet barely reached the floor, but she didn't care because, for now, this was comfortable. She shut her eyes and let out a restful sigh.

Rachel heard her mother calling for her before she stepped into the room, but she made no move to get up. She might just stay there for the rest of the night. Shelby smiled at her little cleaning machine as she walked over to her. She placed a sound swat on her daughter's backside before she sat on the bed because it was too good of a target to pass up. Rachel seemed to take no notice as she climbed all the way into the bed and curled up and leaned into her mother, using her lap as a pillow.

"What's the matter, baby?" Shelby cooed.

"I'm tired," Rachel mumbled. "You're crazy."

"How about we get you into bed?" Shelby suggested.

"It's too early," Rachel protested, mild though it was.

"Well, how about you just get your pajamas on and get comfortable," Shelby said. "You don't have to go to sleep yet."

"I'm comfortable here."

"You'll be more comfortable in your own bed," Shelby assured her. She hooked one arm under Rachel and moved her. "Up we go."

Shelby walked Rachel to her room and pulled out some pajamas for her daughter while the girl brushed her teeth. She handed a nightshirt and shorts to her and then sat on the bed and waited for her to come out of the bathroom. Rachel did so a few minutes later and happily crawled into bed.

"I'm not going to sleep," she said around a yawn. "I'm going to read for a while. It's not my bedtime."

"You're right," Shelby said.

Rachel picked up her book from the bedside table and Shelby watched as the girl's heavy eyelids were making it hard to focus on the page.

"Do you want me to read it to you?" Shelby asked.

Rachel stopped blinking and looked up at her with such earnest eyes that Shelby thought she might cry. She'd never had her mom read a story to her at night before bed.

"If you want to," Rachel said seriously as she handed the book over.

Shelby took a moment to fix the blankets around Rachel's shoulders and the girl held on to her quilt and watched her mother's every move. She listened intently as Shelby started to read from the current chapter of her book. Shelby's tone was soft and maternal and Rachel's heavy eyelids returned. Shelby rubbed her back and moved some of Rachel's hair out of her eyes as she read. The girl was asleep within three minutes.

Shelby quietly returned the book to the table and then kissed Rachel's head and tucked the blankets around her, whispering an "I love you" as she did. A quick glance at the clock on her way out told her it was only 9:15 and her baby was fast asleep. She wondered if Rachel would ever realize she'd been grounded and didn't even know it.

Quinn had not fared much better and was just as worn out from the extra chores her mother was forcing her to do as well. She thought about how she hadn't seen anyone outside of school this entire week. Her mom hadn't brought up her father or the car again neither of them had heard anything from Russell. She smiled to herself at how they had really gotten away with it as she drifted off to sleep.

Shelby called Judy after checking on Beth to make sure she was still sleeping to iron out their plans for Saturday. She had done some research and found that the children's hospital in Columbus was sponsoring a car was to raise money that Saturday and was looking for volunteers. Shelby couldn't have planned something any better than the appropriateness of a car wash and had taken the liberty of calling Puck and Santana's parents to tell them about it. She praised each kid to their parents about their children's willingness to partake in an all-day event for charity, even if it meant they were going to be picked up at five in the morning for the drive to Columbus. She could tell how proud the parents were and of course they gave their permission for the kids to go with Shelby. She had then contacted the people setting up the car wash and signed her daughter and her three friends up. The weather was even supposed to be nice that weekend, though it was purposefully planned every year for a weekend in February. They wanted the added incentive of being able to get the grime left behind by the snow off the cars and they found that people were more than willing to pay, especially because it was for a good cause.

Rachel was so relieved when she got home from school Friday afternoon and wasn't given a room she had to clean and was told she could do whatever she wanted. Within ten minutes she was lounging on the couch with her laptop and watching a movie. Thirty minutes after that she complained as she had to get up to answer the door when the bell rang six times in a row. She found an extremely annoyed Santana on the other side.

"Come in-"

"What the hell is going on?" Santana asked as she stormed past Rachel into the house.

"What are you talking about?"

"I got home from school today and my mother told me how proud she was that I had signed up to do some stupid car wash even though it's February and that I had to get up at four something in the morning because you and your mom would be picking me up at five so we could drive to Columbus," Santana ranted.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rachel said. "I don't know anything about a car wash or picking you up at five."

"Well I'm not doing it," Santana declared.

"Yes you are," Shelby said and the girls spun around to see her standing on the stairs. "You two along with Quinn and Puck will be spending tomorrow washing cars all day long. And I think you both know why."

**A/N – I hoped you guys liked this one. Please leave me a review and let me know. Thanks! **


	73. Chapter 73

**A/N – Thank you all so much for the review and messages. You guys are all so amazing. I loved reading all of the opinions on the car situation. I appreciate your input and feedback so much.**

**There is a teeny tiny time jump towards the end, just to make you all aware, so be on the lookout! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. I highly approve of Brian Stokes Mitchell as one of Rachel's fathers though. I love him. Now we just need Idina back. Make it happen, Glee.**

Santana spun around to face Rachel again as Shelby continued down the stairs. Shelby could only smile when she heard them start to whisper.

"You said she believed you when you said you didn't do it," Santana hissed.

"She did!" Rachel insisted in the same urgent whisper.

"Girls," Shelby said to get their attention and was met with two innocent faces when they turned back to look at her. "I have heard a lot of things about how you and your friends know how to take care of cars and I couldn't pass up the chance to put your abilities to work for a good cause."

"I don't know what shorty here told you, but I don't know anything about that car," Santana said.

"What car, Santana?" Shelby asked.

"That car," Santana huffed. "The one that… It was-"

Shelby cocked her head to the side and waited patiently for Santana to continue. "Yes?"

"His-" Rachel nudged Santana in the back the girl thankfully stopped talking.

"What Rachel did tell me was that you guys have held car washes together for the glee club and that you guys are experienced and usually have fun with it," Shelby said. "I thought you and Mr. Puckerman would like to join us and put your skills to the test. Your mother was so proud when I told her how you'd like to help. I didn't think I had to tell her the reason you'd so readily volunteer, but I can give her a call and explain it to her."

"No," Santana said. "Rachel's right; the car washes are fun. I'd be happy to help out."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Shelby said. She stepped up to the girl and put a hand on her back to guide her towards the front door. "So we'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning. Make sure you're up and ready."

Santana nodded as she stepped out onto the porch. "I'll be up."

"Good," Shelby said. "Make sure you sleep well tonight because I've got the perfect topic of conversation for the ride to Columbus and I'd hate for any of you to sleep through it."

Santana waited until Shelby shut the front door and then immediately pulled out her phone and called Puck. She was met with the same complaining she was ready to do. But on the bright side, at least her mother didn't know. The same couldn't be said for Rachel and, most surely, Quinn.

Rachel leaned against the back of the couch and looked down at the hands she was wringing. It was clear that her mother knew about the car and worst that she had lied to her about it. Shelby turned around from shutting the door and smiled at her now downtrodden girl. She hoped Rachel would look up at her as she made her way back into the living room, but the girl never raised her eyes. Rachel started to shift on her feet when Shelby came to stand in front of her. Her chin started to tremble and she opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't quite formulate her words. Shelby tucked some hair behind Rachel's ear and then put a hand to her chin and lifted her head so that the girl had to look at her.

"Mom, I-"

"I understand," Shelby cut her off. "I really do. I know you and Quinn were upset about what her father said to her initially and I saw how he treated her and you and your sister just the other day."

"He's just so awful," Rachel said as a tear slipped down her face. "He got to say all of those things and no one was ever going to call him on it. Beth is just a baby and-"

"Shhh, honey, I know," Shelby said. "But that type of retaliation is not the answer. You got a point across, but all of you could have been in very serious trouble if you'd been arrested. And you very well could have been arrested, Rachel. But you already heard my lecture of vandalism and will get to hear it again tomorrow in the car with Puck and Santana, so I won't go on." Shelby wiped the tear from her daughter's face and smiled at the small groan from Rachel over having to hear that particular lecture again.

"I'm sorry we lied to you and Judy," Rachel said in a small voice.

"You didn't want to get caught," Shelby said. "I get it. That doesn't make it right, but I understand. And honestly, Rach, if you didn't want to get caught you guys could have destroyed his car in less obvious ways than writing 'bad father' and homophobe' on it." She smiled at Rachel's sheepish look and reddening cheeks.

"We wanted everyone to see it and know that about him," Rachel disclosed.

"Most people already know all of that about him, sweetheart," Shelby told her. "And those who don't see it are just as bad as he is and sympathize with him over his car."

"But sometimes you have to take a stand," Rachel said emphatically. "You have to stand up for those around your friends and family even if you might get in trouble."

"You're absolutely right," Shelby said. "And next time you feel the need to do so and then get caught, I'd appreciate it if you would be honest with me about it. Talk to me about what makes you angry and why you feel you need to take a stand. I know you know how I feel about lying."

Rachel nodded as she absentmindedly moved her hands back to protect her bottom as she thought back on lying about driving the car and how she'd gotten hurt.

"So next time, ask yourself if you think mom will understand and then tell me the truth," Shelby said.

"What if I think you won't understand?" Rachel asked.

"Tell me the truth anyway," Shelby answered.

"Ok," Rachel said. She brought her hands around to the front and looked down again and softly asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to go and make dinner," Shelby told her. "I'd love it and you would help me."

"But… That's not- You're not?" Rachel stumbled, but recovered quickly, "I mean, I'd love to come and help you cook."

"Good girl," Shelby said. "Take your laptop up to you room and put it away. I'd hate for there to be a mess in this wonderfully clean house. Thank you for doing such a great job on it. You willingly gave up all of that free time to do as I asked."

"It wasn't willingly," Rachel mumbled as she thought back over the week, and that's when it hit her.

Shelby could not hide her smile as she watched as Rachel's eyes widened with realization and she looked up at her mother and put her hands on her hips.

"You tricked me!"

"I punished you," Shelby corrected.

"But I didn't even know it," Rachel protested.

"I know," Shelby smiled. "That's what makes is so great."

"That's just mean, Mom," Rachel huffed her annoyance at this new development.

"No more lying," Shelby said as she tapped Rachel's nose. "Now take your stuff upstairs and then come down and help me in the kitchen."

Rachel picked up her laptop and iPod after Shelby walked away and then good-naturedly grumped her way up the stairs. "One of these days I'm going to get away with something," she mumbled under her breath.

Shelby was the first one awake in her house the following morning. Rachel was a morning person, but four in the morning was really early when you didn't want to get up. Hell, four in the morning was early no matter what; especially on a Saturday.

Shelby took a quick shower and got dressed before going to get Rachel. She wanted to be able to make them breakfast while Rachel was getting ready. Shelby went into Rachel's room and sat on the bed next to the girl who was sleeping so peacefully and nudged her shoulder.

"Rachel," she singsonged, "it's time to wake up. You need to get ready."

Rachel's only response was to try and roll away from her mother.

"Come on, honey," Shelby said.

"Go away," Rachel mumbled as she tried to push Shelby's hands away.

"Sorry, my love, I can't do that," Shelby said. She reached for all of the blankets and pulled them off of Rachel.

"Mama!" the girl whined and grasped at thin air to try and get her blankets back. She refused to open her eyes yet. "Stop."

"It's time to get up," Shelby said more seriously this time.

"No," Rachel said and she curled herself into ball to try and preserve some of the warmth she's just had.

"Get up and get in the shower," Shelby said and she gave Rachel's leg a pat. "I'm going to make us breakfast." Shelby didn't get a response and she started to poke Rachel in the ribs to tickle her. "Did you hear me? Huh? Get up." Her tone was playful and she was met with a scowl.

"Stop it," Rachel finally opened her eyes and shot her mother and annoyed look. "Go away."

"Get up," Shelby said. "Let's go."

Rachel mumbled something incoherently and waved her off. As soon as her mother was out of the room, Rachel pulled her blankets back into place and settled into her pillows and shut her eyes. Blissful sleep returned within seconds.

Shelby made her way back up the stairs fifteen minutes later and turned the light on in the room when she saw that Rachel was still asleep. She stepped into the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower and then stepped back out to get her daughter.

Shelby pulled the blankets all the way back, ignoring Rachel's whines as she did so. A stain on the girl's quilt caught her attention and she brought the blanket to her nose to smell it. Geez, when was the last time this thing had been washed? Shelby didn't think it would fit in her washer. But she could worry about that later and she put the blanket back on the bed.

Rachel was in a tiny ball once again and Shelby sat down next to her and lifted the girl into a sitting position. Rachel wrapped her arms around Shelby's neck and held on tightly and rested her head and closed her eyes. Her mother hugged her back just as tightly and Rachel knew she could go right back to sleep like this if given the chance.

"I don't want to get up," Rachel whined. "It's too early."

"You were up earlier than this when we were leaving to go to New York City," Shelby reminded her.

"That was different," Rachel said. "Please, Mommy."

Shelby smiled and rubbed Rachel's back for a second before standing up and taking the girl with her.

"Alright, young lady, you've got ten minutes to be in and out of that shower and dressed," Shelby instructed. She disentangled herself from the girl's arms and sent her off in the direction of the bathroom.

"Fine," Rachel trudged off and shut the door behind her. She had wanted to sleep at least until 6:30 this morning.

Quinn and Judy arrived at the house while Rachel was having breakfast and Quinn slumped down in the chair next to her. She yawned heavily and rested her head down on the table. Rachel nodded her agreement and took another bite of her food. Judy followed Shelby into the living room and listened as the woman told her that Beth was still asleep and should be for another hour or so.

"Thanks for staying here with her," Shelby said.

"Oh, it's my pleasure," Judy told her. "I think I've got the better deal in this situation. I get a sweet baby and you're getting four grumpy teenagers."

"Oh, they'll be alright," Shelby said. "They might even have some fun. And hopefully they'll learn something from it."

"I certainly wish you the best of luck," Judy said with a laugh.

Shelby picked up the small bag she had packed with extra clothes for her and Rachel, as well as some towels. Judy handed Shelby Quinn's bag and she hoped that Puck and Santana would remember to bring one as well. It was inevitable that someone was going to get wet and she didn't want anyone sitting in wet clothes in her car. She also didn't want them to have to stand around in wet clothes for too long because, while it was warmer than usual that day, it was still February and cold.

Quinn sat up and took a sip of Rachel's juice, but then spotted something better when she saw Shelby's coffee cup on the other side of the table. She was disheartened to find that it was empty when she reached across the table to grab it.

"I already drank it all," Rachel told her.

Quinn sighed and took another sip of the juice. "I can't believe they knew the whole time."

"Me either," Rachel agreed.

"I got lectured about lying forever," Quinn lamented. She would be right if one could call five minutes 'forever.' "She said she understood, but that it wasn't a smart move on our parts."

"My mom said the same thing," Rachel said.

It might not have been smart, but it had certainly been satisfying.

"Ok ladies, let's hit the road," Shelby said as she and Judy walked back into the kitchen.

"I'm still eating," Rachel said.

"You've got two minutes while I fix us all some coffee," Shelby informed her.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but picked up her pace so she could finish. Shelby got three travel mugs from the cabinet and poured coffee in all of them. She handed one to Quinn for the girl to fix as she liked while she worked on hers and Rachel's.

"Be a good girl," Judy said as she kissed Quinn goodbye. "You too, Rachel."

"Do we have to?" Quinn mock whined.

"If you know what's good for you," Shelby answered. "Let's go."

Their first stop was Santana's and she mumbled her good mornings as she climbed into the backseat with Quinn. Mrs. Lopez waved to them from the porch as they drove away. Rachel knocked on the door at Puck's house and they only had to wait a couple minutes for him to emerge. Rachel went back to the car to wait while he said his goodbyes to his mother before he joined them. He tossed his bag in the back of the SUV and then moved back around to the front.

"I don't think so," Puck said as he opened the front passenger door and took ahold of the back of Rachel's jacket and pulled her from the car. "I'll go to Columbus, but I'm not riding the whole way crammed into the back." He was sitting in the front seat before Rachel even had a chance to retaliate.

She stamped her foot in annoyance as she opened the backseat and stared expectantly at Santana.

"Move over," Rachel ordered.

"I'm not sitting in the middle," Santana said.

"But-"

Santana took Rachel's arm and pulled her into the SUV and forced the girl to crawl over her and into the middle seat. "You're the smallest."

"Mom," Rachel whined.

"Buckle your seatbelt, Rach; we've got to go," was Shelby's only response. She was rather amused by it all.

Thirty minutes into the ride, Shelby had started her lecture on vandalism and each kid was doing their best to pretend they were listening. Well, most of them. Quinn had her head leaned back and was asleep and Rachel was leaning up against her and doing her best to keep her eyes open. Puck stared out the window and Santana offered an occasional "uh-huh" to Shelby's speech. The woman had denied three requests to turn on the radio and had to admit that she was taking a little bit of pleasure from this.

Shelby reached behind her with her right hand and grabbed onto the leg of Quinn's jeans and shook it. "Wake up, Quinn. I want you to tell me some of the points I've made about vandalism."

"What?" Quinn asked, startled. How the hell had Shelby even reached her leg? Why is it that a parent's arm seemed to grow go go Gadget style when they were in the car so they could reach back farther than they should ever be able to? They must get that arm from the same place they pick up the eyes that go in the back of their head.

"Vandalism," Rachel answered tiredly. "Talk about it."

"It's bad," Quinn answered and Shelby rolled her eyes.

"Santana?" Shelby asked.

"We could have been in serious trouble if we'd been caught," Santana parroted Shelby's earlier statements.

"Puck?" Shelby asked next.

"Destruction of property lowers you to the same level of the jackass who you were trying to make a point against," Puck answered.

"Noah," Shelby scolded gently.

"He deserved it," Puck stated adamantly. "I don't care what anyone says."

"I agree," Quinn chimed in.

"I know that," Shelby said. "But there were better, more efficient ways to get your point across. Ones that bring less risk of being arrested."

"So you're saying that it's ok to do something, just don't get caught," Santana spoke up.

"No, I'm saying-"

"If we had written different things on his car that didn't make him suspect Quinn and me, no one ever would have found out," Rachel said. "And that would have been ok."

"Yes, but- No, I mean vandalism-"

"Is bad. Right, we know," Puck cut Shelby off. "Except when the guy deserves it and as long as you don't get caught."

"No, you need to think of better ways to get your point across," Shelby said. "Vandalism is childish and equates to kicking down someone else's sandcastle in the sandbox because you don't like the situation."

"Then what should we have done?" Quinn asked. "And don't say talk to him to try and explain how I feel or anything like that. I know that wouldn't work."

"And it's not like you're truly opposed to that type of thing," Santana continued. "You let your Vocal Adrenaline kids trash our choir room because they felt threatened."

"Ok one, we were never threatened," Shelby clarified. "And two, none of the damage they did cost anything to repair and nothing they did was permanent."

"Except to how it made us feel," Rachel said and Shelby looked sympathetically at her in the rearview mirror. "We had to clean up the sand and rebuild the castle with less time to do it."

"So you do approve as long as the damage isn't lasting," Puck said. "Or as long as it can't be traced to us. If we had trashed his car with toilet paper, that would have been ok?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Shelby tried to defend herself.

"Sure seems that way to me," Santana spoke up.

"It's completely different," Shelby said.

"We could get some toilet paper and plaster it on to his new car," Puck said. "Quinn, can you find out what kind of car he's going to get."

"Guys," Shelby tried to cut in.

"Yeah, that shouldn't be too hard," Quinn answered.

"He'd never suspect we'd do it twice," Rachel joined in the scheming. "It would be perfect."

"You are not going to ruin his new car," Shelby said sternly.

"We wouldn't be ruining it," Santana explained. "We'd just use toilet paper and maybe some washable markers. The damage wouldn't be permanent."

"No," Shelby said.

"But Mom, you said-"

"You know what, let's listen to the radio," Shelby cut her off and turned the knob on the console filling the car with music. She was too busy focusing her annoyed concentration on the road in front of her to see four teenagers smile in satisfaction and triumph as they all closed their eyes to get some sleep.

Paul and Rebecca brought both of their cars to the car wash later that day. The children's hospital car wash was always a big deal and volunteers took over a large parking lot and set up stations. The grandparents waited patiently so that they could have their vehicles washed by Shelby and the kids.

Shelby hugged them both when they arrived and Rachel tried to do the same but she was held at arm's length because she was soaking wet. She was the latest victim of Puck throwing a bucket of water at the car and somehow missing. Shelby was the only one who was managing to hold onto any semblance of staying dry and had given up long ago and trying to tell the kids to knock off getting each other wet. They all only had one change of clothes and they certainly couldn't change every time they ended up wet. So she backed off and let them shiver and have their fun.

Shelby was glad to see that they were having so much fun with it. They had all started out grumpy and they wanted to do as little as possible, but as they day progressed and it warmed up some, the kids started to joke around and enjoy themselves. Shelby had to be a taskmaster at first when none of them wanted to work and she would make them clean it to her satisfaction. She never did bring up the vandalism topic again except to remind them that their sentence for destroying one car was to do their best to wash every car that came their way all day long.

"Puck!" Santana screeched when the boy landed another bucketful of water on her head.

His laugh combined with Paul's and Shelby rolled her eyes. "They've been like this most of the day," she told her mother.

"You're lucky you're still dry then," Rebecca said.

"And I plan to stay that way," Shelby said.

Shelby introduced Puck and Santana to her parents and the kids promised to do a great job on their cars. Quinn took the opportunity to fill a bucket and douse Puck with water. She claimed she'd been aiming at the car, but her laughter told a different story.

"Bring them by for dinner," Rebecca said to Shelby as they watched Puck trying to get retaliation on Quinn.

"The water goes on the car, guys," Shelby called out to remind them for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. "We were just going to grab some pizza on the way home," she then told her mother.

"Well come to our house and we'll order some pizza," Rebecca said. "It'll give them all a chance to change and warm up a bit before you head home."

"Ok," Shelby smiled. "We have to clean up here when it' over and then we'll be by."

"Perfect."

Paul had stopped paying attention to that short conversation when he noticed his granddaughter, with bucket in hand, sneaking up behind his wife and daughter. He needed to stop her. For her own protection, he knew he should stop Rachel. And yet... this was fun.

Rachel readied the bucket and got even closer to her mother and grandmother. Her friends were washing the car, but keeping an intent eye on her to make sure they didn't miss it when she threw the water on the women. They'd been trying to get Shelby all day.

"Don't even think about it," Rebecca said. She didn't have to turn her head to know that Rachel had heard her.

Shelby spun around in time to see Rachel slump her shoulders and lower the bucket. How did her mom know? She hadn't even realized!

"How did you know?" Rachel asked as stepped forward to stand next to Rebecca. The other kids looked away and went back to actually washing the car; the excitement was over.

"I have eyes everywhere," Rebecca said. "And don't you forget it. Now go wash my car." She punctuated her command with a stinging swat to Rachel's backside.

"Ow," Rachel muttered as she walked back to her friends. She knew where Shelby got it from.

"You sure messed that up, squirt," Santana said. "It shouldn't be that hard to throw a bucket of water at someone."

Rachel's answer was to lift the bucket she was still holding and throw the water inside on her smirking friend.

"Rachel!" Santana shrieked, the smirk gone from her face.

At 4:30 they were finally able to get Shelby and it was a triumphant moment indeed. They planned and schemed and whispered and finally elected Rachel as the one who had to take one for the team because she'd probably end up getting hit again.

Rachel stood up suddenly and grasped her hand and held it close. "Ow, ow!"

"What's the matter?" Shelby asked. She dropped her own sponge in a bucket as she motioned for Rachel to come to her. "What did you do to your hand?"

"I got something in it," Rachel said. "Like a splinter or something. It really hurts."

"Let me see."

Santana readied a bucket from one side while Quinn got in position on the other. Puck kept washing the car to try to appear normal.

"I can't see any cuts or splinters," Shelby said as she inspected her daughter's hand closely. "Where does it hurt?"

Rachel didn't get to answer the question because the water found its target. Rachel pulled her hand away and stepped back and was able to avoid most of it, though her face and hair were now even wetter. Shelby stood in shock for a few seconds as the kids high-fived each other. The day could now officially be called a success.

Shelby looked up at the four grinning teenagers and tried to glare at them, but it wasn't working. She let them have their fun and was glad the day had turned out so well. She was also thankful that it had taken this long for her to be hit with the water because she was cold. She was happy this function was almost over because the kids had been shivering for much longer than this and she needed to make sure they got changed and warm soon.

"Ok, ok," Shelby got their attention. "Finish this car and let's clean up. It's almost time to go."

By five their station was clean and the supplies had been put away. They made their way back to Shelby's car and she handed them each a towel to sit on. Santana, Puck and Quinn piled in the car as Shelby took a moment to dry Rachel's face off with her towel.

"I know this was a punishment, but today was a lot of fun," Rachel admitted.

"I agree," Shelby said.

"In fact, I think all of your punishments should be this fun," Rachel continued.

Shelby put her hands on her hips though the smile never left her face. "Don't press you luck, young lady."

"Me?" Rachel asked innocently.

"Oh, don't give me that," Shelby laughed. "Now get in the car and let's go."

Rachel ended up stuffed in the middle again as Shelby drove to her parents' house. The kids were all glued to their phones because they had been without them all day, having been told to leave them in the car when they arrived.

"I see they finally got you," Paul said as he opened the door for Shelby and the kids.

"Yes, they did," Shelby concurred.

They were all dispersed to different rooms to change and then Rebecca collected wet clothes and threw them in the dryer. The pizza arrived not long after that and they ate and talked and Shelby could see the pride in Rachel's face over the fact that Santana and Puck had really taken to her grandparents.

The conversation eventually moved to why they were in town for the car wash in the first place. Shelby collected plates and took them to the kitchen to give the kids a little more freedom to talk. She dropped the plates in the sink and then went back and leaned against the wall to listen as they spoke. She had heard it all before, but it didn't hurt her any less to hear how Russell Fabray had upset Rachel and Quinn and, by extension, Puck and Santana. She half wondered if she and Judy should never have said a word to call them on it because she didn't feel bad at all for Russell or what damage may have been done to his car. But at least by them knowing that Shelby and Judy knew, the kids could talk about their feelings for it out in the open and maybe they won't jump to such drastic measures in the future. And the entire thing made her incredibly sad for Quinn because of the man she'd grown up with. Rachel didn't fare much better and neither did Puck.

Paul noticed Shelby watching the conversation with hurt in her eyes and got up to go to her. He saw the unshed tears in her eyes and he led Shelby into the downstairs office so their conversation couldn't be heard by everyone else.

"Shelbs?"

"Thank you, Daddy," Shelby said as the tears started to make their way down her cheeks.

"What's going on?" Paul asked.

"Three of those kids out there have had such terrible fathers," Shelby said, "and it's not fair. You know about Rachel and now Quinn and Puck's father took off when he was a kid. Santana has a wonderful father and I'm so grateful for that because it upsets me so much to think about the fact that those kids out there never got that. I can't imagine what that must feel like. I can't imagine growing up not knowing what it is to have the unconditional love and attention of both of my parents. I was, and am, so lucky. I grew up with you."

"Shelby," Paul said as tears formed in his eyes.

"Thank you for being a great father and one of the best influences in my life," Shelby continued. "I am so thankful everyday that my girls will have you as a strong male role model in their lives. And I know you are there for Quinn as well. I am thankful that you raised my big brother to be a good man and father and by doing so, Sam is going to raise his boys to be good men. I love you, Daddy."

Paul pulled her into a hug and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He did not try and stop his tears as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you too, darling."

The drive home had been quiet because all four teenagers fell asleep once again, but Shelby didn't mind the silence because it gave her thoughts room to breathe. She looked around at each of the kids and knew that they had learned about more than the perils of vandalism she had tried to drill in their heads. Most importantly, they had learned that they each had friends who would be right there with them to help with whatever they needed when one of them was torn down by someone else. And that was a noble cause. One that was definitely worth the cost of repairs to Russell Fabray's precious car.

A couple weeks later, March had finally arrived Rachel was in full-blown party planning mode for Shelby's birthday. She wanted the party to be perfect and was ready to do everything she had to to make it happen. She had already made reservations at Shelby's favorite restaurant for the three of them, her grandparents and Judy and Quinn. The only hitch in the plan so far was that Sam and Maggie would not be able to attend due to a prior engagement. Sam had assured Rachel on the phone that they weren't forgetting her mother's birthday and were planning to take her out in a couple of weeks. Sam and Maggie were going to take her out with some of their friends from Columbus. They'd make a weekend out of it and stay with Paul and Rebecca.

Rachel had accepted this (probably only because she had no choice) and moved on with the plans. She had already ordered flowers to have them delivered that morning and the girl had spent hours shopping for the perfect gift. It was her mom's first birthday since she came to live with her and Rachel wanted it to be memorable and special.

What Shelby had noticed about Rachel was that the girl had been increasingly agitated and cranky since yesterday and she couldn't figure out why. She was glad the weekend was here, not because her birthday was Sunday, but because maybe she could get her daughter to relax.

"What are you doing tonight?" Quinn asked Rachel as they sat down in the cafeteria for lunch.

"I don't know," Rachel shrugged and then sucked in a breath. She had been having terrible cramps since yesterday. They weren't normally like this and of course she hadn't remembered to take anything that morning for them.

"Do you want to spend the night at my house?" Quinn asked. "My mom and I were going to do a movie marathon and it'd be fun if you came."

"Yeah," Rachel said. "That sounds like fun. The party details are all worked out and I'm not sure what else I can do for it. I'll ask my mom."

Rachel sent off a quick text message to Shelby who responded in the affirmative a couple minutes later. Maybe a night with her friend was just what Rachel needed. Tonight worked out perfectly anyway because she was about to take Rachel's quilt to a dry cleaner so it wouldn't be there tonight. She'd be able to pick it up in the morning and Rachel would have it back. She knew how much the girl loved it, but she thought maybe she'd be ok for a night at Quinn's.

Rachel received a message from her mother on her way home that told her she was still out running errands and that she'd be home soon and to please not leave to go to Quinn's before she got there. That was fine with Rachel because she wanted to lie down for an hour or so before she packed a bag to leave. What was with these cramps? And she felt like she could have a fever. But this was information she didn't want to tell her mother because she knew Shelby would keep her home.

Rachel dropped her book bag in her room and then headed for Shelby's bathroom so she could take some aspirin. She could just head this thing off at the pass and enjoy her night. When she went back into her room and started to lie down in her bed, she noticed her quilt was missing. Rachel sat there confused for a few moments because the blanket always stayed on her bed.

She got up and went back into her mother's room and checked the bed there and still found it to be missing. Rachel looked to the chair and then in Beth's crib. Beth had better not have her blanket! The crib was innocent and Rachel left the room and headed up to the music room to check up there and still found nothing. This was crazy; where was her quilt?

Rachel went back to the first floor and looking in the living room and didn't see it. Her next stop was her mother's office, but it was empty as well. She then went down to the basement to check the washer and dryer. It wasn't there either and her annoyance and anger was growing. She needed it. She wanted to take it to Quinn's with her tonight because she didn't feel good and she needed it.

Rachel headed back upstairs to start her search again in earnest. Shelby found her half way under the bed in the master suite with her legs sticking out.

"Rachel?" she questioned.

It startled Rachel and she hit her head on the underside of the bed. "Damn it!"

"Rachel," Shelby admonished. "Come out from under there. What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for something," Rachel snapped when she noticed Beth holding her own blanket and stepped past Shelby and went back to her own room.

"Hey, wait right there," Shelby said, but Rachel didn't listen. She looked at Beth and sighed because she needed to go take care of this. To her credit, Beth seemed to understand and didn't protest when her mother sat her in her crib. Beth immediately found some toys that suited and her and looked up at her mom as if to say, 'why are you still in here? Go and deal with that.'

"Rachel, what's going on…" she trailed off when she stepped into the room and saw what a complete mess it was. "Rachel?"

Rachel emerged from her closet and stamped her foot in frustration and tears of anger pricked her eyes. She knew her room looked like a wreck and it only seemed ok when there wasn't anyone else to see her tearing up the place for her blanket. She was not a baby and shouldn't need a security blanket, but she did. She'd had that quilt for as long as she could remember and it wrapped itself around her when there were no arms to hold her at night. She was never letting that blanket go.

But she didn't want to seem silly in front of her mother; she was constantly trying to prove how grown up she was.

"Nothing is going on," Rachel said.

"Why the attitude?" Shelby asked.

"I don't have an attitude," Rachel snipped.

"Yes, you do," Shelby said. "And I'd like you to drop it now."

"I have to get ready to go to Quinn's," Rachel said. Just ask where it was. She shook her head.

"Not with your room looking like this you're not," Shelby told her. "And with the way you've been acting since yesterday maybe you shouldn't go to Quinn's."

"What?" Rachel gasped out. "I haven't been acting any way."

"Yes you have," Shelby told her. "You're moody and cranky."

"I'm not cranky!" Rachel shot back.

"Fine," Shelby pursed her lips. "But you're not going anywhere either. I'm going to go and call Judy and tell her sorry, but you can't come."

"No," Rachel said as Shelby turned to walk out the door. "Mom, don't."

"And why not?" Shelby asked. "Do you think I'd want you going to someone else's house when you're acting like this?"

"I'm not acting any way," Rachel said. "I just can't find it and I have to pack."

"Find what?"

"My quilt," Rachel said softly. "It's missing."

Realization dawned on Shelby and she smiled down at Rachel. She hadn't had a chance to tell her yet.

"It's not missing, sweetheart," Shelby said. "I took it to the dry cleaners. That thing was overdue for a bath."

"Oh," Rachel said. "It won't smell the same," she said more to herself as she turned away, though Shelby caught it.

"It needed to be cleaned, Rach," Shelby said gently.

"Yeah," Rachel brushed it aside. "Can I still go? I need to pack."

"Honey, did you want to take it with you tonight?" Shelby asked.

Rachel didn't answer and Shelby nodded. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"It's ok," Rachel said. "I'm not a baby."

"Hey, I know you're not," Shelby walked up beside her and took her arm. "You love that blanket and want to have it with you and there's nothing wrong with that. Ok?"

"Ok," Rachel said.

They worked together to restore order in Rachel's room and then get her packed for her sleepover. Shelby promised that she would pick up the quilt first thing in the morning so that it would be back on Rachel's bed by the time she returned home the next day.

They were into the second movie at Quinn's house when Rachel started to suddenly feel worse. The pain from her cramps was getting stronger and she felt nauseous and light-headed.

"Judy, can I have some aspirin?" Rachel finally asked.

"Of course," Judy answered. "Are you ok?"

"I just have a slight headache," Rachel said with as much a smile as she could muster. She thought her fever was getting worse.

"Let me get it for you," Judy said as Quinn paused the movie.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Quinn asked.

"Fine," Rachel answered. They were having a good time and she didn't want to ruin this evening by being sick and maybe having to go home. Plus, she simply could not be sick at all this weekend because her mom's birthday was Sunday and her being sick did not fit into any of her plans. If she could just take some aspirin to help with the pain from the cramps she'd be fine. "I just have some bad cramps and a headache."

"Oh," Quinn said. "That sucks."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed.

"Rachel, I'm sorry, but it looks like we're all out," Judy said as she walked back into the room.

"Oh," Rachel said. "That's ok."

"No, you know what?" Judy said. "We need some more snacks anyways," though it looked like Rachel had hardly touched anything to eat, "so I'll run to the store and get some aspirin and more snacks and be right back."

"You don't have to do that," Rachel said.

"Nonsense," Judy waved her off. "I could use some ice cream. I'll be back in a little while. Call me if you think of anything you want."

Quinn stopped the movie and looked at Rachel. "Want to hang out in my room until she gets back?"

"Sure," Rachel said.

The girls made their way upstairs after Judy left and Rachel diverted towards the restroom. "I'll be right there."

Quinn nodded and went into her room as Rachel shut the bathroom door behind her. Rachel could hear the music start from Quinn's stereo and it was being cranked up to a level that Judy would probably find unacceptable. Headache, Quinn, remember?

Rachel splashed some cold water on her face and then opened the medicine cabinet. Maybe there was something else besides Tylenol she could take. Midol or anything. She was clutching her stomach as she moved things around but didn't find anything to take. A thermometer caught her eye and she took it out so she could check. She needed to know just how bad this fever might be because she felt so much worse than she did at her house.

Rachel sat on the side of the tub as she waited for her temperature to register and found she had a hard time focusing on it when she removed it from her mouth to look. She squinted and held it closer to her face to make sure she was seeing it right.

"One hundred and four," Rachel mumbled. That was not good. She might need to lie down. And hopefully make the music stop because it was so loud.

A wave of nausea hit her and she dropped the thermometer to the floor and quickly lifted the toilet seat and emptied the contents of her stomach into the bowl. This was not happening. What was wrong with her?

When she finished, Rachel stood up and rinsed her mouth out at the sink. Her stomach hurt so much.

Rachel stood up from her position bent over the sink and immediately felt light-headed. She stepped back until her back was against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor.

"Quinn," Rachel called out as loudly as she could, but her voice got drowned out in the music.

Rachel tried to get up but a pain shot through her abdomen and her eyes rolled back in her head as she passed out and fell to the floor.

Quinn was in her room dancing to the music as she searched for a video she had been wanting to show Rachel. She'd have it loaded and waiting when Rachel got back from the bathroom.

**A/N – Leave me a review, please! I love you guys! **


	74. Chapter 74

**A/N – Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for the reviews and messages I've received. All of you are so great. Please take all of the medical stuff with a grain of salt. I'm trying to be as realistic as possible, but I'm sure some of it is wrong. I've never had this particular issue (knocking on wood and all) and I don't have time to research it in full. Plus any time I look up any symptoms on a website I end up diagnosing myself with some horrific, rare disease. I hope you all like this one and can leave me a review. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

As the song on Quinn's iPod ended and a new one began, she looked up from her computer and stared out of her bedroom door and into the hallway. What was taking Rachel so long? Quinn turned back to the computer and the video she wanted to show Rachel and opened another page so she could pull up another one to show her. If she ever got there, geez!

The next song ended and Quinn turned back to the doorway as if she expected Rachel to walking in, but there was nothing. What was going on? Did she go back downstairs for something? Quinn got up and stopped the music and listened for a moment or two.

"Rachel," she yelled and kept her ears alert for a response. "What are you doing?" Silence was the only thing that answered her.

Quinn walked out into the hallway and saw that the door to the bathroom was still closed.

"Rachel?" Quinn asked as she approached the door. "Is everything ok?" She knocked, but there was no reply. "Rach? What are you doing?"

Quinn felt a sudden sense of worry wash over her as she stood in the hallway with her hand still in a fist from when she knocked on the door. Why wouldn't her friend answer her? The fist unclenched and reached for the doorknob and turned it, but she only pushed the door open an inch or two so she could peek in.

"Rachel?" Quinn said again as she looked in.

She saw her feet and legs first because they were down by the bathtub and toilet. Rachel's head was near the cabinet under the sink and she lay on her back, unmoving.

"Rachel!" Quinn cried as she opened the door all the way and entered the room and knelt down next to her friend. "Rachel, what's wrong? Wake up."

Quinn shook her shoulders a few times and Rachel made no response.

"Rachel, come on," Quinn said as tears started to make their way down her cheeks. "What's wrong? Please wake up."

The shaking wasn't helping and Quinn told Rachel to hang on as she got to her feet and ran back to her bedroom and grabbed her phone.

"Damn it!" she yelled as she put in the wrong code for a third time in her attempt to get the phone unlocked. "Come on, come on," she begged her phone to react quicker to the commands she was giving it. The phone, though it was working at its normal speed, seemed to be going too slow.

Shelby was sitting on the couch holding Beth so she was standing on her lap and the baby was smiling at her. They had been singing and Beth had been doing her best impression of a tap dancer on Shelby's thighs as she kicked her feet. Shelby didn't care though because the smile on Beth's face far outweighed the sting of little feet hitting her legs.

"Say mama," Shelby said. "Say mama, Beth."

Beth babbled in response, but there was no 'mama' to be found. Beth talked all the time, just not in English. But Shelby thought she was close. Ok, Shelby did have to concede that Beth had 'dada' down pat, but she and Rachel had decided that it didn't count. It was all just part of the babble.

Their conversation was cut short when Shelby's phone started to ring. She sighed and sat Beth in her lap so she could reach over to the table and retrieve it. She was surprised to see Quinn's name on her screen and she looked at the clock to see that it was only 8:33.

"Hello?" Shelby asked when she answered the phone.

"Oh god, Shelby," Quinn said and the woman could tell she was crying.

"Quinn?" Shelby said and she immediately got to her feet. Her heart began to race.

"She- she- I can't- she won't," Quinn tried to talk as she made her way back to the bathroom.

"Honey," Shelby said in an attempt to keep her voice calm. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Quinn cried. "She's- you have to hurry!"

"Quinn!" Shelby said in a commanding, authoritative tone to get the girl's attention. "What is going on?"

"Rachel passed out," Quinn cried. "She won't wake up."

Shelby felt her stomach drop as she listened to Quinn crying. What was wrong with Rachel? Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she raced up the stairs and into Beth's nursery. She could not fall apart, she could not fall apart.

"What happened?" Shelby asked.

"Sh- she said she didn't feel good and that she had bad cramps and then she went to the bathroom and never came out," Quinn said. "I should have checked on her sooner. Rachel, please wake up." Quinn was back kneeling next to Rachel and shaking her shoulders.

"Quinn, where's your mom?" Shelby asked. She was adding to the mostly packed diaper bag. She needed to put more formula in it.

"She went to the store," Quinn answered. "Rachel asked for aspirin but we didn't have any."

Shelby entered the kitchen and grabbed a canister of formula and two bottles and as many snacks as she could get her hands on. She plucked Beth's blanket and pacifier from the couch and grabbed her keys and was out the door.

"Quinn, listen to me," Shelby said. "Are you sitting with Rachel?" She went on when she got an affirmative answer. "Is she breathing?"

Quinn hesitated and Shelby felt her grip tighten on her steering wheel. "Quinn?"

"Yeah, her chest is moving," Quinn finally said. "She looks like she's sleeping, but she won't wake up."

"I'm on my way," Shelby assured her. "Quinn, do you see anything else? Does it look like she hit her head or anything?"

"I think she threw up," Quinn said. She'd noticed the toilet that hadn't been flushed. She put her hand on Rachel's head to move it. "I don't see any blood, but she's burning up. I'm sorry, Shelby. I should have checked on her sooner."

"It's not your fault, Quinn," Shelby said. "She's sick. Can you get a wash cloth and get it wet and put it on her head to try and cool her off? Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah," Quinn said as she stood up to grab one.

"Quinn," Shelby got her attention again. "I'm going to hang up with you, ok?"

"No," Quinn cried.

"Yes. I'll be there in a few minutes," Shelby said. "I want you to hang up with me and call 911. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," Quinn said. "But hurry."

"I am," Shelby assured her.

Shelby ended the call and let the tears that welled in her eyes fall to her cheeks. Why was this happening? She looked in the rearview mirror to see Beth and saw that her little one was drifting off to sleep. She slowed down as she approached a red light and looked in every direction for cars and cops and when she didn't see anyone, she sped through the stop light. Little or no traffic on a Friday night was one of those times that living in the middle of nowhere came in handy. She had given the task of calling for an ambulance to Quinn because she couldn't remember their address and it would be automatic for the girl. Shelby knew how to get there, but the house number eluded her in this moment.

Shelby pulled into the driveway a few minutes later and made quick work of getting Beth from her car seat. She used the key she'd been given months ago to unlock the front door and entered the house.

"Quinn," Shelby called out immediately.

"Shelby," she heard a cry from upstairs.

Quinn met in the hallway on the second story and Shelby passed Beth and her car keys to her.

"Did you call 911?"

"They're on the way," Quinn told her.

"Wait downstairs for them," Shelby instructed. "And call your mother."

They went their separate ways and Shelby entered the bathroom and let more tears fall when she saw her daughter lying unconscious. She picked up the washcloth that was covering her forehead and got it wet again and then kneeled down on the floor next to her.

"Rachel, sweetie, mommy's here," Shelby cooed as she wiped the cloth over Rachel's burning face. "Wake up."

Shelby placed soft pats on Rachel's cheek to try and wake her up. "Rachel, wake up," Shelby instructed, more forcefully this time. "I mean it, honey. Right now."

Quinn paced the first story with Beth and put the phone to her ear as she made yet another phone call.

Judy was making her way down the final aisle she wanted to get an item from when she stopped to answer her ringing phone. "Did you think of anything else you needed?" she asked.

"Mom, you have to come home," Quinn cried fresh tears. "Please hurry."

Judy put a hand to her mouth as she listened to her frantic daughter on the other end. She grabbed her purse from the child's seat of the cart and raced towards the entrance to the store.

Shelby shook Rachel a little harder and pleaded with her to wake up. Where the hell was the ambulance? "Rach, you've got to wake up now. You have to tell me what's wrong."

Shelby gasped when Rachel's eyes started to flutter open and she held the girl's head so she would see her. "Rachel, open your eyes all the way. Talk to me." Rachel was moving her mouth but no words were coming out. "Keep trying, sweetie."

"No mom," Rachel said through her haze and her eyes closed again. Unconsciousness had not completely let her go no matter how much Shelby begged. "Blanket. Gone."

"Rachel, your blanket isn't gone, I promise," Shelby said urgently. "Wake up."

"Ma'am?"

Shelby looked up to see two paramedics at the door of the bathroom and she reluctantly let go of Rachel's head and got to her feet and moved out of the way so they could get in. She stood close by and answered questions and watched as the put an oxygen mask around her nose and mouth and then hooked up a heart monitor and wrapped the cuff around her upper arm to take her blood pressure. Shelby reaffirmed what Quinn had said about Rachel complaining of bad cramps and a headache. Her temperate was one hundred and three and Shelby couldn't answer anything about the thermometer one of the medics noticed on the ground. She hadn't even seen it there.

Judy parked on the opposite side of the street from her house because the ambulance was parked directly in front of it. She found Quinn lingering by the foot of the stairs still crying and holding Beth. Judy enveloped her in a hug and took over holding the baby while Quinn tried to explain once again.

"I don't know what happened," Quinn said.

"Shhh, that's fine," Judy said. "You got help and that's the best thing you could have done."

"But what if she's not ok?" Quinn cried.

"She'll be just fine," Judy said.

They moved out of the way when the paramedics came down the stairs with the gurney with Rachel strapped in. They had covered her with a blanket since the night air was still cool and Shelby was following close behind them. Judy rubbed Quinn's back as they got a look at Rachel as they passed by.

"I'm going to ride with her," Shelby said. "Quinn has my keys. You can drive the SUV so you don't have to move the car seat. There's a diaper bag in the car."

"Don't worry about anything," Judy said as Shelby leaned down to give Beth a quick kiss. "We'll meet you in the emergency room."

"Thank you," Shelby said and her chin trembled.

"Go," Judy instructed.

They watched as Shelby climbed into the back of the ambulance after Rachel and then its sirens started to wail and the paramedics drove away.

Quinn started to walk outside, but Judy stopped her with a gentle reminder that she might want to change out of pajama bottoms and that she needed to put shoes on. Quinn nodded and ran up the stairs only to return a couple minutes later wearing jeans and a New York pullover hooded sweatshirt she'd bought when they had visited the city in December. She didn't say so out loud, but Quinn thought that Rachel might appreciate the fact that she was wearing the New York sweatshirt. Judy made her tie her tennis shoes before they left.

Shelby followed the nurses and doctors into an examination room, but was not doing very well at staying out of the way so they could work. She wanted to hold Rachel's hand, but a nurse eventually moved her back and out of the room so they could all work.

Judy and Quinn arrived with Beth in tow ten minutes later and sat down next to Shelby in the waiting room. Quinn had carried in Shelby's purse and phone from the car and handed them to the woman. Shelby put an arm around Quinn's shoulders to try and soothe her.

"Have they said anything?" Judy asked. Beth had her head resting on the woman's shoulder and was sleeping.

"Not yet," Shelby answered. "She never mentioned feeling bad. She was upset before she left to go to your house because I took her quilt to the dry cleaners. She had wanted to bring it with her and then insisted that she wasn't a baby for wanting it."

"I didn't know she wasn't feeling well until she asked for aspirin," Judy said. "Either this was very sudden or she wasn't too forthcoming with how she was really feeling."

"She hates to be sick," Shelby said.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before a doctor appeared to talk with Shelby. She stood up to greet him when he called her name, but he had her sit down again and he sat in another chair opposite her.

"I'm Dr. Grant," he told them. "We don't know for sure yet, but we suspect, that Rachel has appendicitis. We also suspect that it has already burst which is why her fever is so high. We took blood and urine samples and the results we received from those point to appendicitis. We're sending her down to get a CT scan as we speak and we'll be able to tell for sure from that. It sounds like she passed out due to a combination of the pain and fever."

"Is that normal?" Shelby asked.

"If it has already burst than she's likely been in a good amount of pain for at least a day now," Dr. Grant said. "It may have just been wearing her down. It's not unheard of."

Shelby nodded and then asked, "What will you do now?"

"We've already started her on some antibiotics to fight the infection and fever," he told them. "I'm going to put a rush in on getting the results from the CT scan so that shouldn't take too long. If it is confirmed to be her appendix, and I really think it will be, we will get her into surgery right away."

"And then she'll be fine, right?" Shelby asked.

"The surgery is fairly simple and straightforward and very common, so that will be no problem. Depending on when her appendix burst will dictate how much of the infection has made its way into her body," the doctor said. "Fighting the infection will be her biggest concern. But I have no doubt she'll make a full recovery."

"Ok," Shelby said and she let out a long sigh. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I will come and get you after her CT scan. I'm going to admit her and she'll be in a room."

"Will she be awake?"

"We gave her a mild sedative to help with any pain she may have been feeling," Dr. Grant answered. "If she needs surgery, we'll begin to prep her right away after we get the results so no, she might not wake up until after the surgery."

Shelby nodded and her chin trembled as more tears formed in her eyes, "Ok. Please just make her feel better."

"We'll do everything we can."

He gave them a brief nod before getting up and going back towards the ER bay and Shelby settled back into her chair.

"He said she'd been in pain for over a day," Shelby spoke up. "Why wouldn't she say anything? She was in such a sour mood over the blanket that I initially told her she couldn't go to your house. I should have looked closer at why she was so upset."

"Don't start blaming yourself," Judy said. "She was at my house as she got a lot worse in a short amount of time so I should have noticed how she was feeling too. And Quinn feels like she should have checked on her sooner, but we're not going to beat ourselves up over this. Appendicitis is very common and it just happens. We don't need to worry about how long she was sick and why didn't we notice, we just need to focus on her getting well. And when Rachel wakes up we can ask her why she didn't feel like she should mention to you that she was in a world of pain."

Shelby smiled at Judy gratefully. "Yeah. Thank you."

Dr. Grant returned to get Shelby an hour later after the CT scan results came in. Appendicitis was confirmed and he was there to get Shelby and take her to see Rachel before the surgery as promised. Quinn and Judy took Beth and moved to the surgical waiting room and Shelby promised to meet them in a few minutes.

"We've already started to prep her for surgery and the anesthesiologist has already seen her and so she won't be awake," Dr. Grant explained as they walked to the room. "We're still prepping the operating room so you've got about ten or fifteen minutes before they come to get her. And I have to tell you that she is already responding well to the antibiotics to fight the infection so her fever is going down and that's a great scenario."

"Thank you," Shelby said before entering the room.

"Hi, sweetheart," Shelby said to the unconscious girl. She sat down next to the bed and held Rachel's hand and ran her thumbs over the back of it. She quickly wiped a tear away from her cheek and leaned down and kissed Rachel's head. "They're going to do surgery soon and then you'll start to feel a lot better. Quinn and Judy are downstairs with Beth and we're all going to be waiting for you to get back and wake up. I'm going to give your fathers a call too so that they know you're here. And Nana and Grandpa, ok?"

Shelby lifted Rachel's hand and kissed the back of it and smiled down at her daughter. "And when you do wake, young lady, you are going to be in so much trouble for not telling anyone you weren't feeling well." Her tone was light and playful and she half hoped Rachel would smile at her.

Shelby looked at the clock and knew that they would be back to get Rachel soon. She looked back down at her little girl and started to sing softly for her. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…"

As Shelby finished the song, an orderly came in to take Rachel down for her surgery. Shelby kissed her daughter one more time and whispered that she loved her and then moved away so the man could unlock the wheels on the bed and move it out until the hall.

"I'll see you later, Rach," Shelby said as she was wheeled down the hallway.

Shelby went to the hospital cafeteria instead of to the waiting room to meet Judy and Quinn. She wanted to get some coffee and she needed to make her phone calls.

The line picked up after three rings, "Hello."

"Scott, this is Shelby."

He was taken aback for a second because she was the last person he expected to be calling him. He hadn't seen Rachel since he stopped by a few days after Christmas to give her a present. He didn't know if Henry had done the same.

"Hi, Shelby," he said. "How is Rachel?"

"She's the reason I'm calling," Shelby said. "She's in the hospital about to have surgery because of a case of appendicitis. I wanted to give you a call and make you aware."

"Wow, ok. Will she be ok?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, they said she'll be fine," Shelby said.

"You're at Lima Memorial?"

"Yes, in the surgery waiting room," Shelby told him. "They just took her for the operation."

"Thanks for letting me know, Shelby," Scott said sincerely.

"Of course," Shelby replied. "Can you do me a favor? Will you call Henry?"

"Yeah, I'll call him."

"Thanks, Scott."

Shelby sat down at a table as she pulled up the next number and called it.

"Hey, Shelby," Rebecca said brightly. "We were just packing to leave for your house in the morning."

"What?" Shelby asked.

"Your birthday, silly," Rebecca laughed. "Don't tell me Rachel has let you forget any of the plans she's been working so hard on. We're coming in, there's the dinner on Sunday."

"Oh yeah," Shelby said. "We're going to have to postpone all of that."

"What?" Rebecca said incredulously. "Why? Rachel has worked hard on this. The only way she'd let you cancel or postpone was if one of you was in the hospital."

Shelby's eyes filled with tears and she didn't say anything.

It only took a moment or two of silence for Rebecca to understand and she said, "Oh god, is Rachel in the hospital? What's wrong with her?"

"She fainted earlier this evening and the doctors discovered that she had appendicitis," Shelby said. "She's in surgery now." Shelby started to cry.

"Oh, honey, don't cry," Rebecca said. "She's going to be fine. That's a common surgery."

"But what if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing is going to go wrong," Rebecca assured her. "Don't drive yourself crazy with worry."

"That's easier said than done," Shelby told her.

"I know that," Rebecca said. "Your father and I will be there in a couple hours."

"You don't have to do that."

"Quiet. I don't want to hear it," Rebecca ordered. "Do you have anyone sitting there at the hospital with you now?"

"Judy and Quinn are here," Shelby answered.

"Good. We'll see you soon."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Love you, Shelby."

Shelby finally made her way back to the waiting room to sit with Judy and Quinn. She brought three coffees with her and the other two were grateful to have them. Beth was awake now and reached for Shelby who was happy to hold her.

The first hour passed slowly. The three of them talked and Quinn played on her phone and Shelby walked with Beth around the waiting room. She thought the baby was close to walking because Beth had mastered walking while holding onto someone's hands. The baby already got into everything she could now with only being able to crawl. Shelby knew that once Beth could walk, she was going to have her hands even fuller than they seemed to be now.

Scott Berry arrived half an hour later and said hello. He got a quick update from Shelby and then sat on the other side of the room away from them. It was awkward enough as it was and the last thing he wanted to do was have to sit right there with them all.

Henry was the next to arrive and he nodded a greeting to Shelby, but sat with Scott and talked to him. He pulled out a book after a few minutes and started to read it.

Rebecca and Paul arrived as promised about an hour and half hours later and joined the small group. Paul sat with Quinn and she tried to explain her game to him and then laughed at him when he tried to actually play it.

Shelby started to pace after a couple of hours when no one had returned to give her an update or to tell her the surgery was over. She had been researching appendicitis on her phone for a while and she kept reading that the surgery didn't take very long. Or at least it shouldn't. In some cases. Oh, she didn't know. But that was her baby in there and she wanted answers.

"I'm going to go and see if I can find something out," Shelby said suddenly and left the room.

Rebecca got up and followed and called out to Shelby before she could get very far down the hall. "Honey, I know it's hard, but you need to be patient."

"But what if something is wrong and they're not telling me?" Shelby asked. "One of those websites gave a whole list of common complications with the surgery."

"You need to stop looking at those websites," Rebecca said.

"But she could lose a lot of blood or they could knick an organ or the infection could have spread too fast," Shelby said quickly. "I need to see her."

"You need to calm down is what you need to do," Rebecca instructed.

"But I just got her," Shelby started to cry. "I can't lose her."

Rebecca gathered her up in a hug and rubbed her back and shushed her gently.

"You are not going to lose her. I know that this is hard and you're a brand new mom and that any medical somehow morphs into a crisis, but this is not a crisis," Rebecca said.

"She passed out, Mom," Shelby said. "What if no one found her?"

"But someone did find her," Rebecca said. "And she's getting the exact help she needs right now. And when she gets out of that surgery, she's probably going to be scared because she's not going to remember what happened and she's going to need to see that you're calm and strong and there with her. And trust me, I know first-hand how very hard that can be."

Shelby stepped back and looked at her mother who also had tears in her eyes and understood what she meant. Her mom had been right by her side the entire time she'd had cancer and Shelby can only recall a couple of instances when she didn't see her mother with it completely together. Rebecca had been strong and fierce and comforting and was holding Shelby's hand every time she thought she might fall apart.

"Rachel is strong and this is so common, ok? She's going to wake up in a few hours and-"

"She'll wake up sooner than that," Dr. Grant interrupted as he walked up. "She did great and is in recovery now. The infection didn't have much time to spread very far, but it is still present and she's still fighting it, but that's to be expected. We'll keep her antibiotic level high and monitor her for the next day or so."

"But she's fine?"

"Yep," Dr. Gran assured her.

"What took so long?" Shelby asked.

"A last minute problem with the operating room we had booked," the doctor explained. "We had to switch to another one."

"Oh," Shelby let out a long breath. "Thank you so much."

"My pleasure. She'll be in recovery probably forty-five more minutes and then we'll take her back to the room and you can see her. But I would suggest that it just be you and maybe one other person for now. Visiting hours are over and she'll need her rest. But she'll be ready for visitors in the morning."

"I'll tell everyone," Shelby said. "Thank you."

Shelby and Rebecca went back into the waiting room and told the assembled group what the doctor had told them. Everyone was reluctant to leave without seeing her, but eventually gave in. They promised to return tomorrow to see Rachel, even Scott and Henry.

Shelby asked Judy to pick up Rachel's quilt from the dry cleaner so that the girl could have it here in the hospital. Judy happily agreed and promised that she and Quinn would be back first thing. Paul and Rebecca were going to drive them home and they too promised they'd be back bright and early. They were going to bring clothes for Shelby and pajamas for Rachel, as well as other necessities they would need.

Shelby waited until everyone had left before she went back to Rachel's room to wait for her to return.

Rachel could hear herself breathing before she ever even opened her eyes. They were deep, full breaths and her eyes were heavy and she felt like she'd been sleeping for ages. She couldn't even remember going to sleep. She was on her back and her hands were at her sides and she could feel her quilt beneath her palms. Why was she not under the blankets? Rachel heard someone singing. 'You are my sunshine…' The voice was clear and deep and wrapped her like a blanket. A fleeting memory of Scott holding her and dancing around the kitchen as he sang to her flashed in her mind. She moved her head to the side and shifted a leg and she could immediately feel movement around her. Someone was holding her hand. Someone else tapped her cheek.

"Rachel, wake up."

There was comfort in that voice and her eyes started to flitter open. It took her a second to focus and she had to blink at the bright light shining into the room. She recognized this place as soon as her eyes adjusted and she realized she was lying on her bed in her bedroom at her father's house. But that didn't make any sense. She looked down at the person holding her hand and she saw her father's warm and caring eyes looking back at her.

"Welcome back, sweetheart."

"Daddy?" Rachel questioned.

"I'm here too," Henry said with a smile as she turned her head to look to the other side of the bed and saw him standing there. The relief was evident on his face and he sat down on the bed and held her other hand, kissing the back of it as he did.

"Dad," Rachel said and her brows knitted in confusion. "What's going on?"

"You passed out," Henry answered.

"What?" Rachel asked. "I was… I don't know."

"You worked all morning on a dance you've been trying to perfect," Scott said, "and then went for a run this afternoon even though you were advised against it because it's so hot." There was a light scold in his tone and he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You just pushed yourself too hard and fainted when you got home," Henry said. "You wanted the dance to be perfect because you said you wanted to tell Mr. Schuester about your ideas for Sectionals even though tomorrow is just the first day of school."

"How can tomorrow be the first day of school?" Rachel asked.

"It is, sweetheart," Henry said. "I know the summer flew by."

"But, what about Quinn? And where's Shelby?"

She watched as her fathers exchanged a worried glance and then returned their focus to her.

"Rachel, you haven't seen Shelby since April when you sang against Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals," Scott said. "I know you were angry when we forbid you from seeing her again, but we're only looking out for you. Every time you had any contact with her, you came home in tears."

"And what about Quinn?" Henry asked. "Has that girl been saying terrible things again? I wish you'd let me go over and have a word with her mother again." That girl had been tormenting his baby for years but none of the talks they'd had with the Fabrays had ever seemed to make a difference.

Rachel let go of her fathers' hands and pushed herself up so that she was sitting against the headboard. Scott handed her a glass of water and she took a long sip and tried to shake off the tired feeling that was clouding her brain.

She looked back and forth between her parents' caring faces and said, "You would not believe the dream I just had."

**A/N – Please leave me a review! I love you guys! **


	75. Chapter 75

**A/N – I have a peace offering! Wow, those reviews. You guys are all so amazing. Thank you for the great, if not shocked and sometimes angry feedback. I look forward to reading what each and every one of you think about each chapter and I got an earful. I hope it all makes sense after this. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Her fathers had left her alone in her bedroom and Rachel started to feel uneasy. They had laughed about her dream when she told them parts of it. They had agreed that it was strange, but of course wasn't true. She must have just had a lot on her mind recently, but Rachel didn't like that explanation. Something didn't feel right. The Shelby of her dream was real and there was an emptiness that came along with thinking that it wasn't real. It was an overwhelming sadness that made her eyes fill with tears. But if it wasn't real… But it had felt so real.

Rachel called out to her fathers as she made her way down the stairs. She wanted to talk to them some more about it. She couldn't remember what she'd been doing that day or even all summer and so she wanted to know if perhaps she'd been mentioning Shelby or maybe Quinn had called her for something. Why would she dream so distinctively about them if she hadn't seen either of them all summer?

The house was dark on the first story and it felt colder than it had upstairs. The light switch to the living room didn't work and neither did the lamp when she tried to turn it on.

"Daddy?" she called out. "Dad?"

There was no response and she moved towards the kitchen. "Are we having dinner soon?" Nothing. "Where did you guys go?"

The kitchen was empty and her voice seemed to echo off the walls. She moved to the dining room next and she saw there was one place setting on the table. A piece of paper was being held down by the fork and Rachel could tell there was a take-out menu on the plate. She moved the fork and picked up the yellow note paper and read.

"Rachel, we had to go out. Order yourself some dinner and we'll be back later. Be a good girl."

Rachel shook her head no as she read the note a few times. She had woken up and she wasn't supposed to be alone anymore. She had their full attention up in her bedroom so why had they disappeared now? Tears started to make their way down her cheeks. She wasn't supposed to be alone. Shelby told her that she wasn't supposed to be alone. She needed to find Shelby. She needed to find her mom.

The chiming of the doorbell pulled her from her thoughts and Rachel hurried to answer it. Rachel opened the front door and smiled in relief when she saw her Nana standing on the other side. Rebecca had her arms open wide and Rachel fell into them and held on tightly.

"Nana, I'm all alone," Rachel cried. "It hurts."

"You're not all alone anymore," Rebecca said. "You will never be alone again."

"I want my mom. How come she's not here?"

"She's waiting for you," Rebecca answered. "We're going to go and meet her right now."

She took Rachel's hand and started to walk away from the house. She was only able to take a couple of steps because Rachel stopped her.

"I need my blanket," Rachel said urgently. "I have to get my quilt."

Rachel started to turn and go back into the house, but Rebecca tugged on her hand. "Your mother already has it. You don't need anything else from that house."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.

"I'm positive," Rebecca told her.

Rebecca held Rachel's hand up and kissed the back of it as they started to walk away from the house.

Rachel was waking up once again and the first thing she noticed was how cold her left hand and arm felt. She once again felt her quilt under her palm and she wondered why her arm wasn't covered by the blanket because it was freezing. She focused a little more and could hear humming but she didn't recognize the song. But the thing that stuck out to Rachel the most was the pair of soft hands that were holding her right hand. Rachel knew that touch. She knew those hands.

Rachel's eyes opened and she blinked a few times and gripped Shelby's hand and focused on her mom as the woman got up from the chair she had been in and stepped closer to her. She smiled at Rachel and brushed some hair back from her forehead and eyes.

"Hello there, sweetie," Shelby said softly.

"Mama," Rachel looked at her in awe. "Are you real?"

Shelby's smile widened and she answered, "Of course I am, silly." That must be some good medicine Rachel was on.

"I missed you," Rachel declared and she let go of Shelby's hand and threw her arms around her mother's neck and pulled her close. She was certain she'd had a dream, but she couldn't really remember it now. All she knew for certain was that she woke up and her mom was there and that's the way she always wanted it.

"I missed you too," Shelby said after she recovered from the shock of the sudden hug. "Careful now, you've got an IV in your hand." She could feel the tubing around her back as it followed wherever Rachel's left hand went.

Rachel let her go and looked down at her hand and stared at the IV for a few seconds. She took a few moments to look around the room and get a realization of where she was. She looked back up at Shelby with questions in her eyes.

"Do you remember what happened?" Shelby asked.

"I was going to stay the night at Quinn's house," Rachel said. "I didn't feel good. And the music was so loud. But I can't remember how I got here."

"You passed out at Quinn's house," Shelby explained. "And she called me and then called an ambulance for you."

"What's the matter with me?" Rachel asked. "How long have I been here?"

"It's still Friday night," Shelby said. "You had to have your appendix out."

"I had surgery?"

"Yes, but everything is fine," Shelby assured her. "You've just got to fight off the infection and you'll be fine."

"When can I go home?" Rachel asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Shelby replied.

"Oh," Rachel said and then yawned deeply. Shelby couldn't help but smile at her.

"Go on back to sleep, honey," Shelby encouraged.

"I thought my quilt wouldn't be ready until tomorrow," Rachel said sleepily. She gripped the edge of the beloved blanket.

"It wasn't going to be," Shelby said, "and I asked Judy and Quinn to pick it up for me in the morning, but it turns out that Judy knows the woman who owns the cleaners. She called her and said you needed your blanket and here it is."

"Thank you, Mommy," Rachel said as she adjusted her position in the bed and pulled the blanket close. "I'm not a baby, I just need it." She was dozing off.

"I know, sweetheart," Shelby cooed.

"My dads could never remember where it came from," Rachel said and her eyes closed for a second, but she willed herself to stay awake. "They didn't remember buying it or if it was a present. But I've always had it. It smelled like them, like their cologne. Then when I figured out that I hadn't been given to them by some magic queen, I knew that my mother must have given it to me so I was always able to think that I had something from my mom but that reminded me of my dads. Even after they started going away, I could wrap up in my quilt and smell them as if I were getting a hug. It made me feel safe. It still does. But because it had started to smell like your house. Like your perfume." Her eyes closed again.

Shelby couldn't blink back all of her tears and a few made their way down her cheeks.

"Will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone. Will you be here when I wake up?" Rachel asked as she opened her eyes and looked at her mother.

"I'll be here with you, I promise," Shelby said.

Shelby pulled the blanket up to Rachel's neck and settled her arms under it so they would stay warm. She leaned down and kissed her head as Rachel's breathing evened out and she drifted back to sleep, the medicine helping her along. Shelby sat down in her chair and found Rachel's hand under the blanket and held it. She resumed her humming as her watchful gaze kept vigil over her sleeping daughter.

Shelby slept off and on in the chair most of the night. It certainly wasn't a restful sleep because she woke up every hour when a nurse came in to check Rachel's vitals. They were monitoring her temperature closely to see how well the antibiotics were fighting the infection. Rachel did not like the disturbance to her sleep at all.

"Mom," Rachel whined at three in the morning when Colleen, her nurse, moved the corner of the quilt back so she would have access to Rachel's arm.

"I'm sorry, honey," Shelby said as she rubbed her face to shake some sleep off.

Colleen smiled at Shelby as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Rachel's arm and started the noisy machine. Shelby shared her smile as Rachel huffed and declared that she was too tired for this.

"Almost done," Colleen said when she removed the cuff.

"But why do you have to do it all night?" Rachel asked, still whining. Shelby cringed at the tone and shook her head. This was why she made sure Rachel got plenty of sleep.

"Because we want to keep track of how well you're progressing with the infection," Colleen answered. She pulled out a thermometer and applied a new applicator to it and put it in Rachel's ear and waited for the beep signaling that the temperature had registered. "102.2," Colleen said to Shelby.

Shelby nodded and looked at Rachel who was watching them intently. By this time in the process, she had usually fallen back asleep and so Shelby and Colleen could talk. Her fever had been in the 102 range since the surgery and Shelby had hoped it would be going down by now. Colleen knew that mom look and smiled reassuringly at Shelby.

"Perfectly normal," she said. "It's only been a few hours and it needs time to work."

"What does?" Rachel asked.

"The medicine that's fighting your infection," Colleen explained. "That's why you have a high fever."

"Oh," Rachel said. "It'll go down soon." She wasn't worried.

"There you have it," Colleen said to Shelby.

Shelby couldn't argue with that and thanked Colleen.

"I'll be back in an hour."

Rachel whined again and Shelby shushed her. Colleen laughed as she left the room.

Shelby pulled the quilt close around Rachel again and told her to get some more sleep, but Rachel tried to sit up straighter and told her mother she wasn't tired anymore.

"All of that whining and you don't even feel tired anymore?" Shelby asked.

"I was tired then," Rachel explained.

"Ten seconds ago?"

"She woke me up and so I was tired then but I'm not now," Rachel said.

"Ok," Shelby said. "Do you want to watch TV?"

"No."

"I took a couple magazines from the waiting room," Shelby said. "Do you want to look at those?"

"Not really."

"Do you want to play a game on my phone?" Shelby asked. "Though not for too long because I don't have a charger with me."

"No," Rachel said again.

"Ok," Shelby sat back down in the chair and decided she would let Rachel tell her what she wanted to do now that she was awake.

"Mom," Rachel said after a few moments.

"Hmmm?"

"I have to go to the bathroom."

Shelby smiled. Now she understood. The nurses had told her earlier that there was no restriction on Rachel getting up and that if she thought she needed help, they would come and help her. Or Shelby could help her; whatever Rachel was comfortable with. She was lucky because the surgery had been laparoscopic which meant that the healing time would be greatly reduced. So things like getting up and moving around wouldn't be that difficult and were encouraged.

"Do you want me to get a nurse to help you?" Shelby asked.

"I don't need help," Rachel said.

Shelby rolled her eyes and got to her feet. "I'm going to help you get out of bed."

"Ok," Rachel said. She knew that there was no way around that.

Rachel moved the blankets back and realized with dismay that she was just in a hospital gown and brown socks with the grips on the bottom to prevent people from slipping.

"I don't have any real clothes on?"

Shelby shook her head. "Nana and Grandpa are going to bring you some pajamas when they get here in the morning."

Shelby lowered the guard rail as Rachel sat up even farther than the head of the bed was already elevated. She realized that this hospital gown wasn't even closed all the way in the back and she tried to reach behind her and pull it closed some. Shelby couldn't help but laugh at her embarrassment, but stopped and put on a straight face when Rachel sent her a worn out glare.

"Come on, honey, get up and I'll tie it for you," Shelby said.

"But I'm practically naked!" Rachel told her.

"So let me tie it and you won't be so naked," Shelby said.

Shelby supported Rachel's arms as she stood up from the bed and gave her a second to feel steady on her feet before allowing the girl to turn her back to her. Shelby tied the gown behind the neck and at the waist and then had Rachel turn back to her.

"Feel better now?"

"I'll feel better when I can wear some of my own clothes," Rachel said. "Who designed these stupid hospital gowns anyway?"

"Evil doctors," Shelby replied. "I've worn my fair share of them too."

"Yeah, but you were old when you were sick," Rachel said. "You were almost thirty."

Shelby let out an offended gasp and put her hands on her hips while sending a mock glare to her daughter. "I would watch what you say, little miss. You bottom is already bare," she said playfully.

"You can't spank me while I'm sick and in the hospital," Rachel explained to her.

"I'll just save it until you get home then," Shelby countered.

"That's not fair," Rachel said, her voice taking on a whine once again and Shelby could tell that the girl didn't understand that she was playing with her.

"You're right, sweetheart," Shelby said soothingly and kissed Rachel's warm forehead. The fever was still bad and Shelby knew that her girl would go right back to sleep when this trip to the bathroom was complete. "Come on."

Shelby picked up the IV bag from the stand and carried it to the bathroom and hung it on the hook in there. She stayed there until Rachel gave her a look and Shelby said she'd wait outside. When Shelby heard the toilet flush, she knocked and asked if Rachel needed her and was told no. She resisted the urge to go in anyway just to be certain that Rachel wasn't too unsteady on his feet.

Rachel stared at herself in the mirror for a few seconds before lifting the flimsy gown so she could see her stomach. There were four tiny incisions and she studied them for a moment and wondered how bad the scars would be. She concluded that they wouldn't be anything that couldn't be covered up with makeup if need be later on during her acting career.

A feeling of lightheadedness and nausea came over her and she was just able to step back to the toilet before she started throwing up. Shelby heard the retching sound and quickly opened the door and stepped inside the bathroom. Rachel had sunk to her knees and Shelby quickly pulled her hair back and out of the way. Dr. Grant had warned her that nausea was common in a perforated appendix because of the infection and high fever.

Rachel was crying by the time it was over and due to a mixture of pain and a natural reaction to vomiting.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Rachel cried as Shelby helped her to her feet.

"Shhh, it's ok," Shelby said. "You don't need to be sorry. You're sick."

Shelby put an arm around Rachel and stepped back over to the sink and turned the water on. She looked for the tiny disposable cups but didn't see any so she helped Rachel bend over slightly and then filled her own hand with water and brought it to Rachel's mouth so she could take some in order to rinse. Rachel's left hand had the IV and it couldn't get wet and her right was clutching Shelby's arm.

"You don't have to cry, sweetie," Shelby said. "Get some water and rinse your mouth out."

Rachel did and Shelby repeated the process a few times until Rachel had had enough. She then put a little bit of water on Rachel's face to wash away some of the tears even though she was still crying.

"Calm down," Shelby instructed. "You're ok." She grabbed a towel and wiped Rachel's mouth and chin and dried her face. "Let's get you back into bed."

"Can we go home now?" Rachel asked, still sniffling.

"I'm afraid not," Shelby said. "You've got to get better first."

Rachel nodded and sat down on the bed while Shelby returned the IV bag to its stand. She was staring straight ahead of her when Shelby stepped back to that side of the bed.

"Are you ok now?" Shelby asked.

"I'll be fine in a second."

"No, ma'am," Shelby said and she forced Rachel to look at her. "I don't want to hear 'I'm fine.' Rachel, you are in the hospital and you have to be honest with me and the nurses and doctors about how you're feeling. You are sick and it doesn't do anyone any good for you to pretend to feel ok when you don't. I know you have a hard time admitting that you don't feel well, but you're going to have to put that aside now. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Rachel conceded. She was actually a little relieved.

"So I'll ask again. Are you ok now?"

"I'm dizzy," Rachel answered.

"Ok." Shelby helped her get settled into the bed and elevated the head some more so Rachel could sit up a little more. She was still reclined, but now a little more comfortable. She then pressed the button on the bed that alerted the nurses' station that they needed them.

"Honey, why do you have trouble admitting when you're sick or not feeling well?" Shelby asked.

"I feel like I'm a bother when I'm sick," Rachel answered. After a few moments, she softly added, "I don't want to be a bother."

"You're not a bother, honey, ok," Shelby told her.

Rachel nodded and shut her eyes for a second to try and get the dizzy sensation to pass. Shelby raised the side guardrail on the bed and clicked it back into place.

"What can I do for you guys?" Colleen said when she stepped back into the room.

Shelby explained about the restroom and Rachel getting sick and the fact that she was dizzy now.

"Ok," Colleen said. "I can give you some medicine for the nausea. Rachel, are you in any pain?"

"Some," Rachel answered.

"I'll be right back with some medication for you. Dr. Grant left a list of things that she can be given as needed," Colleen explained. "Go ahead and get comfortable, Rachel, because the medications are going to make you tired again."

"I'm tired anyway," Rachel said.

"Well then maybe you'll sleep through the next vitals check," Colleen told her with a smile.

"I hope," Rachel said.

Colleen returned to the room a few minutes later with two syringes and gave Rachel the medicines through the IV. Shelby asked about any possible side effects and Rachel was back asleep before the conversation was even over. Colleen advised Shelby to do the same and said that she should utilize the cot that was left in the room for the parent since Rachel would be asleep for hours. Shelby said she would take her up on it and thanked the woman who then left the room.

Shelby kissed Rachel goodnight and then grabbed the extra pillow and blanket from the closet and got settled on the cot. She anticipated that tomorrow was going to be an extremely long day and she agreed with Colleen and knew she needed to get some sleep while she could.

Shelby and Rachel both slept through the next few vitals checks and Shelby felt refreshed when she woke up a little before eight. She looked over at Rachel and the girl was still sleeping. She got up and washed her face and did her best to brush through her hair. She couldn't wait for her parents to get here with their stuff from home. She expected them around nine because that's when visiting hours started.

Shelby sat down in the chair next to Rachel's bed just as a new nurse came in through the door.

"Good morning," she said brightly. "I'm Arlene. We did a shift change not too long ago and so you've got me for the day."

"I'm Shelby. It's great to meet you."

Arlene performed the same checks on Rachel as Colleen had done the night before and declared her blood pressure to be fine and the temperature to be at 101.9. Rachel had started to stir while the thermometer was in her ear and opened her eyes.

"Looks like it's starting to go down," Shelby said.

"Yes it does," Arlene agreed. "Slowly but surely. Well good morning," she added when she saw that Rachel was awake.

Shelby turned to look at Rachel and smiled.

"Good morning," Rachel said.

"I see that you were sick last night and were in some pain," Arlene said. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine," Rachel answered and Shelby immediately shot her a glare. "No, I am. I don't feel dizzy anymore."

"And no pain?"

"Not really," Rachel answered.

"It sounds like the medications are still working as they should," Arlene said. "They'll probably start to wear off in the next three to five hours so I'd keep an eye out."

"We certainly will," Shelby said.

When Arlene left they went through the same routine they did last night of getting Rachel up and into the bathroom and then Shelby waited outside. She was surprised when there was a knock at the door and then Judy entered the room.

"Good morning," Judy said and she held up a large cup of coffee for Shelby.

"Oh thank you," Shelby said and she took the cup and removed the lid so she could inhale the wonderful scent. "Where's Quinn?"

"She wanted to stop by your house and make sure your parents don't forget things that Rachel might want like her iPod and stuff," Judy answered. "And where's Rachel?" Shelby pointed to the bathroom. "How's she doing this morning?"

"She seems to be feeling pretty good this morning," Shelby said. "Her temperature is down, but just a little bit. She had a restless night so I apologize in advance for when she starts to get cranky today because she's tried and is inevitably going to fight going to sleep."

"I'm glad her temperature is going down," Judy said. It had been 102.6 the previous evening when Judy had returned to the hospital to bring Rachel's quilt.

"Me too. I just wish it would do it a little faster."

The door to the bathroom opened then and Rachel came out and smiled at Judy. Shelby took the IV bag from her daughter and Rachel tried to close her gown a little more because it had become loose while she was sleeping, but Judy took ahold of her arms so the girl would have to stop and talk to her.

"Hi, Judy," Rachel greeted.

"Good morning, Rachel," Judy said warmly and she stepped forward to kiss her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"A little bit better," Rachel answered. "Better than I've felt in a couple of days."

"I'm so glad," Judy said. "Because I want to have a little talk."

Rachel sent a questioning look over to Shelby who indicated that she needed to turn her attention back to Judy. Judy waited until Rachel was looking at her once more before she continued.

"When did you start feeling bad when you were at my house?" Judy asked.

"I was feeling bad before I went over there," Rachel told her honestly.

"And why didn't you say anything?"

"Because we were having a nice time," Rachel said. "I didn't want to ruin that. And I was determined not to be sick because I didn't want to interfere with my mom's birthday party this weekend." Rachel turned and looked at Shelby. "I'm sorry, Mom." Shelby started to speak up, but Judy beat her to it.

"Rachel, we were watching a movie," Judy said. "You, Quinn, and I can do that anytime. You would not have been ruining anything. You were very sick. You still are very sick and you should have said something to me or your mother or to Quinn. Do you know how frightening it was for her to find you after you had fainted? Do you know what that phone call was like for your mother and myself to receive?"

Rachel hung her head as the scolding went on. Shelby thought about stepping in and saying something, but these were all things that Rachel needed to hear and maybe it was better for the girl to have someone other than her mother saying it.

"Look at me," Judy said and Rachel lifted her head. "Do you think your mother thinks a birthday party is more important than your health?"

"No," Rachel answered.

"Did you think Quinn or I would have been mad if you had spoken up and said you didn't feel good?"

"No," Rachel said again.

"Rachel, we love you," Judy said. "You are important to us and so is your health. So next time you're not feeling well you need to stop and think about those around you and how they want to help you. That's what's important. Not parties and sleepovers or anything else. You do not have to pretend that everything is ok and try and take care of it by yourself. Or even worse, do noting and hope it goes away. And if you're at my house and so much as have the sniffles and I don't hear about it, you and I are going to continue this talk. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said.

"Good girl," Judy said. "Now get back into bed. She used her grip on Rachel's arms to turn the girl and when she did, Judy was presented with an opportunity she couldn't pass up. The loose gown was partially open and Judy landed a swat on that naked backside to help send Rachel on her way. It wasn't a stinger, but it wasn't exactly friendly either and it did the trick in displaying how serious Judy was.

"Judy," the girl whined and she looked at Shelby who only shrugged to show she agreed with the other woman.

Rachel was so relieved when Paul and Rebecca showed up with regular pajamas for her. Her day was spent receiving a slew of visitors, including Santana who her she better get the hell out of the hospital soon.

Quinn yelled at her for scaring her and then burst into tears which caused Rachel to cry as well. She spent the entire day at the hospital with Rachel and ate the Jell-O when Rachel turned her nose up at it. By lunch, Rachel was over the liquid diet they had her on and couldn't wait to get some real food. Quinn told her that Jell-O was real food and Rachel told her she was crazy.

Rachel's temperature continued to drop during the day, but was still above 100 when visiting hours ended and everyone left for the evening. Rachel woke up at two Sunday morning to a discussion between her mother and Colleen about her possibly not going home until Monday. She didn't say anything until after Colleen left and Shelby realized she was awake.

"Happy Birthday, Mom," Rachel said with a tired smile.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Shelby said.

"I love you," Rachel said as her eyes drifted closed again.

"I love you too." Shelby leaned down and kissed her head before taking up residence on her cot.

The party that was supposed to be at a nice restaurant Sunday evening was moved to Rachel's hospital room that afternoon. There was cake and the flowers that Rachel had ordered for her, as well as balloons and presents. Shelby didn't want them to bother with anything, but Rachel talked with Paul Sunday morning while Shelby was in the hall talking to the doctor. Rachel gave him the specifics and he made it happen so that everyone except Beth was there. Rachel's fever was still too high to allow the baby to come. Even Arlene and Dr. Grant stopped in to have some cake.

"This is the best party I've had in a long time," Shelby said from her spot lounging on the bed with Rachel. They were both wearing pointed cone party hates and Shelby's was slipping to the side. "Thank you so much, everyone."

"It was all Rachel," Rebecca said.

"Thank you, honey," Shelby said as she leaned over and gave Rachel and icing filled kiss on the cheek.

"That's not funny, you know," Rachel said. She could have solid foods now, but hadn't been cleared for the cake just yet.

"Yeah it is," Quinn said as she snapped a picture of Shelby's grin and Rachel's pout.

Shelby saved Rachel's present for last and her eyes filled with tears when she saw what it was.

"I had it done last week," Rachel explained. "I wasn't really sure what to get you and then I remembered that shop. I hope you like it."

The shop in question did art projects of just about any kind and Rachel had taken Beth and they had found a background that could be framed. It was covered in scales and music notes, but had spots for handprints to be imprinted in it. She had thought about only having Beth's hands done, but the older woman who owned the store assured her that it wasn't silly for a sixteen-year-old to do it as well. So Rachel's right hand was next to Beth's left and their names were written beneath them. Rachel thought that wasn't needed at first because it was obvious who owned which hand, but she had to admit that it looked nice now. The date was written in the bottom right-hand corner and then it had been fired and glazed so that it was sealed and hardened. Rachel had then had it framed so it would be ready for today.

"I love it," Shelby said as she ran her hands over the two on her present. "It's perfect."

Rachel beamed and Quinn captured another picture of them.

The following day, Rachel was released and she was excited to get out of there and go home. Her fever had finally dropped to an acceptable level though she was given a prescription for more antibiotics to take at home. Beth clung to Shelby because they hadn't seen each other for more than a few minutes over the past few days. Beth liked Nana and Grandpa just fine and all, but nothing compared to her mother. Rachel knew the feeling.

**A/N – Guys, I could never make it a dream and give up writing this Shelby. I'd miss her way too much. And I do hope you liked the other parts of the last chapter as much as you were shocked by the dream. And I hope you like this one, of course. Please leave me a review and let me know. I appreciate them so much.**

**I tried to include hints that she was dreaming, but I don't know if I did very well, lol. The 'You are my sunshine' song was repeated as well as the kissing of Rachel's hand and Shelby says to her that she's called the dads. The dream was also a good way to subconsciously show a little bit of how far Rachel has come and where she still needs to look forward. I just happened to end the last chapter mid-dream.**

**Also, I saw a lot of people wondering if that was the final chapter. I promise that I will give you guys a warning when the end is coming up. I just won't spring it on you. I've got some more good (hopefully) ideas to come. I've had about three different ending spots in the past for this but each time have decided to keep going because I have more ideas. So for now, I'm just still chugging along. And I love that all of you have stuck with me for the ride.**

**Now I have a question for you guys. I was thinking about opening a tumblr account so people could ask questions or give me ideas or anything like that. I wouldn't give away spoilers or anything like that, but I get a lot of questions and I thought maybe that would be something I can do. I'll admit, I'm kind of wary of doing it, but I thought I would put it out there. But you can always just leave the reviews or send me messages with questions. I try and respond to every message I receive. I'm slow at it sometimes, but I usually do respond. That being said, if I've missed a message or yours along the way, I'm sorry and please don't hold it against me. Ok, enough rambling. Thanks everyone! **


	76. Chapter 76

**A/N – Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know. I'm sorry. But here's the next chapter! Thank you all so much for all the reviews and feedback. I appreciate it so much. I hope you all like this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Rachel woke up Tuesday morning and stretched her arms out before moving to find a more comfortable position and tucked her hands back under the blankets. Lounging wasn't exactly Rachel's style in the morning, but she wasn't going to school that day and so she didn't have to get up right away. Her mother had told her the night before that she wouldn't be returning to school for the rest of the week per the doctor's orders and Rachel had whined and complained about it and said that she was feeling perfectly well enough to continue going to school. Shelby sat her down and made Rachel listen and read about the illness she had just experienced and the steps she would need to take to get well. Despite the fact that her fever had gone down, Rachel was still prescribed a round of serious antibiotics that she would have to take twice a day and her temperature would still need to be monitored. Rachel had conceded that she was worn out and sore from the surgery and, after a long deliberation, decided that a few days off might actually be nice. Shelby told her that she had cancelled all of her lessons for the week so it would just be the three of them. And Quinn. She had been tasked with picking up all of Rachel's schoolwork so the girl wouldn't fall behind. Monday's work was sitting on her desk and for as much as Rachel had whined about being able to go to school, she was in no hurry to start on any of her homework.

Rachel noticed that it was almost seven and she decided that she had lounged around enough and left the warmth of her bed to get up. She threw on some warm pajama bottoms and a t-shirt and put on her _Wicked_ hoodie over that. She could hear Beth talking once she stepped into the hall and so she changed her course from downstairs to her mother's room. Rachel peeked in and saw Beth clutching the railing and standing in her crib. Beth had no problems pulling herself up and she could walk with help and Shelby and Rachel had started taking bets on when she would walk on her own.

Beth smiled at her sister and held her hands out to Rachel. She lost her balance in the process and flopped back down on her bottom. Rachel chuckled at her as she moved across the room and reached into the crib. Beth grabbed onto Rachel's fingers and pulled herself up so she was standing again.

"Good morning," Rachel said as she leaned down to kiss her head. "Do you want to get out of there and have some breakfast?" Beth smiled widely at her sister and Rachel took that as a yes. "Come on."

Rachel was lifting Beth over the side of the crib when Shelby came out of her bathroom with her hair in a damp ponytail from her recent shower.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Shelby asked as she walked over to her daughters and took Beth from Rachel.

"I was taking her downstairs to have some breakfast," Rachel said. She held her hands out and Beth reached for her.

"You have to be careful with picking things up for a few days," Shelby said.

"Mom," Rachel said in an exasperated tone. "It's not like I'm doing any heavy lifting; it's just Beth."

"You still have stitches, Rachel," Shelby told her. "No lifting for the rest of this week."

"I can't hold Beth all week? Mom."

"As long as you're already sitting down," Shelby said. "No picking her up. And be careful that she doesn't mess with your incisions."

"But-"

Shelby cut off her argument by pulling Rachel in for a one-armed hug and Rachel rolled her eyes but dropped the argument. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," Rachel said against Shelby's shoulder. She started to yawn as Shelby pulled back and kissed her head.

"Let's get some breakfast and then get you back to bed," Shelby said.

"But, Mom," Rachel said with her eyes wide.

"You have to rest, sweetheart," Shelby explained.

"But why can't I rest on the couch?" Rachel said. "I don't want to be trapped in my room all day. I can rest while I watch TV or movies. And the doctor said that it's good to get up and move around. I've been in bed for three days now."

Shelby smiled and then nodded her head. "You're right, honey. There's no reason you can't stay on the couch for a while. But I don't want you fighting sleep or anything like that. If you feel tired, I want you to lie down and get some sleep. Understood?"

"Of course," Rachel grinned at her. Somehow, Shelby didn't believe her.

After breakfast, Rachel settled in on the couch and surfed through the channels with the remote. How could there be nothing on? She was strategically skipping past any channel that might have Sesame Street or Barney playing so Beth wouldn't see them. Beth was crawling around the living room with a green truck in one hand and dragging a baby doll by the arm with her other. Rachel felt bad for that doll every time its little head banged into something.

Rachel sighed and turned off the TV. She'd put on a movie later, but for now she wasn't up to it. She tossed the remote to the side and got up and headed for the stairs so she could go to her room and get her laptop. Shelby came into the room with a basket full of clean laundry and set it down.

"Where're you going?" she asked as she picked up a pair of pants and started to fold them.

"To get my laptop," Rachel answered.

"I'll get it for you," Shelby said. "Sit back down."

Rachel was about to argue, but shrugged her shoulders and sat back down. If her mom wanted to do it, then ok. She didn't mind that so much and felt that she could probably get used to it. Rachel settled back down on the couch as Shelby took off up the stairs.

Shelby walked into Rachel's room and headed straight for her dresser and not the laptop. She had noticed that Rachel was barefoot and wanted to get some socks on her daughter because she didn't want her to get chilled. Shelby then unplugged the computer from the wall and wrapped up the cord. She noticed the folder full of schoolwork on the desk and picked it up to take with her. She wanted Rachel to work on it all week and not have a lot to catch up on over the weekend. She also picked up the girl's book bag and slung it over her shoulder before making her way back downstairs.

"Rachel," Shelby scolded when she saw Beth standing on Rachel's lap.

"I'm sitting down," Rachel said.

"And how did she get up there?" Shelby asked. She put her free hand on her hip.

"She climbed," Rachel answered. "She's like a little monkey. Aren't you, Beth?" Beth squealed as Rachel tickled her ribs.

Shelby set everything down on the coffee table and took the baby from Rachel and set her back down on the floor with her toys.

"Beth and I were playing," Rachel whined.

"Sorry, honey, but you can play when you're well," Shelby said.

"I'm well now," Rachel declared.

"No you're not," Shelby said with an air of finality and a raised eyebrow that dared Rachel to argue.

Rachel slumped back on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table and pouted. Shelby rolled her eyes at her daughter and reached down and picked up the socks she'd brought from upstairs. She picked up one of Rachel's feet and started to put the sock on.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Rachel asked.

"You shouldn't be going around barefoot," Shelby said. "I don't want you to get a chill."

Rachel smiled, "I didn't realize it, but I guess my feet were a little cold. Thanks."

"My pleasure," Shelby said. "I've got your laptop and I also brought down the school work Quinn brought over yesterday. If you're not doing anything else you could get started on that. In fact, I think should probably work on that first."

Shelby sat down next to Rachel and the girl tucked her feet up under her and leaned into her mother. Shelby wrapped her arm around Rachel and pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Do I have to right now?" Rachel asked.

Shelby sighed and relented as she looked into her daughter's big eyes. "No, you've got all day. You can spread out the work so you don't have to do it at once. Why don't you play around on the laptop for an hour and then work on your homework for an hour and then we'll have lunch."

"Ok," Rachel readily agreed. She sat up straight and waited as Shelby plugged in the computer and handed it to her. Shelby went back to the laundry as Rachel opened the laptop.

An hour and a half later Rachel was humming along to a YouTube video and her homework lay forgotten on the coffee table. She shifted her position for what felt like the millionth time because she was uncomfortable. Shelby had helped her out earlier by retrieving pillows and placing them behind her back, but that was uncomfortable now too.

Shelby walked in the room with Beth after a diaper change in time to see Rachel trying to stretch as well as yawning at the same time. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok," Rachel sighed dramatically and closed her laptop and leaned forward to set it on the coffee table. Shelby could tell that Rachel wasn't comfortable.

"How's your homework coming along?" Shelby asked.

"Oh, you know…" Rachel trailed off.

Shelby set Beth down on the floor with her toys and then sat down next to Rachel. She picked up the folder and opened it up and saw that it hadn't even been touched. She glanced over at her daughter with a raised eyebrow and Rachel looked down contritely.

"I was getting there," Rachel said. She then looked up at Shelby with innocent eyes and added, "I was trying to research songs for Regionals and that's school work too. And I think I might need some help with some of it, but I didn't want to interrupt you because you've been busy all morning."

"Oh honey, I've just been doing household stuff," Shelby cooed. "I'm not too busy."

"Will you help me with it later?" Rachel asked softly.

"Of course I will, sweetheart," Shelby almost melted as she closed the folder and put it back on the table. "Don't worry about it right now."

"Thank you, Mommy," Rachel sighed in relief and then moved to sit on Shelby's lap and hugged her tightly around the neck.

Shelby's arms were gentler and she rubbed Rachel's back. "How about we have some lunch?"

"Can I help you make it?" Rachel asked.

"I'd love that," Shelby smiled.

Rachel moved off of her and stood up. So this was what staying home from school with your mom was like. She shook her head because she couldn't believe she fought it so hard the last time she was sick. Rachel felt she could really get used to getting her way in everything for the next few days. Plus, she loved all of the attention and really understood that Shelby was there to take care of her. Kids were supposed to be taken care of when they're sick. While she felt she could do it, deep down, Rachel wasn't all that surprised to feel relieved at not having to worry about when to take her medicine or how she was going to get lunch or dinner. Lying around and getting your way all day was really appealing; her mother could worry about everything else.

Rachel tried to help with the lunch dishes but was told not to worry about it and sent back to the living room to put on a movie. They were going to watch _Funny Girl_ together. Shelby had been watching Rachel yawn her way through lunch and knew that her girl needed to rest and thought they could snuggle together on the couch. Rachel had readily agreed, though not about being tired. She wasn't tired.

Rachel sat down on the couch after setting up the movie and ran her hand lightly over her abdomen. She wished it wasn't so sore. She had pain medication she could take, but it made her sleepy and they were about the watch a movie. She wanted to watch with Shelby.

The chiming of the doorbell drew her attention and Rachel started to get up.

"I'll get it," Shelby told her as she came out of the kitchen.

"Mama's getting it," Rachel said to Beth who was holding up a block for Rachel to see. Rachel got down on the floor with her sister to get a closer look.

"Hello, Shelby," Scott said when she opened the front door. The shock on her face was evident as she looked from Scott and then to Henry who was standing behind him.

"Hi," she replied.

"We just stopped by to see Rachel," Henry said.

"If that's ok," Scott added.

"Yeah. Sure, of course," Shelby recovered and stepped aside to let them in.

"We won't stay long," Henry said. "We know she's probably resting."

"She is," Shelby said. "She's in here on the couch."

The couch was empty and all three adults looked to the center of the room and saw Rachel sitting cross-legged on the floor and lifting Beth up above her head and making the baby giggle.

"Rachel," Shelby warned. The men shared a smile, the first in a very long time.

Rachel and Beth both looked at their mother with innocent expressions and big eyes. It only took Beth a moment to smile at Shelby, but Rachel's attention was no longer on her mother as she stared past her and looked at her dads.

"Rachel, you have some visitors," Shelby said as she took Beth.

"Hi," Rachel said shyly as she got to her feet.

"Hey," Henry said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Rachel answered immediately. Automatically.

"You look better than you did in the hospital," Scott said.

"You saw me in the hospital?" Rachel asked.

Scott nodded. "Shelby called me and I called your father and we waited through the surgery. Then we came the next day but you were sleeping. We woke you up and you talked for a little bit about ideas you had for Mr. Schuester and then you went back to sleep."

"Oh," Rachel said. She glanced at Shelby who nodded to verify their story. "I don't remember. Sorry."

"That's ok," Henry said.

"I'll leave you three to visit," Shelby said and she took Beth with her upstairs.

Henry stepped farther into the room and gave Rachel a light hug and Scott followed after. Rachel sat on the couch and Henry sat next to her while Scott opted for a chair.

"Did I have any good ideas? In the hospital?" Rachel clarified. "When you saw me?"

"You want to do a big production number at Regionals," Henry answered. "Something classic, you said."

"I don't remember what song you mentioned," Henry said.

"That's ok," Rachel said. "I've been making a list."

"That's a good thing to do," Henry said.

"How are you guys here today?" Rachel asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"We wanted to see you," Scott said.

"But don't you have to work?" Rachel questioned. "It's only one in the afternoon on a Tuesday."

"I took half a day today," Scott said.

"Me too," Henry added. "I'm leaving for a week in the morning and wanted to make sure you're doing ok after the surgery."

"Me too," Scott said. "I'll be gone two weeks though."

"You guys really do love your trips, don't you?" Rachel asked. It was more for herself than them and both men realized that. She then added, "I'm glad you came to see me."

"I am too," Henry said. "It looks like you're really happy here with Shelby."

"I am!" Rachel smiled. "Thank you." She lowered her head. "For letting me go."

"We only want what's best for you," Scott said. "We're sorry it took us so long to realize what that was."

Rachel only nodded and didn't carry on with this topic. The last time she had tried to get any answers out of them as to why they left her like they did, the conversation turned ugly and they ended up shouting at each other. It would be better to just leave it where it was. To hear them say they were sorry was new for Rachel and she was going to just accept it. She might even understand it one day.

"Do you want to see my room?" Rachel asked, changing the subject again.

"Sure," Henry said and Scott nodded.

Rachel led the way up the stairs and Shelby looked up from her spot on the floor in the nursery with Beth when they passed. She had been really proud of herself for not attempting to listen in on their conversation downstairs, but now… She inched closer to the door.

"This is a beautiful room," Scott said when they walked into Rachel's bedroom.

"I love it," Rachel said proudly. "Some of the posters are the ones from Daddy's hou- from home and some are ones that Shelby had when she was in high school."

"And you still have to take your quilt everywhere," Henry said. "We saw it in the hospital."

Rachel nodded and lowered her head. "I like having it around."

"I know," Henry said. "That's ok. I'm glad you have it."

"Me too," Rachel whispered.

As they looked around, she put her hand over her incisions and winced her eyes a bit as the soreness and pain started to settle in a little more. The fathers noticed as she leaned back against the doorframe and shut her eyes in annoyance and yawned. Rachel thought again about the pain medication she could take. The doctor had encouraged her to take the medicine at the first hints of pain to make it most effective. The sooner the better, he had said. If only it didn't make her so tired. She couldn't take it now with her dads here and she assumed she and her mom were still going to watch the movie. She wanted to watch the movie. Maybe picking up Beth like that hadn't been the best idea after all.

"Rachel, do you want to go back downstairs and sit back down?" Scott asked.

Shelby leaned her head out into the hallway from the nursery and looked down to Rachel's room when she heard Scott's question. She saw her daughter and watched as the girl stood up straighter away from the wall and shook her head.

"Do you want to see the music room?" Rachel asked.

"Um, sure," Scott said.

Shelby waited until they went up to the third story and then scooped Beth up and went back downstairs. She wanted to be around when they came back so she could see how Rachel was doing, both physically and emotionally. Beth looked down tiredly at her toys when she was set on the floor. She grabbed half-heartedly for one of her blocks as her mother left the room and went into the kitchen for a second. Where was mom going? Wasn't it nap time? Where was her pacifier? Beth needed answers.

Rachel and her fathers descended the steps just as Shelby came back from the kitchen with a bottle of water.

"You have a beautiful house, Shelby," Scott said.

"I agree," Henry added. She was a far cry from the young woman they'd known all those years ago.

"Thank you," Shelby said graciously. "Can I get you two anything?"

"No," Scott said. "We're going to go. I think Rachel needs to get some rest."

"What? No, I'm fine," Rachel said.

"Rach, you've been yawning for a while now," Henry said. "And you're in pain."

"I've noticed," Shelby said.

"No, I'm not," Rachel whined.

"I'll get your pain medication," Shelby said. "It's time for your antibiotics as well. You can take them and then lay down for nap."

"Nooo," Rachel whined again. "I want to watch the movie."

"We can watch it later," Shelby said.

"But, Mooom! You said we could watch it."

"And we can. Later," Shelby said firmly.

"That's not fair!"

"Rachel, listen to your mother."

There was a stunned moment of silence as Henry and Scott looked at each other as they realized they'd both said it. Rachel's whining stopped and she looked at her dads as the reprimand hung in the air. Shelby's mouth fell open a little bit in shock and then she smiled. She didn't need any type of validation for the job she was doing with Rachel from the Berry men, but she appreciated the acknowledgement from them. The last time they met they had had a screaming match about what has been best for Rachel and now they were putting their foot down to the child on her behalf.

"I'll run upstairs and get the medicine," Shelby said. The men nodded and Rachel deflated even more as she headed for the stairs.

"Dad, I'm not that tired," Rachel said as Henry took her arm and had her sit on the couch. "Daddy," she looked to Scott for help. He shook his head at her.

Shelby returned a minute later with the pills and Rachel took them without further argument. As she did, Beth started to whimper as she searched her blocks and trucks and baby dolls for her pacifier.

"Rachel, I really have to run," Henry said as he checked his watch after Rachel took her medicine. "Get some rest and feel better."

Rachel stood up and gave him a hug and said, "I will. Thank you for coming to see me."

"I've got to go too, Rach," Scott jumped in. "I'll stop back by and see how you're doing when I get home."

"I will too," Henry said quickly as though he didn't want to be outdone.

"Thank you," Rachel said as she hugged Scott. "Bye."

"I'll walk you two out," Shelby offered as Rachel sat back down. Beth was crawling her way as they stepped out of the room and walked towards the door. "Thank you for coming by."

"Thanks for letting us visit," Scott said.

"Of course," Shelby replied. "There's still a lot that needs to be talked about, but I'm glad you came by."

"Me too," Henry said. "Thank you, Shelby. Truly."

"It's been my greatest pleasure," Shelby said.

Rachel waited for a second after her parents walked away and then quickly turned on the TV and started the movie. She'd been sweet talking her mother all morning and surely it wouldn't be too hard to convince her to watch one of their favorite movies.

Beth had finally had enough of her fruitless searching and let out a loud, tired cry. She'd had her bottle and now it was nap time and she didn't have her pacifier or blanket. This was madness.

Shelby turned back towards the crying and then turned back to the men.

"It sounds like you've got two tired kids in there," Henry said.

"Yeah," Shelby smiled.

"Good luck," Scott said. "Nap time was the enemy in our house when Rachel was little. From the very first day she has refused to admit it when she's tired."

"She won't say when she doesn't feel good either," Shelby said. "She says she doesn't want to be a bother. I'm trying to teach her it's ok to ask for help and admit she's tired and not feeling well."

"She was so rarely sick," Scott said.

"I know," Shelby said. "She has told me that numerous times."

Beth's cries grew more insistent and the men quickly exited before what had been a light visit could delve into anything else. Shelby went back to the living room, picking up a pacifier from the hall table as she did, and then picked Beth up before Rachel could get her.

"There you go, honey," Shelby said as she gave Beth her pacifier. The girl happily settled her head on her mother's shoulder. "And come on, Rach, you too. You need to lie down and sleep for a little while."

"No, I don't," Rachel said. "I took the medicine and I'll be fine. We can watch the movie."

"The medicine makes you drowsy," Shelby said.

"No it doesn't," Rachel said. "I-"

"Rachel, turn it off. Let's go," Shelby said.

"But, Mom," Rachel whined and tears formed in her eyes. Her eyes were swimming with exhaustion and pain and frustration and Shelby looked down at her sympathetically.

"Come on," Shelby said as she picked up the remote and turned the TV off. She took Rachel's hand and stood her up. Rachel wiped at her eyes furiously and pouted the entire walk up the stairs and to the nursery. What happened to her getting her way the whole time?

Shelby laid Beth down on the changing table and then looked to Rachel. "Go get ready to lie down."

"Can I sleep in your room?"

"No. You can sleep in your room," Shelby told her.

"But why?" Rachel whined and stomped her foot.

"Because Beth will be in my room and I don't want you disturbing each other," Shelby said. "I leave the door open for Beth so it's noisier and you really need to get some rest. Now go on."

Shelby met Rachel in her room a few minutes later after putting the already sleeping Beth down. Rachel was stepping out of her bathroom and Shelby could tell right away she was crying. She stepped over to her and gathered Rachel in her arms.

"What is going on?" Shelby asked. This reaction to having to take a nap was way over the top, even for Rachel.

"Nothing," Rachel cried into her shoulder.

"Then why all the tears?" Shelby asked as she sat Rachel on the bed and squatted down in front of her.

"I want to spend time with you," Rachel said as she used her sleeve to once again wipe her face. "I don't want to sleep the whole time."

"I don't want you to sleep the whole time either," Shelby said. "But I do require that you start to feel better and to do that you need some sleep, especially when you've taken medicine that makes you drowsy, on top of already being tired. You don't need to try and fight that, honey. Your body needs time and rest and sleep to heal itself properly. Do you understand?"

Rachel nodded. "But we were going to watch a movie. I didn't know they were going to come over. You're not mad, are you?"

"No, of course not," Shelby said. "Did you have a nice visit with your dads?"

"Yeah," Rachel said softly and she looked down. "I wish I wasn't so sick when they were here. Do you think that's why they left? Because they could tell that I don't feel good?"

"Honey, no," Shelby said. She stood up and pulled Rachel close and rocked her. "Your dads want you to get better just as much as I do. They don't mind that you're sick. They came to see you and be with you while you don't feel good."

"But I wanted to watch the movie with you," Rachel cried harder and Shelby chuckled.

"We can watch it after you wake up, I promise," Shelby said.

Rachel was so tired that her emotions were all over the place. She was happy to see her dads and worried about them being angry on top of being afraid her mother was upset or maybe disappointed that their plans had been diverted at the last minute. And all of those pent up emotions were making themselves known through her tears. Shelby could picture an exhausted four-year-old stomping her foot and crying herself to sleep. How she wished to have been able to hold that four-year-old and put her to bed.

Shelby sat her back down on the bed and lifted Rachel's sweatshirt over her head and off. "Get under your blankets. You'll feel so much better after you've gotten some sleep."

Rachel grabbed the sweatshirt before Shelby could set it off to the side and wiped her face with it. She slid back farther on the bed and waited as her mother removed her socks. She then lifted up from the bed slightly so she could remove the pajama bottoms leaving her with the long t-shirt she was wearing to sleep in. She laid down and Shelby tucked the blankets around her. Rachel's eyes closed and Shelby kissed her head.

"_Funny Girl_ before homework," Rachel muttered.

"We'll see about that," Shelby whispered and added another kiss to Rachel's temple.

Rachel was asleep almost immediately and Shelby picked up the clothes and put the pants and socks on the desk chair for Rachel to put on when she woke up. The sweatshirt, however, had a date with the laundry and Shelby carried it from the room, casting a quick glance back at Rachel before shutting the door completely.

By Thursday afternoon they'd watched _Funny Girl_ six times and Rachel had only completed half a day's homework. She was sitting at the kitchen table with Beth with some work open beside her, but it was being ignored. The girls were enjoying a snack of ice cream and Beth's favorite marshmallow treats. Cabin fever was starting to set in for Rachel and she couldn't wait to get out of the house. She hadn't needed the pain medication since yesterday morning and the only reason she still had to take the antibiotics was because she was given a certain amount of pills that had to be taken. She hadn't had any type of fever in over twenty-four hours.

"I thought you said you were going to have a snack," Shelby said in an exasperated tone when she walked into the kitchen.

"We are," Rachel said with her mouth full.

"What's wrong with a banana or apples or something?" Shelby said.

"We didn't want those," Rachel said. "Did we, Beth?" Beth's two handfuls of marshmallows and a chocolate mouth confirmed Rachel's words.

"Well you have had enough," Shelby said as she picked up the box of treats and closed it.

Rachel took a last bite and then fed one more to Beth before Shelby took the empty bowl away.

"What did Nana want when she called?" Rachel asked. Shelby had taken a seat at the table and was starting to look over Rachel's school work and the girl needed a way to distract her.

"She was just confirming when we're going to visit," Shelby said.

"Next weekend, right?" Rachel asked as she saw her mom furrow her brows as she leafed through some of the assignments.

"Yeah," Shelby said. "Sam and Maggie got some of my old friends together and we're going to go out and have a lunch. It was supposed to be a birthday thing but we pushed it back a couple of weeks."

"Oh right," Rachel said.

"You and Beth and the boys will be spending that time with Nana and Grandpa," Shelby continued. "Have you done any of this?"

"You're just doing a lunch?" Rachel asked, ignoring the second part.

"We might go out later or something too," Shelby said. "You and Jack and Michael should have a good time."

"Mom, they're ten and seven," Rachel said. "We don't have that much in common."

"They're your cousins," Shelby said. "They're going to be excited to spend time with you. Seriously, I thought you were working on this work."

"I am." The doorbell rang and Rachel jumped to her feet, "got it!"

"Rach-" but the girl was gone. Shelby cast annoyed glance at Rachel's retreating form and then glanced over at Beth and saw that she still had chocolate all over her face. "Honey," she laughed and got up to get a cloth to wipe her face. She was in the process of cleaning the baby's hands when Rachel and Quinn walked into the room.

"Hey, Quinn," Shelby said.

"Hi," Quinn as she sat at the table and opened her book bag and pulled out another folder for Rachel.

"Thanks," Rachel groaned.

"We'll just add it to the pile," Shelby said. "Eventually you'll finish up with Monday's work, right Rachel?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said equally sarcastic. Shelby shot her a glare.

"I can help you with some of it," Quinn said.

"Can she?" Rachel asked. "Can she stay for dinner?"

Shelby thought for a second and finally nodded, "sure." She hadn't let Quinn stay for more than a few minutes each night she brought the work by, but she knew that Rachel was starting to feel better. And Quinn was one of the best students Shelby knew and maybe she could get Rachel to concentrate because this week, school work has been the last thing on her daughter's mind. "Why don't you two get started now and I'll make dinner."

"Actually, can we go for a walk first?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel," Shelby warned.

"Please, Mom. I've been stuck inside all week and I need to get out," Rachel pleaded her case. "And Quinn just got out of school and doesn't want to do anymore work right now. She needs a break. We won't be gone long. We'll take Beth and that way it'll be easier to make dinner."

Shelby narrowed her eyes at Rachel as she thought this over. She knew the girl had been getting away with murder these past few days, and that was partly her fault. She didn't even really pick up on it until last night when Rachel had weaseled her way out of her bedtime yet again. The only thing Shelby had been able to stick to her guns about was getting Rachel to nap during the day. And did Rachel not think that she would like some time out of the house? The girl wasn't the only one going crazy in here. She had been cleaning up messes and picking up food and doing almost everything Rachel asked for a few days now. But there were those big eyes again and Quinn looked so earnest and Rachel so innocent and hopeful that she couldn't decline. Besides, it would be nice to be able to enjoy cooking a meal without hearing anyone whine or cry or tell her 'Beth did it' was something was knocked over in the other room. And if she gave in to this, Rachel would be more inclined to start on the rest of the week's homework when they got back.

"Fine, go ahead," Shelby finally said. "All three of you are to keep your jackets and hats on at all times. And don't' go far and come right home."

"Thanks, Mom!" Rachel said excitedly.

"Quinn, do you think your mother would like to join us for dinner?" Shelby asked.

"Probably," Quinn shrugged.

"I'll call her."

"Ok," Quinn said as she and Rachel left the kitchen.

Two and half hours later, Judy had joined them and dinner was over. They were still just sitting around talking when Rachel brought up an idea she and Quinn had come up with on their walk.

"Mom, can Quinn stay the night tonight?" Rachel asked, putting both mothers on the spot.

"It's a school night," Shelby answered.

"I know. But it's not like Quinn has never been here on a school night before," Rachel said. "And we can work on homework and stuff."

"Rachel," Shelby shook her head.

"Please," Rachel said. "It's not a big deal."

"Please," Quinn added looking at Judy.

"Just this once on a school night," Rachel said.

Shelby looked over at Judy and the woman shrugged slightly and Shelby sighed.

"Alright," she said as she looked back at the girls. "But I actually want to see you guys working and it also means that your normal bedtime is back in place. Quinn has to get up early and go to school. Understand?"

"Of course," Rachel said.

"Quinn?" Judy questioned.

"Yes, of course," Quinn agreed.

"We'll go and start working now," Rachel said. "If we can be excused," she added sweetly.

"Go on," Shelby said.

"Somehow, I think we just got played," Judy said after the girls had left the room.

"I'm beginning to understand that I've been getting played all week," Shelby said and Judy laughed at her.

The girls had gone to bed at ten per Shelby's rules and they had even done some of Rachel's homework that evening. Shelby was satisfied when she set her alarm to make sure she got up with Quinn.

Shelby woke up at two in the morning to the sound of giggling and frequent shushes and sighed as she looked at the clock. There was no telling how long they'd been awake and she threw her blankets back and got out of the bed.

Rachel's room was farther down the hall from Shelby's than the guest room and so it was no surprise that the girls were down there. Shelby didn't bother stopping at the closed down and simply pushed it and walked in causing both girls to jump. They were sitting on Rachel's bed with the laptop open between them and each had a bowl of ice cream in their hands.

"Having a party, are we?" Shelby asked.

"Mom!" Rachel gasped out in surprise. "We-"

"I don't want to hear it," Shelby cut her off. "You each have ten seconds to get back to bed before I start paddling bottoms." The girls just stared at her and didn't move so she added, "One."

Quinn and Rachel sprang into action as they hurried to get off the bed. Rachel put her bowl of ice cream on the desk and closed the laptop and jumped back under her blankets. Quinn had rushed out of the room and down the hallway and into the guest room. She put her bowl on the desk and turned the light off and dived for the bed.

Shelby walked over to Rachel's bed and put her hands on her hips and stared down at her child. "How much homework did you get done?"

"A little bit," Rachel answered meekly.

"I see."

Shelby picked up the bowl and told Rachel she loved her on her way out. Her next stop was Quinn's room and she flipped the light on and grabbed the bowl. Quinn kept her eyes closed and pretended to be sleeping.

"Get some sleep, Quinn," Shelby said. "You've got an early day tomorrow." Shelby smiled when the girl groaned. "I love you," she said on the way out. Her smile widened when Quinn responded in kind.

Shelby woke up a few hours later and got the girls up earlier than they needed to go to school. They both grumbled and whined and complained, but Shelby put her foot down. She made them help her make her breakfast and sent Quinn off to school yawning and with a warning not to get in trouble because of her grouchy mood. Shelby sent a quick text off to Judy apologizing for Quinn's bad mood and letting her know why. As soon as Quinn was out of the house, Rachel got up to go back to bed, but was stopped by her mother.

"And where do you think you're going?" Shelby asked.

"Back to sleep," Rachel yawned.

"I don't think so, young lady," Shelby said. "You've got school work to do and I think that now is a good time. You said it yourself, you're feeling much better and it only seems fair that if Quinn has to go to school, you should have a full day as well."

"But, Mommy," Rachel whined.

"Oh no," Shelby stopped her. "Ms. Corcoran's in charge today and you have school."

Rachel slumped back to the table and pouted as Shelby pulled out all of her books and work and set them in front of her.

"How about we start with calculus?"

**A/N – I hope you guys liked this one! Please leave me a review if you can. We're moving on from Rachel being sick in the upcoming chapters.**

**How did everyone like Rachel's dads on the show? I loved them. I've had a love affair with Jurassic Park since 1993 so Jeff Goldblum and I go way back. Seriously, it's one of my favorite movies. The theme is my ringtone on my phone. And Brian Stokes Mitchell is sublime. The show would be so much more interesting with them in it. **

**And I did get the tumblr account. Check it out if you want. I'm not all that computer savvy and I just set up the account so it's nothing spectacular. The name is Gleeks09. **

**Thanks, guys!**


	77. Chapter 77

**A/N – I am really sorry everyone. I am so late with this. But I've had a tough couple of weeks. Do you remember how I wrote about Rachel finding out Shelby had had cancer? Well, I know now firsthand what that feels like. Except that my mom has it now and has just been diagnosed. It's scarier than I could have ever imagined to hear that. I needed some time to process and then try and deal with it. I'm an information hound as it is and it has only doubled. I try and research everything to try and find the one thing that will make everything better, but the worst part is knowing that I can't fix this. So yeah, I needed some time. She's doing fine right now and tests are still being conducted. But I'm not going to stop writing because I need it, and I apologize in advance if I don't get it out every week. I'm going to keep trying to do that though. Now that it's been a week since hearing the diagnosis, I'm a little more settled and ok. But we've just started down this road and are taking it one step at a time. **

**Thank you all for the reviews and everything from last time. You all amaze me so much because of how you have stuck with this story. Thank you, thank you.**

**And I do have the tumblr now so feel free to come by and ask a question or give me an idea. Or just send them here. Either way. The tumblr name is Gleeks09. I added the link to my profile. And, as always, let me know what you think of this chapter. **

**Oh, and thank you to everyone who takes the time to read the one-shots I put out. I enjoy writing them so much. Thanks! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Quinn slammed her locker shut after depositing some books and made her way towards the cafeteria to meet some friends for lunch. Shelby had expected she would be tired, but quite the opposite was true. Quinn felt great despite being up half the night. For some reason the lack of sleep wasn't affecting her and she didn't feel down or exhausted. The day even seemed to be going by pretty quickly instead of dragging on like Fridays tended to do as they teased your anxiety for the weekend to start. The sun was shining and Quinn was smiling equally as bright. The gallon of coffee and espresso shots she'd picked up at Starbucks that morning were probably helping. Well ok, it wasn't really a gallon, but it felt like it. And Quinn was thinking that it was time for some more.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted when she sat down at the table.

"Geez, you're chipper today," Santana noted with disdain.

"It's a beautiful day," Quinn said. "Let's get out of here."

"And go where?" Kurt asked.

"I can't skip the rest of the day," Mike noted. "I've got a test later."

"We're coming back," Quinn said. "I feel like getting some coffee. You don't actually want to eat here anyway, do you?"

That was enough for everyone and they got up and piled out of the cafeteria. They went to the Lima Bean this time instead of the more popular chain and gathered up a few tables so all eleven of them would have a place to sit. Once there was coffee, sandwiches and wraps all around, Quinn brought up her idea for the evening.

"I was at Rachel's last night and her mom was talking about having a party tonight since Rachel is feeling better," Quinn told the group. "You know, pizza and stuff."

"Until when?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Quinn shrugged. "Whenever. You know that Shelby likes having us all over. And Rachel will love it. She's got cabin fever, I think."

"We should take her out then," Artie said.

"We could do both," Quinn smiled. She was going to get back at Shelby a little bit and help Rachel out. Sure, they probably shouldn't have been up in the middle of the night playing on the computer, but that's beside the point. They were only trying to have a little bit of fun since Rachel had been trapped in the house for so long. Rachel had told Quinn about Shelby making her take naps and how she wouldn't let her do anything. It never occurred to Quinn that Rachel might be leaving a few details out when she told her that. Quinn knew that having everyone over would cheer Rachel up. So what if she hadn't actually mentioned it to Shelby yet. She couldn't say no and turn them all away once they got there. Ok, so she could, but she probably wouldn't.

"But we should probably all show up together," Quinn continued. "Rachel would like that."

"Maybe we can just go right after glee rehearsal," Puck said with an indifferent shrug. Everyone knew that was a lie though because Puck was Rachel's friend and enjoyed seeing Beth.

"That sounds perfect," Quinn said. She took another large sip of her coffee and smiled. It's a good thing she wasn't tired.

Rachel was lying on the couch with her head in Shelby's lap while her mother idly played with her hair. Shelby watched her quietly as the girl was fighting drifting off. It had been three hours since they had lunch and Shelby was hoping that Rachel would fall asleep completely because she would like to as well. They had worked diligently all morning and Rachel had finished with all of her schoolwork and was so relieved to have it out of the way. Once she got started, she realized that it really hadn't been all that much for each class. If she'd been doing it all week she wouldn't have had to cram it all into five hours. Rachel didn't really want to hear that though. She'd asked Shelby to not make her do the work Quinn would bring later on. She wanted to wait until Sunday, but Shelby reminded her that if she did it tonight, it would be done and she wouldn't have to think about it the rest of the weekend. Did she have to be right all the time? Rachel knew she'd end up working on it later that night.

"I'm really tired," Rachel mumbled.

"Then go to sleep," Shelby whispered. "Why are you fighting it? Beth is napping."

"Beth is a baby."

"I'd like a nap and I'm not a baby," Shelby said.

"You're old," Rachel said and her eyes closed again.

"I am not old," Shelby rolled her eyes.

"Mm-hmm," Rachel murmured and her breathing started to even out. Shelby smiled at continued to lightly rub her hair and head.

The ding of Rachel's phone indicating she had a new text message startled them both and Rachel opened her eyes, but then had to squint into the bright light of her phone as she tried to unlock it. Shelby had pulled the curtains and left the lights off to keep the room in semi-darkness as she tried to get Rachel to nap. She sighed as she watched her now awake daughter reading the message.

Rachel smiled at the screen and Shelby asked, "What is it?"

"Nothing," Rachel answered. She typed out a quick reply and put the phone down and looked up at her mother. "I'm going to go upstairs."

"Wait," Shelby said as put her hands on her shoulders to stop Rachel from sitting up. "You need to rest. You and Quinn were up half the night. You were just asleep."

"Not all the way," Rachel said. "I'll rest upstairs." She sat all the way up this time and leaned over and gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek. "You should lie down and take a nap."

Shelby didn't say anything as Rachel got up and went to her room. She leaned her head back and sighed because she knew that there was no way Rachel was up there resting because whatever that text message was, it had caught her attention. Shelby wasn't too worried about it though and just left her to whatever it was and laid down on the couch and quickly drifted off to sleep. She missed the sound of the shower starting a few minutes later.

Rachel heard Beth crying some time later and quickly went into her mother's bedroom so she could get to her before Shelby woke up. Beth was standing in the crib and clutching her blanket, but the pacifier had escaped onto the floor. Rachel picked it up and handed it to her sister and then lifted her from her bed.

"Don't cry, honey," Rachel cooed. "I've got you."

Beth rested her head on Rachel's shoulder as the girl carried her over to the nursery so she could change the diaper. Beth's tears were replaced with her high pitched laughter when Rachel laid her town and lightly tickled her ribs. She leaned down close to Beth's face and kissed her. She did this a few times and Beth squealed every time Rachel got close. One more pass and Beth held her hand up and put them on Rachel's face to stop her.

"Clever girl," Rachel smiled. She kissed Beth's palm and then stood back up. "Let's get you changed.

Once Beth was cleaned up, Rachel stood her on the floor and held her hands. Beth gripped onto Rachel's fingers with her hands above her head and took a step forward. They moved pretty quickly because Beth had become a pro at this and she let her big sister guide her over to Rachel's bedroom.

"When are you going to walk on your own?" Rachel asked when they got to her room.

Beth stopped and looked up at her and smiled. She wasn't really sure, to be honest. She liked getting to hold hands and move around that way. Little did Beth know the freedom that awaited her when she was able to let go.

Rachel sat down on the floor in front of her sister and asked, "And what about talking? Can you say Rachel?"

Nope. Beth smiled again.

"How about mama," Rachel coaxed. "Say mama."

Nah, maybe later.

"Dadadada," Beth babbled.

"No, mamamamama," Rachel said.

Beth's lips formed like they were going to make an 'M' sound and Rachel leaned closer to her.

"Dadadada," Beth grinned again.

Rachel sat back and sighed, "You tease. Do you want to help me get ready? Some of my friends are coming by to visit after glee."

Beth crawled forward and climbed up on Rachel's lap. Let's do this.

Shelby stretched out and took a few moments to get her bearings when she woke up on the couch. The room was darker and she felt around for her phone, but wasn't exactly sure where it was. Shelby sat up and rubbed her face and then spotted her phone on the coffee table. She looked just like Rachel a second later when she had to squint at the bright light it was giving off as she checked the time. It was a little after five and she yawned and stretched again as she went to find Rachel and check on Beth. She was surprised she hadn't heard any crying from her.

Shelby smiled when she peeked into Rachel's room and saw her daughters dancing to the sounds of Frank Sinatra. Rachel had Beth in her arms and was twirling around the room. Her attention, however, was soon drawn to Rachel's outfit. The girl was in jeans and a nice top with her hair done and a little bit of make-up on her face.

Shelby knocked lightly as she entered and Rachel and Beth turned to see her and smiled. Rachel sang loudly to "Fly Me to the Moon" and Shelby joined in after a moment as she took Beth who was reaching for her and continued the dance. Rachel watched for a second and then turned back towards her mirror to check her hair.

"You changed?" Shelby asked when the song had ended. "Did you shower again?"

"Yes," Rachel answered. She paused her iPod and turned back to her mother. "Do I look ok?"

"You look fine," Shelby said. "But what's the occasion?"

"I was just tired of being in pajamas all day long," Rachel said. "I need a break."

"Oh," Shelby answered. "Did you get any rest?"

Rachel mumbled something and shrugged her shoulder and Shelby took that to mean no.

"I am feeling so much better though, Mom," Rachel said, making her case for something Shelby wasn't even aware of yet. "There hasn't been any pain for days and I don't have a fever and I took the last dosage of my medicine this afternoon. I want to be back to being normal."

Shelby smiled softly and tucked some hair behind Rachel's ear. "I'm so glad you're feeling better. It's been a long week, hasn't it?"

"Yes," Rachel agreed.

"Why don't we go out somewhere and grab some dinner?" Shelby said. "It would get us all out of the house."

"Oh," Rachel said. "Umm… Yeah. Maybe. Let's not go just yet."

"Oh. Ok," Shelby responded. The confusion was evident on her face as she looked at her daughter.

Rachel cast a quick glance at her clock and then said, "How about we go downstairs?"

"Ok," Shelby said again, still confused. Rachel was the first out the door and Shelby turned and looked at Beth. "I guess we're going downstairs."

"Dadadada," Beth replied.

"Mamamama," Shelby corrected and Beth smiled. Keep trying, Mom.

Shelby settled Beth on the floor in the living room with her toys and then looked to Rachel who was sitting on the couch texting furiously on her phone. She sat down next to her as Rachel closed out of the conversation and set the phone to the side.

"Mama," Rachel said as she looked over to Shelby and smiled.

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"I love you."

Shelby smiled as she wrapped an arm around her daughter and kissed the side of her head. "I love you too, Rach."

The chiming of the doorbell broke into their moment and Rachel started to stand up, but Shelby beat her to it. She peered through the peep hole and stepped back with a sigh and a knowing expression. Of course.

"Hey, Coach C," Santana said loudly as she stepped into the house. "Where's the munchkin?"

Santana didn't wait for an answer and led the way into the living room. Shelby just stood at the door as the eleven other members of the New Directions filed in past her. She took a step back when Puck and Sam lifted Artie's wheelchair over the step and pushed him inside. They each offered a greeting and she returned their hellos politely except when she got to the last person in line. Shelby narrowed her eyes at Quinn and she noticed that the girl avoided her stare as she stepped past. Shelby caught the back of her jacket and stopped Quinn in her tracks before pulling her back. Shelby shut the door and then guided her blonde mastermind into the kitchen.

"Hi, Shelby," Quinn said brightly when she turned around the face the woman. Shelby put her hands on her hips and didn't say anything. "We all just wanted to come by and see Rachel. I thought it would cheer her up. We could all just hang out and order some food or something. And stuff."

Quinn expected a response and was thrown off a bit when Shelby just continued to stare at her without saying a word. What did that look mean? Was she mad? Annoyed? Excited? Scary? Yes, definitely that last one.

"So…" Quinn continued, "We won't stay too long because we want to take Rachel out later." Shelby lowered her eyebrows a bit and Quinn just kept going. "To The Place. I thought she would like to do some karaoke and just get out of the house. Because she's been trapped inside all week. You know…" Nothing. "Ok, so I'm going to go and say hello to Rachel."

Quinn slipped around the woman and Shelby watched her go. She finally broke her character when Quinn was gone and shook her head with a smile. Now she knew what that text Rachel received earlier was about. It would have been nice to receive one as well before eleven teenagers descended upon her house. Though Shelby wasn't born yesterday and she understood that was all part of the plan. Surely she wouldn't say no with everyone there. She'd done the same thing to her parents countless times. She really should send them a card or something. But honestly, she knew it would be good for Rachel to get out. The Place was perfect and the glee club loved to go in there and try and take the karaoke over. It was a club that catered to the underage crowd so that they would have a place to call their own since the bars were off limits. There was karaoke and games and pool tables and inexpensive food. It was actually called The Lima Zone, but the commercials that ran when it opened fourteen years ago had dubbed it '_The Place_ to be' and the name stuck.

Shelby entered the living room to find that Puck had scooped Beth up and was lifting her high into the air much to the little girl's delight. Rachel was listening as Kurt talked about glee to her and Quinn kept glancing up to see when Shelby would enter the room. She looked away quickly when the woman was actually standing there. This really was a pretty good group of kids and she was glad they were there for Rachel.

"When's dinner?" Finn said and Artie shrugged.

"I don't know, but I'm starving," Mike said.

Shelby rolled her eyes at the hungry teenage boys and stepped all the way into the room. "How does pizza sound?"

"Mom," Rachel turned a looked at her. "Can you believe that everyone came by to see me?"

Rachel's surprise was fake, of course, and Shelby smirked and mocked, "No! Isn't it so fortunate that you already changed and got ready to go out?"

Rachel gave her a sheepish, but genuine smile at being caught. Shelby put a hand on top of her head and then scanned the room and found that all eyes were on here, including Beth's.

"Ok, what type of pizza do you want?"

An hour and a half later the kids were sitting around the living laughing about a memory of Finn trying to master a dance move. There were plates and glasses and water bottles everywhere and Shelby reminded them again that they needed to at least make sure all of the dishes made their way back to the kitchen before they could go out.

As the kids started to move, Shelby took Rachel aside so they could talk.

"Are you sure you're up for going out?" Shelby asked.

"Of course," Rachel said and Shelby could tell that she was excited. "Maybe we can go out tomorrow. Sorry about not being able to go out with you tonight."

"That's ok," Shelby smiled gently. "You just enjoy your night with your friends."

"I will," Rachel said. "And maybe we can go out tomorrow."

"Yeah, maybe we can."

"Come on, squirt, let's go," Santana said from across the room.

"Santana, there is no need to be so loud," Shelby admonished with a smile.

"Yeah, Santana, shut up," Puck joined the teasing.

"Bite me, Puckerman," Santana said.

"Ok, that's enough," Shelby held her hands up. "Get out of here."

The kids started to head towards the front door and Shelby said, "Rach, you need to be home by 11:00."

Rachel turned and looked at her mother and wanted to argue, but Santana beat her to it.

"Come on, Coach, The Place doesn't close until midnight."

Shelby shot her look, but softened when she saw Rachel pleading to her with her eyes. Shelby had to remind herself what it was like being sixteen and not wanting to the first of her group to have to leave. It was Friday night and Rachel was a good kid. They were all good kids. Give her this one. But then again, Rachel was _only_ sixteen and midnight was late and-

"Mama," Beth interrupted Shelby's thoughts and all eyes turned to the baby and they stared at her in shock. Shelby's eyes immediately filled with tears, as did Rachel's and Quinn's, and she smiled for the little girl that was now reaching out for her from Puck's arms.

"What, baby girl?" Shelby asked. "What did you say?"

"Mama. Mamamamama," she babbled some more. "Mama."

Shelby took Beth in her arms and kissed her cheek as tears made their way down her own. "That's right, sweetheart. I'm Mama. I love you so much, Beth."

"Mom?" Rachel questioned.

"You can stay until it closes at midnight, but then come straight home," Shelby said to Rachel though she never took her eyes off of Beth.

"Thanks!" Rachel enthused. She kissed her sister's head and then her distracted mother's cheek before leaving the house with her friends.

Shelby hugged Beth close to her and the little girl rested her head on her mother's shoulder and watched her sister go. You're welcome, Rachel. You're welcome.

They were on their second hour of karaoke and the kids were all having a wonderful time. The other patrons didn't seem to mind the fact that hardly anyone else could get a song in with the twelve of them around. There were rumblings of sneaking off somewhere so they could get alcohol, but most people were ambivalent about it and the talk died down. They were legitimately having too much fun to want to leave now.

Rachel clapped wildly when the boys finished another number. They came back over to the table to grab their sodas and snack on the array of appetizers that had been ordered. The only two missing were Santana and Brittany, the latter of whom was kicking Santana's ass at a dance game.

"Wanna play some pool?" Finn asked Puck and Mike.

"Yeah," Puck said.

"I'm in," Mike added.

"Me too," Sam got up from the table and followed them.

"I'm going with you guys," Artie said.

"Tina, I think you're up next," Quinn said and the girl got up and made her way towards the stage.

"Wooo!" Rachel cheered and they all joined in and hollered for her.

As Tina started singing Rachel felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned around she saw Jesse St. James standing before her and she smiled. His grin was genuine and he ignored the shocked looks from the others at the table. Quinn rolled her eyes, but she'd lost some of the disdain she'd had for the boy when he'd retuned last year. She knew that he and Rachel kept up with each other.

"Jesse!" Rachel exclaimed. She got up from her chair and hugged him. He lightly kissed her lips before he let her go. "What are you doing here? I didn't think you were coming in until Monday."

"I was able to change my flight at the last minute," he told her. "I had planned to surprise you tomorrow. I wanted to go by and make sure you were feeling better. I'm surprised to see you out tonight."

True to the conversation they had had before falling asleep on stage on their date last year, Jesse and Rachel had been emailing and texting regularly. He'd sent a card when Shelby told him about the surgery and he was glad to see her looking so well. He loved their conversations and he appreciated so much having a person who understood how he felt and the dreams he pursued.

"I'm feeling fine now," Rachel said. "This is the first night I've gone out. The glee club surprised me." She turned and gestured to her still shocked friends sitting at the tables.

"Um, Rachel, what are you doing?" Mercedes asked. "Why are you even talking to him?"

"Jesse is my friend," Rachel said. "He's home from UCLA on spring break."

"You talk to him after everything that happened?" Kurt asked.

"Yes," Rachel said. "He apologized and we worked everything out. We talk all the time."

Kurt sat up straighter and gave Jesse a once over. Mercedes narrowed her eyes and so Jesse held his hands up and tried to ease their consternation of him.

"Guys, I made mistakes and I've apologized for them," Jesse said. "I'm not here to intrude on your night. I'm here with a friend and we were just about to leave when I saw Rachel and wanted to say hi. Rach, I won't intrude anymore, but I'll call you tomorrow."

Rachel turned her eyes to Quinn for help.

"Geez, stay," Quinn finally said. "We'll just all have to get over it."

"How gracious of you," Jesse smirked.

"Where's your friend?" Mercedes accused.

"He took off," Jesse said. "He needed to get home."

Jesse sat down with them and Kurt and Mercedes did their best to look as uninterested as possible. They turned their attention to Tina who was shooting confused looks at the table as she sang. Kurt was brought back into the conversation at the mention of the theater program Jesse was involved in. He was a small town kid with huge dreams of getting away and Jesse had done just that and Kurt couldn't help but want to hear about it. Mercedes was finding it hard to resist as well.

"The music program is amazing," Jesse said. "And, of course, L.A. is awesome. There is so much to do and see and I'm always spotting celebrities."

"Like who?"

"I've seen Denzel Washington a couple times," Jesse said. "And Julianne Moore. Tom Hanks."

"Do you ever miss it here?" Mercedes asked.

"Only some of the people," Jesse said and he smiled over at Rachel. She returned it with a blush.

The cheered and clapped when Tina's song was over and she joined them at the table and immediately asked what Jesse was doing there.

"I'll fill you in," Kurt said. "Rachel, it's your turn to sing."

"Come sing with me," Rachel said as she took Jesse's hand and pulled him to his feet.

He happily obliged and Rachel squeezed Quinn's hand in a silent thank you as they passed. Quinn smiled at her friend and found herself having to admit that Jesse wasn't that bad anymore.

The music started and the cheers went up around the room and Rachel started in on the first verse. Puck started rocking along as he took another shot in the pool game and missed and then blamed Rachel for distracting him.

The second verse started and Jesse's voice filled the club and all five boys stopped what they were doing and looked up at stage. Santana and Brittany were walked up to the pool table after their game and wore the same shocked and disgusted faces at the sight of their one-time enemy. They remembered what he had done to Rachel and none of them were happy to see him there now.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Finn growled.

"Who is he?" Sam asked.

"Jesse St. Douchebag," Santana answered. "What the hell is she doing with him?"

"Is he a friend of yours?" Sam asked the group.

"He was in Vocal Adrenaline," Artie answered. "He and Rachel dated for a while."

"Until he and his entire team threw eggs at her in the parking lot," Finn said. "He cracked one right over her head."

"You're kidding, right?" Sam asked. "What an asshole." He was becoming as angry as the rest of them.

"He needs to leave," Finn said.

"I agree," Puck said. He and the rest of the boys dropped their pool sticks on the table. "Come on."

**A/N – I hope you like this one. Please leave me a review if you can. It means so much. Thanks!**


	78. Chapter 78

**A/N – Thank you all so much for all of the lovely reviews and messages with well-wishes for my mom. I wanted to reply to a lot of them, but I found myself at a loss for words and wasn't sure what to say. But I thank you so much. And I am keeping those messages close by and I know who I can talk to if I need to. **

**I hope you all like this chapter. I'm trying to have a little fun as we move forward. At least I hope it turns out to be fun. Regionals will be coming up after a while as well as some other things I hope you all like.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

The song ended and the room erupted into applause and Rachel beamed at the attention. Jesse matched her grin and then leaned down to kiss her on the cheek and whisper in her ear. She nodded and turned a grateful smile towards him.

"They really do sound wonderful together," Kurt said despite himself.

"Yeah, they really do," Quinn agreed. She even smiled for Jesse when she saw that he had glanced her way. Rachel had forgiven her and welcomed her as a friend and had clearly done the same with Jesse. Quinn knew it wasn't fair to continue to hold anything against him, especially if Rachel wasn't.

Jesse and Rachel stepped off the stage as the applause died down and someone else took their spot. It was a person lucky enough to somehow get on the karaoke list with even with all of New Directions there. Rachel didn't see the angry group walk up to them, but she felt someone grab her arm and pull her away.

"What the hell are you doing, Rachel?" Finn asked angrily as he pulled the girl farther away from Jesse.

"Finn! Let me go!" Rachel demanded.

"Not with this asshole still around," Finn said. "Get out of here, St. Jackass!"

"Finn, stop. He's my friend," Rachel said, but she realized her words had been drowned out by the shuffling of chairs and the yelling of her friends. Santana had joined the fray and was yelling at Jesse in Spanish while Brittany tried to calm her down.

"She said to let her go," Jesse said as he stepped forward and tried to take Rachel's hand, but Puck pushed him away.

"Don't touch her," Puck said.

"Or what?" Jesse demanded.

"Guys, stop," Quinn yelled. "There's no reason to fight and you're going to get us kicked out."

"Stay out of this, Quinn," Puck said.

"Excuse me," Quinn put her hands on her hips. Who did Noah Puckerman think he was? "You stay out of this!"

"Shut up, Quinn!" Finn yelled.

"Finn, let me go."

"I agree with Quinn," Kurt tried.

"Here comes the owner," Mercedes said.

"We better go outside," Mike said to Puck and he agreed.

"In the parking lot. Now," Puck announced.

"You have all got to be joking," Jesse said, but he had no choice than to go outside because they were pushing him along.

Tina ended up being last in line and ended up having to pay for everything.

"Finn!" Rachel yelled when they were outside. "Let me go!" She ripped her arm away from his grasp and took a few steps towards Jesse. She missed it when he smirked at Finn.

"He has no right to be here!" Finn yelled. "Especially not with you."

"He's my friend!" Rachel yelled back. "And I'm glad he's here."

"He's just playing you again," Puck said. "You know what he's capable of."

"I don't believe this," Rachel shook her head. "I can pick my own friends. I'm going home."

"I'm going with you," Quinn said in a show of solidarity.

"Me too," Mercedes agreed. She motioned for Tina to join them when she came outside.

"So you're just going to leave with that jackass?" Finn yelled.

Sam had been ready to defend his friend, but as far as he could tell Rachel liked having this Jesse guy around and so he backed off. Mike joined him because of the glare Tina was shooting him. He knew better than to argue with that look. 'Just keep your mouth shut because the woman is usually right when she's got that look,' his dad always told him. But Finn and Puck were not so easily swayed.

"He's my friend," Rachel told him again.

"Is this some kind of trick?" Santana asked.

"No," Quinn stepped through the group and pulled Santana away from the angry boys. She gave a hurried and abridged version of the Jesse and Rachel story and Santana nodded her head in understanding. She may still not like Jesse all that much, but she was going to back Rachel up.

"He's using you, Rachel," Finn yelled.

"Like hell I am!" Jesse yelled back. "I know that concepts like forgiveness and friendship go far beyond your understanding, but please try and pay attention. We're friends. How many times does she have to tell you? Come on, Rachel."

Jesse put his hand on the small of Rachel's back to lead her away, but was stopped when Finn grabbed his shoulder and spun him around and landing a punch to the jaw.

"Finn!" Rachel yelled and she squatted down to help Jesse who was sitting on the ground with a bloody lip.

"Son of a-" Jesse roared to his feet and used his momentum to knock Finn down. He got in a couple of punches before Puck pulled him off. Jesse found himself on the ground again when Puck hit him.

"Stop it!" Rachel yelled. "What is wrong with all of you?"

Jesse kicked Puck's leg and knocked the boy off balance and then got to his feet. He took great satisfaction in landing his fist on Puck's face.

Soon all the boys jumped in and tried to pull the others apart. Finn geared up like he was going to hit Jesse again and so Rachel jumped in as well.

"Finn, stop," she yelled and she got right into the mix.

"Rachel," Quinn yelled. "Get back here!" She too stepped forward to get her little friend out of the way of flying fists. Santana rolled her eyes and stepped forward as well.

"Jesse, just stop," Rachel said. She tried to step between the two taller boys and found herself the recipient of an inadvertent elbow to the face as Finn swung his arm back to hit Jesse again. "Ow!" she yelled and she put her hands to her face.

"You hit her!" Finn accused.

"I did not!" Jesse yelled back. "You did! Rachel, are you ok?"

She didn't get a chance to answer, however, because Santana was pushed back into them which knocked Rachel over.

"Rachel!" three people yelled and then argued as they all tried to help her up. Finn pushed Jesse again and Jesse didn't fight back this time. He kept his focus on the girl on the ground that was holding her face.

"Oh god, Quinn, I'm sorry," Puck said when he realized in all of his swinging and fighting against those trying to stop him, he'd hit Quinn in the face. Her nose was bleeding and her eye was swelling and she was pissed off.

"God damn it, Puck!" she yelled just before she kicked him as hard as she could in the shin.

"Shit!" Puck cried before limping back a few feet.

Santana grabbed her friend's shoulders and sat her down next to Rachel. Both girls were doing their best not to let any tears fall. They were angry and didn't want to be coddled by the stupid boys who did this.

"Rachel, I'm sorry," Jesse said. He sat on his knees next to her.

"You should be," Finn said. He had blood on his face and there was already bruising.

"Shut up!" Rachel yelled though it was muffled because of the hands over her swelling eye and cheek.

"But-"

"Finn!" Santana yelled. "Shut. Up."

He was about to argue again, but a distant sound grabbed their attention and thirteen heads turned towards the sound of the siren. It was clearly coming this way.

"We've got to go," Puck said. It was the first thing they all agreed on.

They had arrived in five different cars with the rest being left at Shelby's house, but in an effort to get out of there before they could get caught; they all piled into two cars with Rachel sitting on Santana and Jesse in the back of one of them. They were all hurrying Mike along as he put Artie's folded wheelchair in the trunk and then rushed for the driver's seat. Both cars had just pulled out of the parking lot and Rachel had ducked down the police car went past them going the opposite direction. It didn't stop at The Place and instead kept speeding down the street. There was a collective sigh of relief as they drove the short, yet silent distance to Shelby's house.

Shelby was in bed in some sweats and a t-shirt reading a book. She and Beth had a nice evening and Shelby was even able to record Beth saying mama. She had already downloaded it to her computer and emailed it out to her family and friends. Now she was just waiting for Rachel to get home so she would know she was safe before they all went to bed.

Shelby put her book down when she heard two cars pull up outside. She looked at her clock and saw that it was only 11:37 and she was surprised Rachel would be home so early. She was certain that the girl would take advantage of the lenient curfew and not come home until after midnight. But maybe she was just tired. Her poor, sleepy girl. Shelby smiled as she got out of bed to go downstairs and meet her.

"Shhh!" Rachel hissed on the front porch. The entire group was ready to pile into her house and the last thing she needed was for them to wake her mother or Beth up. Of course, she had invited them all in so the people who had been involved in the fight could get cleaned up a little bit, so it could be considered her own fault if that happened. She should have just said no to Finn's dopey expression when he asked if he could get some ice. The car ride had given them all enough time to calm down a little bit.

Rachel opened the front door and let everyone move in past her so she could lock the door behind them. The house was dark and she was glad her mother was asleep.

"Sweetheart," Shelby said. The light came on in the living room and foyer as Shelby stepped off the stairs. Rachel shut her eyes. She should have known better than to think her mother would be asleep.

Shelby was shocked to see all of New Directions in her house once again, but she was even more shocked to see Puck and Finn with bruised and bloody faces. "What is going on here?" she demanded. "Rachel?"

"I'm here," Rachel said from the back.

"Everyone, get into the kitchen," Shelby ordered. She sized up each kid as they went past and stopped the group entirely when she saw Jesse.

"Hi, Shelby," Jesse tried to smile at her but winced because of his split lip.

"Kitchen," she said.

Quinn and Rachel were the last two in the line and they both ducked their head to try and hide their faces from Shelby. She saw through it in an instant and simultaneously lifted their chins.

"Oh my god… Are you two alright?"

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"Fine," Quinn agreed.

Quinn's nose was still trying to bleed and she had blood on her face, hands, and clothes from trying to stop it. A black eye was developing on both girls and Shelby shook her head at their words. She carefully felt Quinn's nose and face and then did the same to Rachel. When she was satisfied that nothing was broken she let them enter the kitchen with the others.

"Everybody be quiet," Shelby said in a commanding tone. They hadn't heard that tone since they were practicing for Sectionals. They all sat in silence as they watched Shelby open drawers and pull out clean dish towels. She handed one each to Finn, Puck, Jesse, and Quinn so they could use them to help with the blood. Next she opened her freezer and took out ice packs and handed them out to the same group, plus Rachel. Shelby had always kept about a dozen ice packs in a freezer at Carmel when she was coaching Vocal Adrenaline in case of any accidents. She had brought them with her when she left the job and kept six in the freezer there at home. She was never quite sure why she needed so many frozen at one time and usually complained about them taking up space when she was putting away groceries, but now she was glad they were there and ready to be used.

The kids took the towels and ice packs gratefully and held them to their faces. Rachel glanced over at Quinn trying to control her nose which seemed to have started bleeding in full again and realized how lucky she was to have only been hit in the eye. Her nose could have been broken tonight! She sent another glare to the boys.

"I want someone to explain to me is going on and why some of you have clearly been in a fist fight." Shelby's assumption was that there were other kids at The Place that they got into a fight with. She wasn't quite prepared for the answers she started receiving.

All of the kids started to talk at once and it started to get heated again. Finn and Puck were pointing at Jesse and Rachel was using her hands to try and make her point. Jesse held his hands up like he was innocent (though Shelby knew better) and the noise level started to rise.

"Stop," Shelby said. "Stop!" The room went quiet again and Shelby pointed at Tina. "Tell me what's going on."

"He-"

"I wasn't talking to you," Shelby silenced Finn. "I asked Tina to explain it to me."

"Jesse showed up and said hello to Rachel," Tina started. There were no grumblings so Shelby assumed that everyone agreed with that. "And then they sang a song together which made the boys angry, I guess. They were playing pool and they came over and started yelling and then we all ended up outside. Which, by the way, you all left without paying, so I had to cover everyone." That caught all of the kids by surprise and they looked over at Tina with guilty expressions. It never even occurred to them they were walking out on a bill. There were mumbled apologies sent her way and Shelby got their attention again.

"So you all went out to the parking lot…" she coached Tina.

"Yeah, and they started fighting," Tina said. She was on the spot here, but she still didn't feel comfortable giving up names.

"Because Jesse said hello and they sang a song?" Shelby asked.

"He shouldn't have been talking to her," Finn mumbled.

Shelby closed her eyes in frustration. Teenagers!

"You know what he did to her," Finn continued.

"And I told you repeatedly that we're friends now," Rachel said. "You just wouldn't listen."

"We're trying to protect you, Rachel," Puck said.

"From what?" Rachel asked.

"Him!" Finn yelled. "He doesn't deserve your friendship."

"Shut up, Finn," Quinn said. "Who gave you the right to choose anyone else's friends? Don't you remember all the lumbering idiot football players you called your friends when were dating?"

"What does that mean?" Puck asked. He was offended and even Mike looked miffed now.

"I didn't say all of the football players were idiots," Quinn said. She smiled slightly at Mike, but shot a glare at Puck. "But after you punched me in the face I'm ready to take that back."

Shelby turned a murderous look towards Puck.

"It was an accident!" Puck defended himself. "You shouldn't have been in the middle of it anyway. And you didn't have to kick me either."

"I was trying to help Rachel because she was trying to break up Finn and Jesse," Quinn responded. "If you had just stopped fighting after Rachel got hit, I wouldn't have had to kick you."

"How did Rachel get hit?" Shelby asked. Her tone was low and dangerous and all eyes turned to Finn and Jesse.

No one, including Rachel, offered up any information.

"Santana," Shelby said. "Talk."

Santana gulped and looked at Shelby only to glance away quickly. Why was she chosen for this? She shrugged and mumbled something that Shelby didn't understand.

"Santana," Shelby said again. It was too close to midnight for this.

"She got elbowed," Santana said. "She was trying to break them up and they weren't paying attention. It was Finn…" He scoffed and Jesse nodded. "I think."

"He did it!" Jesse and Finn said at the same time when Shelby turned her glare on them. "No I didn't!" they said together again.

"Enough!" Shelby raised her voice. She put a hand on her head and tried to rub away the headache that was forming. She was silent for a long moment, but no one dared to say anything else. "Is anyone else hurt?" She didn't even open her eyes to look at them, but she heard the chorus of nos. "Was there any damage done inside The Place? Besides for all the money you owe Tina?" No, again.

"Fine," Shelby continued. "If you're not hurt, you need to get going. Tina, if you haven't been paid by tomorrow evening, you let me know and I'll take care of it." Kurt started reaching for his wallet right then.

"My truck is still at The Place," Finn said.

"Mine too," Puck said.

"My car is there too," Jesse said.

Great. Shelby rolled her eyes and looked to the group that was starting to retreat from the kitchen.

"I'll stay and take them back there," Kurt offered as if reading her mind.

"Thank you," Shelby said.

Kurt nodded and then went to sit in the living room and wait for them.

"You got in a fight because you don't like Jesse?" Shelby clarified.

"We never got to do anything to him after the egging thing," Puck said.

"You slashed all of our tires!" Jesse argued.

"So," Finn said. "That was nothing compared to what we wanted to do to you."

"Ooh, tough guy," Jesse mocked.

"You face seems to think so," Puck said.

"Enough," Shelby stopped them. "God… seriously? Now that you've all gotten that off your chests, can we stop? Here's an important life lesson for all of you. Listen and think before you act."

"But-"

"No," Shelby said, cutting on the complainer. "Did you two see Rachel singing with Jesse?"

"Yeah," Puck said and Finn nodded.

"Do you think she would have been doing that if she didn't want to?" Shelby asked.

"No," they conceded.

"Did you hear Rachel tell you that they were friends even after you got angry?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "But that doesn't-"

"But nothing," Shelby said. "That's the end of it. Your opinion doesn't matter on who she's friends with."

"But we're her friends too," Puck said. "And we have every right to be concerned."

"You're right," Shelby said. "But I didn't realize that showing your concern meant swinging your fists."

"He could be using her again," Finn said.

"I told you I wasn't," Jesse said.

"Of course you would say that," Finn retorted.

Jesse threw his hands up and rolled his eyes.

"So you decide to prove that you're right by beating him up in the parking lot?" Shelby asked. "How many hits does he take before you're satisfied? How many hits do other people take," she pointed at Quinn and Rachel who were staying quiet because they were happy not to be on the receiving end of this lecture, "before you're done."

"He fought back," Finn said. "We didn't just stand there and hit him."

"No one should have hit anyone in the first place," Shelby said. "You were angry and expressed your anger and then what did Rachel say?"

"To let her go and stop because they were friends," Finn said after a moment.

"To let her go?" Shelby questioned. "In what way?" The point she was trying to make was lost in her sudden anger for a moment.

Finn was taken aback by her change in tone and said, "I, uhh wanted to get her away from Jesse."

"He grabbed her," Jesse offered helpfully with a grin.

"My arm," Rachel said as she pushed Jesse.

"You grabbed her and then elbowed her in the face?" Shelby said as her anger rose even farther.

"I didn't mean to!" Finn said. "I didn't know she was standing right there. She should have stayed out of it."

"You brought me into it with your stupid fighting," Rachel said. "Should I have just stood there and let you continue to punch each other?"

"Yes!" Jesse, Finn, and Shelby all said at the same time.

"No!" Rachel said back just as firmly. "This whole thing was ridiculous and it ruined the entire evening. If you three want to keep fighting then feel free to go out into the front yard and pick up where you left off." She got up and stormed out of the kitchen and Quinn quickly followed after her. They heard her saying a huffy "goodnight Kurt" before she stomped up the stairs with Quinn right behind.

Shelby rubbed her head again and turned back to the boys who all looked contrite at this point.

"Guys," Shelby said, "you all acted stupidly tonight. What did fighting solve except to make people angry? Rachel said they were friends and that should have been the end of it."

"We just wanted to make sure she was ok," Puck said. "To protect her."

Shelby softened and smiled slightly, "That's admirable, but, in this case, wholly unnecessary and she told you as much. Listen and think before you act."

"Sorry," Finn muttered and Puck nodded.

"Are you sure you're all ok?" Shelby asked. She got three affirmative responses and said kindly, "Then get out of here. Kurt," she called out to get the boy's attention.

"I'm sorry, man," Puck said to Jesse and they shook hands.

"Yeah," Finn agreed and he shook Jesse's hand too.

"Don't worry about it," Jesse said. "It was all very _West Side Story_ in a way." Shelby rolled her eyes. "Finn, maybe you'll let me give you a dance lesson or two while I'm in town. Anything to help out, you know."

"Jesse," Shelby warned.

Finn huffed and his anger was quickly starting to rise again, but Kurt stepped up and said, "He could use it."

"What?" Finn asked, incredulous.

"Regionals is right around the corner," Kurt said.

"You are a really bad dancer," Puck chimed in.

"Whatever," Finn said as he stepped outside.

"Seriously though, Finn," Jesse said as they walked towards Kurt's car. "We should work something out."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Shelby flipped the light off in the kitchen and locked the front door and then headed upstairs to find Rachel and Quinn. She knocked softly and then stepped into Rachel's room so she could talk to them. She didn't see her daughter, but Quinn was sitting on the bed leaning against the head board fast asleep. She had the dish towel in one hand and the ice pack in the other and Shelby smiled at her.

"She's been asleep for about five minutes," Rachel said as she came out of her bathroom in her pajamas. "We were talking and the next thing I knew she was out."

"I'm sure she's tired," Shelby said. "Neither of you slept very much last night."

"She told me earlier that she had about a hundred cups of coffee today," Rachel said with a shrug.

Shelby nodded. Very little sleep combined with a long day and a sugar crash with a bloody nose thrown in for fun equals one tired Quinn.

"She's got to get up though because she's supposed to be home by 12:30," Rachel said. "It's already 12:15. And her car is still at The Place. Oh crap."

"I'll call Judy," Shelby said. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Rachel said. "My stupid eye hurts and is bruising, as you can see, because of those stupid boys and their stupid fight."

"It's all pretty stupid, isn't it?" Shelby said smiling.

"Boys are so dumb sometimes," Rachel said.

"Yeah," Shelby agreed. "But you probably shouldn't have tried to get in the middle of it. Somehow I get the feeling you don't have much experience for a fist fight."

"No, but it was getting out of hand," Rachel said. "The other boys were trying to break it up."

"You and Quinn should have waited for them to do so," Shelby lightly admonished. "You both could have ended up with worse than a couple of black eyes and a bloody nose."

"I know," Rachel said.

Shelby stepped closer to Rachel and pulled her in for a hug and Rachel rested her head on her mother's shoulder.

"We were having such a good time," Rachel said.

"I'm sorry, honey," Shelby said as she rubbed her back soothingly.

"And there's nothing wrong with me being friends with Jesse," Rachel added.

"You're right," Shelby said. "It just takes people longer to understand sometimes. Now, let's see that eye."

Rachel stepped back and Shelby put her hands up to Rachel's face so she could feel it once more to really make sure that nothing was broken. Rachel shut her eyes as her mom's fingers got closer, but Shelby made her open it. She wanted to make sure her eye was really fine.

"I'm going to get you some aspirin," Shelby said, "because if you don't already have headache, you will. And I want you to keep the ice pack on it for a little while longer."

"But I'm about to get in the shower," Rachel said.

"Then why do you have your pajamas on?" Shelby asked.

"I don't know," Rachel yawned.

"Well, keep the ice on just a few more minutes," Shelby said. "Until I get back with the aspirin."

"Fine," Rachel said. She sat down at her desk and put the ice pack back on her eye.

"Thank you," Shelby said. "I'll be right back."

Shelby picked up her phone when she entered her own bedroom and placed a quick call to Judy.

"Hello?" Judy said.

"Hi," Shelby said. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't," Judy said. "I'm waiting on Quinn."

"And that's why I'm calling," Shelby said. "She's here at my house and she's asleep."

"What? She said she was going to drop Rachel off and come home because she was tired," Judy said.

"Their evening didn't quite go as planned," Shelby said. She told Judy about the kids showing up and the fight and Quinn's bloody nose and forming black eye and the fact that she was already asleep. She also explained the reasons why Quinn's car was still at The Place. "She's fine though," Shelby insisted.

"Oh my god," Judy gasped. "I should come and get her. Poor Quinnie."

"I'll wake her up if you want to come and get her," Shelby said. "Or she can stay the night. Whatever you want."

"Has she been asleep long?" Judy asked.

"Only about ten or fifteen minutes now, I guess. I need to wake her up to move her to the other room so I can just keep her up," Shelby said.

"No," Judy sighed. "Let her stay asleep. I don't want her to have to wake back up completely and try and explain it all to me. I'll swing by in the morning to get her."

"Ok," Shelby said. "We'll see you then."

"But Shelby, maybe you can check on her in a few hours," Judy said. "Just to make sure she's really ok and getting some sleep."

"I promise I will," Shelby assured her.

Shelby grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts from a drawer and then got the aspirin and a glass of water and took them back to Rachel's room. She had to stop a laugh from escaping when she saw that Rachel was now also asleep with her head down on the desk. The ice pack had been dropped to the floor. She went to Quinn first to get her up and in the guest room.

"Quinn," Shelby shook her awake. "Get up."

"Rachel's in the bathroom," Quinn mumbled.

"Not anymore," Shelby said. "She needs her bed and you need to get cleaned up a little." The girl still had some blood on her face and hands.

"I have to get home," Quinn said. "My car-"

"You're staying here," Shelby told her. "I talked to your mom already."

"Ok," Quinn said and she closed her eyes and started to drift off again.

"No no no, you've got to get up."

"Shelby," the girl whined.

"Five minutes and you can go back to sleep," Shelby said.

She stood Quinn up and handed her some aspirin to take as well as the clothes she'd picked up. Shelby instructed her to go into the bathroom in the hall and change and wash her face. Quinn grumped her way out of the room.

Shelby went to Rachel next and moved some hair back from her face. "Wake up, baby," Shelby said.

"No," Rachel muttered.

"Come on, sweetheart," Shelby cooed. She sat Rachel up and waited for the girl to open her eyes and focus on her. She handed Rachel the aspirin and glass of water and waited for the girl to take it.

"I was going to take a shower," Rachel said.

"You can do that in the morning," Shelby told her.

Shelby stood her up and led her to the bed. She pulled the blankets back and Rachel crawled into bed and sleepily rested her head against her pillow. Shelby tucked the blankets around her and lightly kissed her head.

"I love you," Shelby whispered. She didn't get a response because Rachel was already back to sleep.

Shelby closed the door behind her as she stepped out of the room and headed towards the guest room. She stopped at the bathroom though because Quinn was still in there washing her hands. Shelby went in through the open door and looked at Quinn's reflection in the mirror.

"You didn't get all the blood off your face," Shelby said.

"I haven't gotten that far," Quinn told her.

"Here," Shelby said as she took a wet wash cloth from Quinn and turned the girl towards her.

"Was my mom mad about the fight?" Quinn asked as Shelby worked to clean her face.

"Not at you," Shelby said. "She wanted to come over and get you but didn't want to wake you up all the way."

"Oh. Well I'm not that tired anymore," Quinn said and then winced when Shelby got too close to her bruise.

"Sure you're not," Shelby smiled. "She'll be by in the morning to get you."

Quinn smiled at that and Shelby dropped the wash cloth into the sink.

"Let's get you to bed."

Quinn didn't even argue and like Rachel she was asleep before Shelby finished saying, "I love you."

Judy arrived the next morning and fussed over the girls and Shelby could tell that they were loving the attention. Poor Quinnie and poor Rachel were able to look just so pathetic for Judy that Shelby was ready to give them Oscars right then. Even Beth seemed to take sympathy on them and shared her breakfast with them. Or at least she tried to and ended up dumping her bowl on the floor. She watched it fall and then looked at Shelby and said, "Mama," which caused all of them to smile and praise her once more. Who cares about the mess on the floor?

Quinn took a shower after breakfast and changed into the clothes Judy brought her. The two women were enjoying another cup of coffee as they waited for Quinn and Rachel was playing with Beth. Now that Beth had mastered mama, Rachel was doing her best to get her to say other words. Namely Rachel.

"Give it up, Rach," Shelby said with a laugh from the couch. "This is my victory."

"Don't let her discourage you, Beth," Rachel said as she drew her sister closer to her. "I'm going to teach you all kinds of words." Her grin was deliciously evil as she looked at her mother.

"They better be nice words, young lady," Shelby said.

"Of course," Rachel smiled.

Shelby's phone buzzed and she picked it up to see what the message was and saw that Beth was smiling broadly and she quickly brought up the camera and snapped a picture of her smiling girls. She didn't pay much attention to Rachel's black eye as she sent it off to her parents and Sam and Maggie.

Shelby finally got around to her text message and saw that it was from Jesse. She read it silently and narrowed her eyes when she discovered that Jesse wanted her to bring Rachel out onto the front porch in five minutes. There could be anything going on here and Shelby wasn't so sure about any of it. She pressed and he pressed back and insisted that they go outside.

"Let's go outside," Shelby said.

"Why?" Quinn asked as she walked down the stairs freshly showered and dressed.

"I don't know," Shelby said.

"You make no sense, you know that, right?" Rachel said.

"I was asked to take you outside," Shelby shrugged.

"Why?" Rachel was cautious.

"I don't know," Shelby said again. "How about we go and find out."

The four of them plus Beth in Rachel's arms stepped out onto the front porch and were surprised to see the rest of New Directions out there. Jesse was also present and Rachel looked at Shelby for an explanation.

"I have no idea."

"Rachel," Jesse stepped up to make the speech. "Finn, Puck, and I have been working all morning to do something to try and make up for the fight last night."

"Yeah, it was stupid and my mom says I'm totally grounded if I do something like that again," Finn said. "Jesse and I talked last night and this morning and he's not the asshole I thought he was."

"And Finn isn't the lumbering oaf I thought he was," Jesse said.

"And I'm just as badass as always," Puck said. There may have been the biggest collective eye roll any of them had ever seen.

"Anyway," Jesse continued. "We got together this morning and put this together for you and Quinn."

Jesse turned around and pointed at a car and suddenly music filled the streets. Rachel and Shelby recognized it immediately and Rachel jumped up and down with Beth. The boys lined up and started to walk across the yard snapping in time. Jesse sang the first line of The Jet Song from _West Side Story_ and the others joined in. The rest of the club joined in and did an abridged version of the dance while singing the song. Rachel was overjoyed and Quinn was confused, but still smiling. It was a lot of fun to watch. The small audience on the porch whooped and clapped when it was over.

"That was amazing you guys," Rachel beamed. "How long have you been working on it?"

"Since very early this morning," Santana said with a hint of grumbling.

"And Finn, your dancing was pretty good," Rachel complimented.

"Really?" he asked proudly. "Jesse helped me. And Mike."

"Really," Rachel confirmed.

"Thanks!" Finn smiled broadly.

"What did you think, Beth?" Puck said as he walked to Rachel and took the smiling baby from her. She laughed as he tickled her ribs.

"We weren't half bad for just a few hours of rehearsing," Sam said.

"I know," Kurt smiled like he had a plan. "I can't wait for Regionals."

Quinn leaned in front of Shelby and got Rachel's attention. "That was really great and all."

"But?" Rachel prompted.

"I didn't get it," Quinn said.

Shelby and Rachel both turned an incredulous stare at Quinn and neither of them could really formulate what to say. Quinn stood back up and studied their faces as they tried to figure out what had them so flabbergasted.

"What?" Rachel asked finally. "Have you never seen _West Side Story_?"

"No?" Quinn drew the word out like she was afraid it was the wrong answer.

"I- I just don't know what to say," Rachel said. "How is that even possible?"

"Uhhh…"

Shelby's phone started to ring and she was able to back away from the plans Rachel was making for Quinn right now. She someone had the feeling that Quinn would not escape her house without at least a viewing and one quiz on the movie.

"Hi, Mom," Shelby said when she answered her phone. "How are you?"

"Shelby, why does your daughter have a black eye?" Rebecca demanded to know. She had just looked at the picture of Rachel and Beth that Shelby had sent her earlier.

"Rachel got a black eye?" Shelby heard her nephew Jack yell in the background. "Awesome!"

"Was she in a fight?" Michael chimed in. "Like the Ninja Turtles?"

"Of course she wasn't in a fight," Rebecca told her grandsons who were spending the morning with her and Paul while their parents ran some errands. "What happened, Shelby?"

"She was in a fight."

**A/N – That's the end for this chapter. I hope you guys like it. Please leave me a review if you can. Until next time. **


	79. Chapter 79

**A/N – I'm sorry for the slight delay in getting this chapter out to you. I hope you all like it. Thank you all so much for the reviews and messages I'm receiving. I don't get a chance to reply to them all and I apologize for that. But I thank you all so much for your continued support for me and my family. I take every word to heart, but don't often know what to say in return. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

"She what?" Rebecca gasped. Shelby couldn't help but smirk at her mother's reaction.

"What happened?" Jack asked. The boys were enthralled.

"What's going on?" Paul asked when he stepped into the kitchen.

"Yeah," Shelby egged her on some more. "You should see the other guy."

Shelby looked at Judy and saw that she overheard and gave her friend an evil smile. She knew this would get her mother riled up and Shelby was not grown up enough to not get her mother going over something like this. It was just too much fun.

"You mean to tell me that my sweet baby granddaughter got into a fistfight?" Rebecca asked again, completely incredulous.

"Beth got into a fistfight?" Paul asked with wide eyes as he sat down at the table with the boys.

"No, Rachel," Michael corrected as Rebecca turned and glared at her husband.

"No kidding," Paul said. "Did she win?"

"Of course she did," Jack said. "She's got a black eye and everything!" He was so proud. Shelby grinned on the other end of the phone.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes at the men, young and old, sitting around her kitchen table. Paul matched his young grandsons' eagerness to find out the rest of the story.

"Is that the picture Shelby sent earlier?" Paul asked. "I didn't get a chance to look at it yet…" he trailed off as he was pulling out his phone and unlocking it. "She sure does have a black eye!"

"Cool!" Michael said when Paul held his phone out for the boys to see.

"It is not cool," Rebecca said. "Shelby, I am waiting for an answer."

"What?" Shelby asked. "I'm sorry; I was listening to you guys over there." Shelby sat down next to Judy in one of the rocking chairs and watched as all of the kids started to go through their Jet Song routine again. Puck had handed Beth to Judy so he could participate. Rachel and Quinn had joined them and were trying to learn all the steps. The music was softer this time so as not to alienate the entire neighborhood and Shelby let her coach's eye start to analyze the performance.

"Who did Rachel fight with?" Rebecca asked. "And why? And what did you do about it?"

"Calm down, Mom," Shelby said. "You're getting too worked up."

"I am not getting worked up," Rebecca defended herself. "Your sixteen-year-old daughter has a black eye. Why are you not worked up?"

"It's fine, Mom," Shelby said. "There was this fight over a boy and it just got out of hand. I can send you along a picture of Quinn's face too. She's worse off than Rachel."

"Rachel got into a fistfight with Quinn over a boy?" Rebecca gasped. Even Paul's mouth fell open in shock. "Is Quinn ok?"

"She's fine," Shelby said. "Her mom is sitting right here with me. Everything was worked out."

"Who started it?" Rebecca asked.

"Oh… Rachel, I'd say," Shelby said.

"Shelby, I hope you explained to her that her behavior is completely unacceptable," Rebecca said.

"Oh, I did, Mom," Shelby said.

"Shelby, it sounds to me like you are not taking this seriously at all," Rebecca scolded.

"I am, Mom. Don't worry," Shelby said.

"Can I talk to Rachel?" Rebecca asked. She had some things she'd like to explain to Rachel in case Shelby hadn't.

"I'd let you, but she and Quinn are too busy right now," Shelby said.

"Too busy?"

"Yeah. They're dancing," Shelby said. "With the boy that was the subject of the fight."

"Shelby," Rebecca was growing even more irritated. "What are you talking about? Rachel should be grounded at the very least for starting a fistfight and you're telling me that they're all dancing together? You're letting her get off scot-free."

Paul and the boys looked at each other. Dancing?

Shelby couldn't help but laughing now and Rebecca narrowed her eyes once again.

"Mom, you're too easy," Shelby said. "She didn't start a fight. She and Quinn tried to break up a fight between a few of their friends."

Rebecca stood up straighter and put her hand on her hip in her kitchen as she listened to her daughter explaining what actually happened, right down to the performance in the front yard that morning.

"Shelby," Rebecca said in a low scary voice that Shelby herself had inherited but still didn't like having used against her, "that was not funny."

"It was pretty funny," Shelby said from the safety of the other side of the phone. "You got so worked up."

"One day Rachel or Beth is going to do the same thing to you and I hope I'm there to witness it," Rebecca cursed her.

"I'll laugh it off," Shelby said.

"We'll see about that," Rebecca said. "Just remember who you and your sweet children are staying with next weekend."

"Is that a threat?" Shelby said with an amused laugh.

"It's a promise, darling," Rebecca said.

"Sure, Mom," Shelby said, though she sobered a bit. She knew her parents were not above playing pranks; she'd learned it somewhere after all. "I love you."

"Oh, I love you too," Rebecca said. "Very much. Goodbye."

"Bye."

"It's not nice to play tricks on your mother," Judy said with a laugh.

"But still a lot of fun," Shelby said.

"Until you're on the other side," Judy said.

"True enough," Shelby laughed.

Shelby watched as the group started to run through the routine once more. Judy watched the woman watching the kids and would swear she could see Shelby working through it with them in her head. Shelby was always on and ready to teach.

"Stop," Shelby said. "Stop."

The kids stopped and someone killed the music and they watched as she got to her feet and came over to them.

"You need more balance in the group," she moved Finn away from Puck since they were the tallest. "And the steps need to be mastered before we can move on. Let's take it from the top. No music this time though. Everyone line up. Jesse, start the beat."

Jesse started to snap the time to the song and Shelby then clapped along with him.

"Ready," Shelby said. "Five, six, seven, eight."

An hour later the kids were still working the routine. Shelby walked amongst them giving instructions and moving people around. She was having different people sing the lyrics since they still hadn't added the music back in, but even in just the short amount of time, it was becoming a much more cohesive number than the fun, but still good, one they had performed for Rachel and Quinn that morning. The front yard and driveway were not necessarily the ideal spots to work on something like this, but Shelby liked the results she was getting.

"Jesse, step out," Shelby said and the boy came and stood by her. "Fill in the space. There you go, make sure there's no hole. Ok, start it again. Puck, you start the song."

Puck snapped the beat a few times and waited for Shelby to start them and then sang the first line as the dance started. Shelby watched their faces and smiled at the confidence and showmanship they put forward even though they were just right there on her front lawn. There had been some grumblings early on about how this had turned into a practice session, but despite all of that, the kids were all working hard and Shelby appreciated it.

"Look at that," Shelby whispered to Jesse though she never took her eyes off of the routine.

"They're really good," Jesse whispered back.

"I know," Shelby smirked. "Do you have any idea what Vocal Adrenaline is doing?"

"Not really, but I'm sure I can find out," Jesse whispered. "Would you like me to spy for you while I'm here?"

"No, of course not," Shelby said. "I was just curious. New Directions won't see them until Nationals anyway."

"If they make it that far," Jesse reminded her.

"New Directions will," Shelby said. "And Vocal Adrenaline has been doing well from what I hear."

"From what you hear?" Jesse said. "Like you don't know."

"Well, I did pick Dustin Goolsby to take over when I left," Shelby said. "But from what I've been told, his standards aren't quite as high as mine."

"No one's standards are as high as yours," Jesse countered.

"I thought he would be a good fit, but now I'm not so sure," Shelby said.

"So you want me to spy on them?" Jesse asked again.

"No," Shelby said. "I want you to ask around and find out how they're doing."

"You can do that," Jesse said.

"And I am," Shelby told him.

"Don't you give a lot of the kids in Vocal Adrenaline voice lessons still?" Jesse asked.

"Yes, but none of the songs I work with them on are competition songs," Shelby said. "Apparently Dustin won't allow it. I know you still have friends there and the more information, the better, right?"

"Of course," Jesse smirked. "I'll, um, ask around."

"Don't get caught," she reminded him quietly just as the routine was finished. "Ok guys, that was great," Shelby said to them. "Let's try it with the music this time. Ready? Five, six, seven, eight!"

Two hours later, Shelby and the kids plus Beth were at a local pizza parlor for lunch. Shelby promised to feed the hungry teenagers after making them practice for two hours after what was only supposed to be a little visit for Rachel and Quinn. Judy opted out because she said she had errands to run. Will walked in the door to join them as the group was starting to place their order.

"Hey guys," Mr. Schue said as he walked up to the tables that had been pushed together. "Thanks for the invitation. What happened?" he asked suddenly when he saw the few bruised faces. Rachel and Quinn had done their best to hide the marks with make-up, but if you looked close, it was there.

"It's a long story," Santana said. "Boys being stupid boys."

"Whatever," Finn mumbled.

"Ok," Will answered hesitantly. "So what's going on? What's with the big lunch meeting?"

"We wanted to talk about Regionals," Kurt said. "We had a really great impromptu lesson in Shelby's yard this morning and we wanted to work on ideas and start to get things in place."

"A lesson in Shelby's yard?" Mr. Schue asked. "Am I missing something?"

"Yes," Shelby said. "Finish ordering everyone and I'll explain it."

Twenty minutes later the tables were filled with pizza, pasta, and salads and Mr. Schue had been filled in on the previous day's events, as well as the lesson that morning.

"A big dance number like that could work out really well," Shelby said.

"Should we save something like that for Nationals?" Will asked.

"There's no reason you can't do it at both," Shelby said. "There are so many things that can be done, it wouldn't be repetitive. And they were really good, Will. Jesse helped them put the routine together in just an hour or so and they were really good. And they are all so eager."

"I know," Will said. "I've been going over ideas and making notes and trying to work out bits of choreography. I think we're going to do really well at Regionals and we've got a legitimate chance at Nationals."

"I agree," Shelby said. "But let's take it one step at a time."

Rachel and Kurt were trying to pretend otherwise, but they were listening intently to Shelby and Mr. Schue's conversation. They were just as invested as anyone else, probably more so, and wanted to know what was being said.

"I wish I knew what Vocal Adrenaline was up to," Will continued. "I was surprised when I read that we weren't competing against them at Regionals."

"The board changed some schools around this year," Shelby said. "They wanted to mix up the competition."

"I'm glad they did," Will said. "It's one less thing to worry about until we get to Nationals. The kids were glad to know we wouldn't see them at Regionals. But it would still be nice to have an idea of what they're doing. They're the reigning champions, after all."

"Oh, I know," Shelby said with a smile. She looked at Jesse who smiled as well.

"I was thinking about going to their Regionals competition so I could see what they do, but it's the same night as ours," Will continued on, oblivious to Shelby and Jesse's shared moment of pride. "I contacted Dustin Goolsby to see if we could set up a friendly scrimmage of sorts, but he was against it."

Shelby shook her head. Of course Dustin was against it. Why would you show your competition what you've got?

"That's probably not the best idea anyway," Shelby said. "They might try and trick you."

"You mean you would have tried to trick us," Will countered.

"Yes," Shelby said without hesitation. "It's a serious competition, not an after school soccer game."

"Well maybe we could trick them," Will said. He smiled and started to get excited, but Shelby brought him back to reality.

"They already said no to a friendly competition," Shelby said. "And we need to concentrate on perfecting the routines, not spending time coming up with something we won't use."

"Yeah. But still a little information would be nice," Will slumped his shoulders a bit.

Shelby stole another glance at Jesse and looked non-committal as he took a drink of his soda. He was on this.

Rachel and Kurt exchanged a glance of their own and they both knew what had to be done. Mr. Schue couldn't get any information on his own and they knew he couldn't go sneaking around because he was the director. But maybe they could find something out. Or see them in action…

Tuesday afternoon, Kurt and Rachel took their lunches to the choir room so they could work out a plan.

"We can't go right after school or we'd miss our own glee practice," Kurt said.

"They start their rehearsals earlier in the day anyway," Rachel said. "Jesse told me that everyone in Vocal Adrenaline has a music class the last period of the day and they start rehearsing then."

"That's a great idea," Kurt said. "We should do that here."

"I know," Rachel agreed. "It's something my mom started apparently. It gave her an extra hour with them every day."

"I'm so glad your mom is on our side this time," Kurt said.

"Me too," Rachel nodded as she took another bite of the leftover pasta they had eaten the night before. "So how do we get over there to see a rehearsal and back in time for glee?"

"We'd have to skip a couple of our classes," Kurt said. "We have to give ourselves enough time to get over there so we can watch at least an hour's worth."

"Yeah," Rachel said and thought on it some more as if she was trying to come up with a way they didn't have to skip any classes.

"They probably wouldn't call home for just missing one or two classes," Kurt said.

Rachel looked at him skeptically. "Of course they would. But, maybe they won't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"All we need is a pass, right?" Rachel said.

"Who is going to give us a pass for no reason?" Kurt asked.

"Mr. Schue," Rachel said. "Coach Sylvester writes passes for Cheerios to miss classes all the time."

"I don't think Mr. Schue is going to go for that," Kurt said.

"He doesn't exactly have to know," Rachel said with a shrug. "His office is right there and he's in class right now. His blank passes just sit right there on his desk."

Kurt watched her with a devious smile. "You, Miss Berry, are a genius. We'll get a couple of passes each and give them to the teachers today and we'll be in the clear."

"In the clear for what?" Santana asked as she and Quinn walked into the room.

Rachel and Kurt spun around to look at them, afraid it was someone else who was interrupting them.

"What are you two doing here?" Rachel asked.

"Looking for you," Quinn said. "You didn't show up for lunch."

"Kurt and I decided to eat in here today," Rachel answered.

"In the clear for what?" Santana asked again. She smelled a scheme and she wanted in on it.

"We're going to go and spy on Vocal Adrenaline," Kurt said. "We want to get an idea of what they're working on so we know what we're up against when we see them at Nationals."

"Shouldn't we worry about Regionals first?" Quinn asked.

"No, I think they're right," Santana said. "Our competition at Regionals isn't going to anywhere near as tough as Vocal Adrenaline will be so we need to work on making the best routines now."

"Exactly," Rachel said. "If we start competing against the best now, nothing at Regionals will be able to stop us."

"And how do you plan on getting over to Carmel and back and not miss any of our own rehearsal?" Quinn asked.

"With the passes in Mr. Schue's office," Rachel said.

Santana smirked. "You'll use them to get out of class and you'll be in the clear. Got it. I'm going too."

"Me too," Quinn said.

"Ok, but no one else," Kurt said. "We can't have all of us running over there and trying to sneak in. It'll never work."

"It's actually not that hard to sneak in," Rachel said. "We did it last year."

"Good," Santana said. "Alright, squirt, go get the passes. We'll keep an eye out."

Rachel got up and quickly went into Mr. Schue's adjoining office and found the stack of passes on his desk. She counted out the correct amount needed and left the room. They all agreed that only one person should fill out each pass so that they would match and the task was given to Kurt because they decided that his handwriting looked the most like Mr. Schue's.

"Perfect," Rachel smiled when they each had the passes needed.

Later that afternoon Rachel entered her house and was greeted by the sounds of a crying Beth. The baby started to crawl towards her big sister as soon as she saw Rachel come in and close the door behind her.

"What's the matter, big girl?" Rachel asked as she scooped Beth up and tried to comfort her. She dropped her book bag by the stairs and rocked the baby in her arms. "Don't cry, Beth."

Beth snuggled her face into the crook of Rachel's neck and held on to her shirt. But not before shooting a watery glare at her mother as the woman came over to greet Rachel.

"What happened?" Rachel asked.

"Don't let her fool you," Shelby said. "She pulled all of the DVDs out of the cabinet and scattered them everywhere and is now angry because I put a latch on the cabinet and she can't open it."

"Did you make a mess?" Rachel cooed at her sister. Beth snuggled closer to her. "She says she wasn't hurting anything," Rachel told Shelby. Beth agreed.

"I did not need her pulling DVDs out of cases and spreading them everywhere," Shelby said.

But it was fun! Beth did not understand what the problem was. This was just like the marshmallow treats incident. Mom was just being unreasonable.

"Oh, I know, Beth," Rachel sympathized. "Mean ol' Mommy."

"I'll show you mean mommy," Shelby warned with a smile before kissing Rachel on the forehead. "How was your day?"

"Same as always," Rachel answered.

"Are you going out with Jesse tonight?" Shelby asked. She knew they had talked yesterday about getting dinner sometime this week.

"No, he said he can't tonight," Rachel said. "We're planning on tomorrow."

"Oh. Ok then," Shelby said. "You've got about an hour an then I want you to come and help me with dinner."

"Ok," Rachel said. "Come on, Beth, you can hang out with me in my room." She pouted along with the little girl as Shelby shook her head at them.

Half an hour later Shelby made her way upstairs to check on her girls when she heard Rachel scolding and Beth start to cry.

"Beth!" Rachel said again. "I said no."

Beth was crying angry tears as Rachel picked her up and moved her away from the mess and set her down across the room.

"What's going on in here?" Shelby asked when she stepped into the room. Beth crawled for her mother and Shelby picked her up and placed a few kisses on her head. "What's wrong, baby?" Beth just shot a look at Rachel.

"She keeps knocking over all of my stuff," Rachel huffed. "And she's turned over the trash can twice and I keep having to pick it up. She won't listen."

"Is your big sister being mean and not letting you do anything you want?" Shelby baby-talked to Beth. Beth gave Shelby such sad eyes; that's exactly what Rachel was doing.

"I am not being mean!" Rachel said.

"How about you just come downstairs with Mommy and we can hang out and play with your blocks?" Shelby asked the little girl. Beth snuggled into her shoulder and Shelby took that as a yes.

"Whatever," Rachel said as they were leaving the room. Shelby just laughed at her.

The following afternoon, the four friends met up in the choir room and then slipped out of the school and got into Quinn's car for the drive over to Carmel High School. They found a place to park in the student parking and didn't have any trouble getting into the school. They blended well with other students as they made their way to the auditorium.

"We need to get up in the balcony like we did last time," Rachel said and Quinn nodded.

Members of Vocal Adrenaline were starting to trickle on stage as the foursome moved into the balcony and found seats that partially hid them in the shadows. It started as a basic practice as the group watched as they ran through vocal warm-ups while they were stretching.

The first song that they did was vocally difficult, but the dance routine wasn't anything harder than New Directions had ever done. And even from just seeing one song, they knew it was nothing like Shelby had ever put together.

The second song was only a dance and did not have any vocals in place yet. The dance looked good, but Rachel couldn't help but wonder who would be singing. Their confidence grew the longer they sat there.

"They're good," Quinn whispered after the dance number was complete.

"But so are we," Kurt responded. "We can do all of that."

"But they have a lot more people than we do," Santana said.

"They do have a rich sound," Kurt conceded.

"But so do we," Rachel said. "We just have to pick the right songs."

"They're definitely going to win their Regionals," Santana said.

"Of course they are," Kurt said. "Which is why we need to be prepared."

The music started again and Vocal Adrenaline started their dance number for the third time. The group of four just sat back and watched. Rachel got lost in the music and felt her wind wandering back to last year when she had snuck into this same auditorium with Quinn and Mercedes. She remembered being so impressed by the poise and demeanor of their coach. Rachel had been taken with her right away. Then she remembered the moment Shelby started to sing and it clicked with Rachel who she was. She would never, ever forget that feeling or hope and anxiety as it coursed through her and led down the stairs and to the stage. That was her mom singing a Streisand song as beautifully as Rachel had ever heard. That was her mom who was in charge of the best show choir in the nation. That moment before everything started to unravel and Rachel knew her only by her voice was one of the best moments of Rachel's life. She'd found her mother.

Rachel was brought back to the present by the sound of the side door opening as the music stopped. The four friends watched as Jesse St. James stepped into the room and shook hands with Dustin. They took a break and Jesse started to mingle with some of his former classmates.

"What is he doing here?" Rachel asked standing up to get a better look.

She didn't realize she'd been so loud until movement on the stage stopped and she felt Santana and Quinn start to pull her down. They sat on the floor hiding behind the chairs in front of them not daring to take a peek.

"Is anyone up there?" Dustin Goolsby yelled out. "This is a closed practice. Whoever is up there needs to come down now."

They all exchanged glances with each other but no one moved. This was not good.

"Hello," Dustin called out.

"Maybe it was nothing," they heard Jesse saying.

"Yeah, maybe," Dustin said.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Quinn whispered. "We can't leave while they're practicing and their practices last forever."

"Maybe they don't think anyone is actually up here," Santana said.

"We have to wait until they start rehearsing again," Kurt said.

Dustin did not believe that it was nothing and he quietly sent one of his seniors up there to look. Discretely, he told her.

The kids in the balcony started to grow nervous when they didn't hear any music start again.

"We are never going to get out of here," Kurt whispered.

"We better not be locked in here overnight, Rachel," Santana said. She actually used her name to show just how unhappy she was that her friend had given them away.

They were too busy arguing amongst themselves to notice that they had been seen by Dustin's scout. The girl quickly and quietly left the balcony and went back to the stage to report what she had seen.

"There's four of them," she told Mr. Goolsby softly.

"Do you know who they are?"

"They're from New Directions," she answered. "The only one I know for sure is Rachel Berry. She's Ms. Corcoran's daughter."

"Oh, I see," Dustin smiled.

Jesse shut his eyes for a second and then looked to the balcony. It figured.

"Jesse, if you'll excuse me for a second, I've got a phone call to make," Dustin said.

"Of course," Jesse said. "Can I see one of the routines while you're gone?"

"Sure," Dustin said. "But let's wait a few minutes, ok?"

Dustin returned to the auditorium ten minutes later and gave his team and extended, but welcome break. He instructed them to be back in an hour ready to go.

"I suggest you use this as your dinner break," Dustin instructed them. "If you're willing to hang around," he said to Jesse, "I'll show you what I've got. I'd love to have your opinion on some things."

"My pleasure," Jesse said.

"I've just got to take care of our visitors in the balcony first."

Shelby parked her car in the familiar Carmel parking lot and turned off the engine. She wasn't sure why she was there, but Dustin told her he needed to see her urgently and she said she would come right away.

"Hey, Shelby," Will called out to her as he jogged to catch up. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi. Dustin called me and asked me to come right away," she answered.

"Me too," Will said. "I wonder what's going on. I had to leave my class early and delay glee rehearsal. But he said it was really important."

They entered the auditorium to find it empty except for Dustin and Jesse and Will looked confused as he said hello.

"What's going on?"

The four kids in the balcony exchanged looks and each could see the resignation that passed in the others' eyes. But at least it was just Mr. Schue. They could talk their way out of that.

"I have a gift for you," Dustin answered. "But I needed you to come and pick it up."

"What are you talking about?" Shelby asked.

Three pairs of eyes looked to Rachel and she shut hers and leaned her head into the back of the seat in front of her. Well, shit.

Dustin spoke quietly to them and Will and Shelby glanced at each other and shook their head.

"I'm assuming they would try and sneak out once practice started again so we never started up again," Dustin said. "I sent my kids to dinner early because of it."

"Are you sure it's them?" Shelby asked.

"I'm sure," Dustin said. "I don't appreciate spies in my auditorium."

Jesse looked at Shelby with a slight smile and she shook her head.

"Well there's only one way to be sure," Will said.

Shelby nodded and then looked out to the audience and called out, "Rachel."

Rachel didn't move a muscle.

"Rachel, if you are up there you need to come out right now," Shelby called out again.

There was no getting around it and Rachel apologized with her eyes to her friends before sitting up and looking out from behind the seat in front of her.

Dustin felt triumphant when he saw the girl's head come into view.

"Hi, Mom," Rachel said sheepishly before ducking back down again.

**A/N – Those kids… I hope you all like this one. Please, please leave me a review. **


	80. Chapter 80

**A/N – I'm so sorry about the delay. I really do apologize. Things have been really hectic recently. I try really hard to stick within the week deadline for posting new chapters, but it clearly doesn't always happen. But here is the new one. Thank you all so much for the reviews and support that has been sent my way. I truly appreciate you all. Please leave me a review at the end of this one and let me know what you think. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

After popping her head up to acknowledge her mother, Rachel ducked back down behind the chairs with her friends so she was hidden again. The other three were glaring at her.

"What?" Rachel whispered.

"You know, it hadn't really occurred to me before, but you are a magnet for trouble. You get into trouble better than anyone I know," Santana said.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked. "It's not my fault we got caught." The other three scoffed at her.

"No, you're just the one who stood up and announced to the entire room that we were here," Kurt said.

"I just didn't expect to see Jesse here," Rachel defended herself.

"You didn't have to get us caught," Quinn said.

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

Well that doesn't really matter now," Santana said.

"Maybe they don't realize we skipped yet," Kurt said hopefully and the girls all turned to look at him skeptically.

"Rachel," they heard Shelby call out.

Rachel took a second and then stood up to her full height so she wasn't hidden behind the row of chairs anymore. She wished she could keep away the color that was creeping into her cheeks over her embarrassment at getting caught and ending up in trouble, especially in front of Jesse. She raised her hand a little bit and gave a small wave.

"And if I had to guess," Shelby continued, "I would be that Quinn is here also. Am I right?"

Quinn sighed and then stood up so she too could be seen.

"Hello, Quinn," Shelby said. "Who else is up there? Santana?"

Santana stood up as well, but tried to take on a more indifferent posture than her other two friends.

"Anyone else?" Shelby asked.

Kurt bit the bullet and stood up to face the adults as well.

"Kurt!" Shelby said in a bright voice. "Fancy seeing you guys here!" All four of them rolled their eyes. "Come down here and join us, please." Shelby's tone remained light, but no one missed the command in her voice.

The kids left the balcony and made their way up one of the aisles to the stage where Shelby, Will, Jesse, and Dustin were waiting. When Dustin turned away from him Jesse smirked at Rachel and she shot him a brief glare that was broken up by her mother clearing her throat. Will and Shelby crossed their arms across their chests to show their dissatisfaction and Dustin took the lead in questioning them.

"I do not appreciate discovering spies from another, though inferior, glee club lurking in my auditorium," Dustin said. "I don't know how you do things at McKinley," he shot a dismissive look at Will, "but my practices are private."

"We didn't mean any harm by it," Rachel tried to sound young and innocent, like she just didn't know it wasn't allowed. Shelby and Will certainly knew better and shared a look. They'd both encountered and dealt with scheming Rachel before.

"Oh, of course you didn't," Dustin mocked. "That's why you hid up there all that time. I realize that your team probably can't win on its own, but I didn't realize you stooped to cheating."

"We weren't really cheating," Quinn said.

"It's more like scoping out the competition," Kurt said.

"Yeah, that's how it works," Santana sassed. "Sports teams scout out other teams all the time."

"They don't send players to hide out and spy," Dustin said. "For all I know you have recording devices."

"We don't!" Rachel said. But only because she hadn't thought about it until now.

"I'm going to talk to the Show Choir Board and make sure you are all disqualified form future competitions," Dustin declared with a smug smile as the reality of what he said settled on the kids' faces.

"Now hold on," Will jumped in before Shelby could. "I agree that they shouldn't have been here, but there was no harm done."

"No harm?" Dustin scoffed. "Just because you teach a group of talentless kids doesn't mean that we all do."

"That's enough!" Will demanded. "I will take care of this, but you will not insult these kids. We're all leaving and you can get back to your precious rehearsal."

"If you had seen anything other than our warm-up routines you would all be finished," Dustin threatened. "Be glad your students are dumb enough to get caught."

"Let's go," Will said. He sent a glare at Dustin as she led his four students into the hallway.

Jesse kept up his indifferent demeanor as Shelby stepped forward and looked Dustin in the eye. "You'd never get something like that over with the board. You're not as intimidating as you think you are." He tried to speak up, but she cut him off. "The boosters and the school think you're ok, but they're not as impressed as they think they should be. Don't make me regret recommending you for the job."

"Don't get on your high horse just because your daughter is on the other team," Dustin sneered.

"I can get on whatever high horse I want because I created this club," Shelby said. "It has nothing to do with Rachel and everything to do with Vocal Adrenaline. I built this program up to what it is today. You came because you want all the glory without having to do any work. And I wouldn't be so quick to bring up accusations of cheating because I know the lengths you've gone to in order to get students for the club. I know how paranoid and worried you are that you and this team can't hack it. And you should be. Let me give you a piece of advice, Dustin. Never underestimate the little guy."

"You never cared about the little guy," Dustin said.

"Yeah, but you're not me," Shelby said. "No matter how much you wish you could be." With that she turned on her heel and strode confidently to the door. She didn't change her expression, but she gave Jesse a subtle wink when her back was to Dustin.

Jesse didn't react, but he loved seeing Shelby's arrogance and ego shine through. She was the best and had proven it several times. He'd heard from friends that were still in Vocal Adrenaline that Dustin was nowhere near Shelby's level as a coach. He wasn't as good a showman either.

In one sentence Dustin had revealed a flaw; he wasn't paying attention to his competition. Shelby never ignored the little guy despite what she was letting Dustin believe. She went to competitions again and again to see and evaluate the other teams. She taught her students to know what to watch for. She pretended not to know about the funkifications her kids carried out. Dustin was coaching on the reputation she built without putting in the real leg work needed to the keep the team great.

"Can you believe that?" Dustin said as he turned to look at Jesse.

"She's something else," Jesse agreed.

"Four of their students, one of which is her daughter, sneak in here to watch practice and somehow I'm the bad guy. I don't know how you put up with her for so long," Dustin said.

"She was tough," Jesse said. "But wouldn't you react the same way if four of your students had been caught at their practice and they threatened to have them suspended from performing?"

"No," Dustin said. "It would be their fault if they got caught. I could replace them. It's not my job to look out for them."

"They're your team," Jesse said. There was never a moment in his four years in Vocal Adrenaline that Shelby didn't have his back. There were plenty of times when she was angry or disappointed, but they always knew she was looking out for them.

"I could get more kids who wouldn't be stupid enough to get caught," Dustin said. "Just like Shelby Corcoran; I'm what makes the team. That's the reason I won't let the kids who study voice with her use any of the songs we sing here. I don't want her taking any of the credit for my accomplishments."

"Of course," Jesse nodded.

"It's also one of the reasons I'm glad to have you here. You know her and how she works and you can give me a couple of tips on how to be better than she is," Dustin said. "Not that I need much help with that. I'm pretty sure I've already passed the level she was at when she left."

Not very likely, Jesse thought. Shelby was at the very top of her game. No one is better than she is.

"Well, now that the distraction has been taken care of we can get back to rehearsal. The team should be back soon and I'll show you what I've got."

"I'm looking forward to it," Jesse grinned devilishly.

When Shelby walked out into the hallway she found all four kids talking at once with Will trying, and failing, to a word in. Shelby put two fingertips in her mouth and let out a loud, high-pitched whistle. The talking came to an end and they all stared at her for a few seconds. And then the kids all started speaking in their own defense again.

"Quiet," Shelby commanded. There was silence once again and Will wished he knew the trick to get them to listen so easily. He nodded at Shelby as a thank you for getting them quiet and then turned back to the kids.

"What were you guys thinking coming in here?" Will demanded to know.

"We just wanted to see what they could do," Rachel said. "And you want to know too. You said so when were all having pizza on Saturday."

"I didn't mean for four of my students to sneak into one of their rehearsals," Will scolded. "How would you guys feel if some members of Vocal Adrenaline showed up to watch us? You would be angry because you knew you were being spied on and that they might use what they saw to try and beat us."

"But it is true that we need to know about them," Kurt said.

"We all know what they're capable of," Will said. "And you've just cost us whatever goodwill we have been able to create with them."

"Like they care about having any goodwill with us," Santana said. "We know they're going to be our biggest competition at Nationals."

"We've got to get through Regionals first," Will said. "And we can all go and watch their Regionals performance. No more sneaking around. Understood?"

There were grumbles of 'yes' from the chastised kids and Will nodded, satisfied.

"Good. And I will see all of you in detention tomorrow afternoon," he told them. "You're going to clean the choir room."

The kids started to complain, but Will cut them off. Shelby had to admit that she was impressed. She hadn't really expected him to handle that so well.

"Let's go," Will said.

"Wait," Shelby spoke up. "How many classes did you all skip to come over here?"

Shelby could read their faces and knew that they were hoping she and Mr. Schue would forget that little detail. She raised an eyebrow to let them know she wanted the truth and nothing but.

"Two," Quinn answered.

"Come on, guys. Seriously," Will said. "Your classes are important."

"We won't do it again," Rachel said demurely with downcast eyes. They were so close to really getting away with this.

"I'm glad to hear that. And so will the rest of your parents," Shelby told them.

"What?" Santana asked.

"Oh, I'd rather you didn't call my dad," Kurt added.

"You should have thought about that beforehand," Shelby said.

Will took Shelby by the elbow and led her away so he could talk a little more privately with her. "Maybe I can just take care of it. Another day of detention or something. Their parents don't need to know."

"That's not fair!" Rachel said. "My parent already knows!" She started to say something else but Santana elbowed her in the ribs.

The adults sent them a glare and then stepped farther away.

"She has a point," Shelby said.

"True. But I don't need anyone grounded from coming to glee," Will said. "We're starting to get really serious for Regionals and I need everyone there."

"I wasn't planning to do that," Shelby said, recognizing he was really talking to her. "But as a parent, this is information that I would want to know."

"Yeah," Will ran his hand through his hair. "I guess you're right."

"If they would have come after school and snuck in here and we had to come get them, I wouldn't make such a big deal out of it," Shelby said. "But I don't want Rachel skipping any classes. I don't want any of them doing that. If you let them get away with skipping a couple classes what's to keep them from skipping a day to go to something else they think is completely justified? Don't be their buddy, Will. You stood your ground just a minute ago; don't let them off the hook now. Because I guarantee you that right now four different plans to get out of cleaning the choir room are being formulated."

Will turned and looked back at the kids who were doing their best to listen in and knew that Shelby was right. He looked back at the woman and nodded.

"Ok," Shelby said as she walked back over to the kids. "You can call and let your mom or dad know you skipped the last two classes today or Mr. Schuester or I will do it for you."

"Shelby," Quinn whined and the other two joined in with her.

"Mr. Schue, come on," Santana said. "There's no need to do that."

Will held his hand up to stop the arguing.

"God, whatever!" Kurt sassed. "I will call him." He took out his phone and walked a little ways down the hall.

"You call her," Quinn said to Shelby.

"Ok," Shelby said. She pulled her phone from her purse and also stepped away from the group. Santana was still arguing her case to Will and Quinn and Rachel were talking quietly to each other.

Judy answered on the third ring. "Hi, Shelby."

"Hello," Shelby greeted. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. Just waiting for Quinn to get home from school," Judy said.

"I've actually called to talk to you about Quinn," Shelby said.

"What have they done now?" Judy asked.

Shelby started to explain the situation as Will was still arguing with Santana.

"I'll call them," Will finally said. He'd heard every excuse under the sun in the past minute.

"No, I will," Santana conceded.

"Mr. Schue," Kurt said as he walked back to them holding his phone out. "My dad wants to talk to you."

Will took the phone from the boy and walked away leaving the kids to commiserate.

"Santana, did you call?" Shelby asked when she returned to the group. "Quinn, your mother wants you to go straight home."

"Kurt and Santana need a ride," Quinn said.

"That'll be fine."

"Can I ride with them too?" Rachel asked.

"Nope," Shelby answered. She didn't even have to think about the answer. "Santana, make the call."

Santana sighed but took out her phone and searched through her contacts for the right number. She rolled her eyes as she put the phone to her ear. "Hi, Mom," Santana said very specifically.

"Santana?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah," Santana said. "Listen, I have to call you to tell you I got in a bit of trouble today."

"Did you call the right number?" Brittany asked.

"Of course," Santana said. "Just listen. I skipped the last two classes of school today to go and watch Vocal Adrenaline practice."

"I know," Brittany was confused. "You already told me you were doing that. Were they any good?"

"Kind of," Santana said. She was trying not to tip her hand because she could see that Shelby was watching her curiously. "But anyway, I'll be home soon and we can talk more about it there."

"Are you coming over?" Brittany asked. "I've totally got something I want to show you."

Santana could not help the grin that spread across her face when she asked, "What is it?"

Shelby reached forward and took the phone from Santana and put it her ear in time to hear Brittany say, "—when you get here."

"Hi, Brittany," Shelby said. The three other kids looked at Santana who looked guilty but tried to shrug it off.

"Hi, Coach Corcoran!" Brittany said excitedly. "Are you with San? Are you going to come over too? You and Rachel and Quinn? We could have a party."

"No, I'm afraid not," Shelby said. "And Santana can't come either. You will have to wait until tomorrow to see her in school."

"Ok," Brittany said. "Tell her I'll miss her and she can have her surprise later."

"I sure will," Shelby said. "Bye."

Shelby hung up the phone and handed it back to Santana and declared, "I will take her home."

The ride home was pretty quiet and Shelby talked with Mrs. Lopez for about ten minutes when they dropped Santana off. Rachel waited in the car and pouted. The ride to the sitter's and then back to their own house was silent and Rachel wished she had a better idea of how her mother was feeling right now. It was just two classes. She didn't see what the big deal was.

Rachel carried Beth into the house and stuck close by her in the living room. They were playing with a multiple array of Elmos when Shelby came in and sat on the couch next to her daughters.

"You didn't miss any tests or anything, did you?" Shelby asked.

"No," Rachel answered. "And I even turned in my homework for both classes before we left."

"Premeditated skipping," Shelby nodded. "Rachel, I'm not too worried about the fact that you snuck in to the rehearsal. It's not like I didn't know you would do something like that. But I don't like the skipping classes. I understood the last time you did it. There was a lot going on and a lot out of your control. But not this time."

"It was for a good cause," Rachel said. Even she knew it was a lame excuse at this point. They hadn't discovered anything about Vocal Adrenaline.

"Your punishment will be for a good cause too," Shelby said.

"I really don't think any punishment is necessary," Rachel told her.

"Nice try," Shelby smiled.

"You're grounded tomorrow and Friday," Shelby passed her sentence. "School, glee, and then home. You can have your freedom back on Saturday."

"But we're going to Nana's on Saturday," Rachel said. "I'll be there all weekend without a car."

"Aww," Shelby cooed mockingly.

"Can't we knock it down to one day?" Rachel tried to negotiate.

"Nope, sorry. Two classes equals two days," Shelby said.

"It should only equal two hours," Rachel sassed.

"You're right. We can add two hours to that," Shelby said. "How about you spend the next two hours in your room. Then you can come down and set the table for dinner and do the dishes afterwards. And then you can get ready to be in bed early."

"Mom!" Rachel whined.

"Go on," Shelby said. "Upstairs now."

Rachel passed Beth to her mother and then stomped out of the room. This was so unfair. This punishment did not fit the crime in Rachel's opinion. At least her mom didn't know about them stealing the passes from Mr. Schue's office. Rachel flopped down on her bed and wondered how her friends had fared. After a few moments, she glanced at the door because she was surprised that her mother hadn't come to take her phone and laptop away. Shelby hadn't exactly said she couldn't use her stuff. But grounding always meant that. But still, she hadn't said it. Even so, Rachel sat on the floor so that she was hidden from view by her bed when she turned her laptop on. She was now operating under the asking for forgiveness is better than asking for permission way of thinking.

Rachel's phone chirped and she quickly grabbed it from the bed before it could make any more noise. She saw she had a message from Santana and rolled her eyes at what it said.

"She hasn't killed you yet has she, squirt?"

"No," Rachel typed in return. "Just grounded for a couple days. I'm in my room now completely bored. How are you?"

"My mom just lectured about not missing school and blah blah," Santana responded. "I'm grounded too, but I can probably talk my way out of it. Why don't you watch a movie on your laptop or something?"

"All of the movies are downstairs," Rachel wrote back.

"You don't have any downloaded?"

"No. I never thought much of doing that."

"I'll send you one," Santana said. "And you have to watch it since you're the one who got us caught."

"It wasn't my fault, but fine," Rachel texted.

"Yes, it was," Santana said. "I'm sending you the movie. They'll be a quiz tomorrow. Don't skip any of it."

"Fine," Rachel said. "Thanks."

"No problem. Remember, no skipping parts."

Rachel did not have a good feeling about the movie she was about to receive. Santana smiled evilly as she found the file and emailed it to her friend. She knows without a doubt that Rachel doesn't like scary movies. But it would serve the little munchkin right.

Rachel texted Quinn to see how she was, but her friend didn't respond. Kurt told her that he had to help his father in the garage that weekend and that he was not happy about it. Rachel sympathized, but told him at least he wasn't grounded.

Rachel pulled some pillows off the bed and made herself a comfortable spot on the floor so that she was still hidden from view and opened her email to get the file Santana sent her. She plugged in her headphones and then groaned when the movie started. She hated scary, gory movies!

The opening sequence of _Scream_ played and Rachel watched with one hand ready to pause it and one hand ready to cover her eyes. She peeked through her fingers as Drew Barrymore and her on-screen boyfriend were murdered by the man in the ghost mask and then paused and turned the screen away. She tried to shake the images in her head out, but she could still see that big knife. She hated Santana right now. But she had to admit that it had sucked her in and she was genuinely curious who the killer was. And she did have two hours to kill. Rachel gathered her courage and re-started the movie.

Her phone was resting by hand and scared the hell out of her half-way through the movie when it vibrated to let her know she had a message. She jumped and pulled her hand away and wasn't really sure if she'd let out a scream or not. Rachel paused the movie and picked up her phone and saw a message from Quinn.

"Sorry I missed your text earlier. My mom was still talking with me."

"How much trouble are you in?"

"I'm grounded," Quinn answered. "You?"

"Same. Just until Friday," Rachel told her.

"Wow, lucky. I got a week. I think she's trying to discourage me from skipping for a whole day," Quinn said.

"That sucks," Rachel said. "At least you still have your phone."

"She always forgets something," Quinn wrote back.

Just as Quinn hit send, Judy reached over her shoulder and took the phone from her daughter's hands.

"Mom," Quinn whined.

Judy didn't say anything to Quinn except to point down at the homework she was supposed to be doing. Quinn slumped her shoulders and glared at her mother briefly before looking back at her desk.

Judy took a moment to type out a message to Rachel, "Quinn will see you in school tomorrow. And are you supposed to be using your phone, young lady?"

"Hi, Judy," Rachel responded. She didn't bother answering her question.

"Hi. We'll see you later."

"Bye."

Judy turned Quinn's phone off as she walked into her own bedroom. She placed in a dresser drawer to wait until next week.

Rachel waited a few minutes to see if her mother was going to come into the room and catch, but Judy must not have said anything to her because Shelby never came. Rachel smiled and went back to her movie where her smile quickly turned to a scowl and she used a hand to hide her eyes.

Rachel shut the laptop as quickly as possible when the movie was over. She looked around the room cautiously as if trying to find anything out of the ordinary that would give her any clues about the ghost face that must surely be hidden in her closet. Rachel put her computer down and slowly got to her feet and made her way over to the bathroom. She opened the door slightly and then pushed it open bit by bit. Oh god, what if he was hiding in the shower?

"Rachel," Shelby said when she came in the room.

"Oh my god!" Rachel exclaimed and jumped as she turned around. Her hands were clutched over her heart and she could feel it beating rapidly.

"Are you alright?" Shelby asked.

"You scared me," Rachel explained. "I think I'm having a heart attack."

Shelby rolled her eyes at her daughter's dramatics and stepped closer to her. "Come downstairs and set the table, please. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Are you going downstairs too?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Shelby looked at her funny. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Uh-huh," Rachel said. "Let's go then. Where's Beth?"

"In her playpen," Shelby answered as they stepped out into the hallway.

"Alone?"

"No. She's with Elmo," Shelby cracked a joke.

"That's not funny, Mom," Rachel said before hurrying down the stairs to check on her sister.

Shelby watched her go and then looked back at the girl's room like it might hold the explanation to her daughter's strange behavior. She wondered if her own mother ever felt as confused as she did right now.

Rachel was doing the dishes after dinner when a knock on the door grabbed her attention. She let out a sigh of relief when Jesse came in. It could have been anyone at the door!

"We were supposed to go out tonight," Jesse said to Rachel when he came into the kitchen with Shelby behind him.

"Talk to her about that," Rachel said. "I'm ready."

"I don't think so," Shelby said.

"What were you doing there?" Jesse asked when Rachel sat down across from him at the table.

"Me? What were you doing there?" Rachel asked incredulously. "No one even knew we were there until I saw you walk in. We were planning to leave soon and then you showed up."

"Well no one told you to stand up and announce yourself," Jesse countered.

"I was shocked," Rachel defended herself again. "What were you doing there? Were you trying to help Vocal Adrenaline?"

"No, I was actually trying to help New Directions," Jesse said. "I was asked to go and check them out and so I called up a couple of buddies who are still there and they told Dustin, who's a tool, by the way, and he invited me to go and watch."

"Who asked you to go and check them out?" Rachel questioned. "You went there to spy?"

Jesse nodded and Rachel looked between him and Shelby and realized her mother was ducking her head and not looking at her.

"Mom!" Rachel gasped out. A small formed on Shelby's lips. "You were doing the exact same thing we were!"

"But I was doing it better," Shelby said. "You, my dear, are not the best spy."

"I'm a very good spy!" Rachel said. She immediately started to pout when Jesse and Shelby started to laugh. "Whatever. Did you find out anything interesting?"

"Oh, lots," Jesse said. "They're going to be tough to beat, that's for sure."

"Great," Rachel mumbled.

"But that's not to say you can't," Jesse said. "Dustin's arrogance is carrying them a lot, but he doesn't have the performers to back it up. He doesn't have anyone as good as me. Or Rachel," he added. "He's thinks he is the key to winning and not the performance."

"So we can beat them?" Rachel asked.

"You could beat anyone," Jesse assured her.

Shelby watched as their looks deepened and a smile appeared on both their faces. "Thank you, Jesse."

"No problem," Jesse said. He smiled again at Rachel.

"But how about we talk more about it later," Shelby said.

"You should come to rehearsal tomorrow," Rachel said.

"I'd love to," Jesse said.

"As long as you promise not to run off and tell Mr. Goolsby about it," Rachel added.

"I won't," Jesse said. "I wish we could go out while I'm still in town."

"Me too," Rachel said and she darted her eyes at her mother to let the woman know she disapproved of her punishment. Shelby was just glad for some acknowledgement. She was beginning to feel like she disappeared.

"Probably not this trip," Shelby said and that caused both of them to look over at her warily. "And Jesse, it's probably time to get going. We'll talk some more tomorrow."

"Ok," Jesse said.

Shelby left the room as Jesse and Rachel walked to the door. He placed a sweet kiss on her lips and smiled when she licked them.

"Talk to your mom and see if you can go out tomorrow or something," Jesse said. "Just for a couple hours."

"I'll try," Rachel said.

"Use your pout," Jesse instructed.

"I will," Rachel promised. She kissed him this time.

"Goodnight, Jesse," Shelby called from the other room and the kids broke apart.

"Goodnight, Coach," Jesse hollered back. He couldn't see her, but he bet Shelby had huffed at the use of her title and not her name. "Bye," he whispered to Rachel.

"Bye."

Rachel made sure to lock the door after Jesse left; she even checked it twice before walking away. Stupid Santana and that stupid movie. She then went into the living room and found Shelby watching the half-asleep Beth as the little rocked in her swing.

"Mama," Rachel said as she sat down on Shelby's lap and wrapped an arm around.

"Yes, love?"

"Can you please think about letting me out one night so Jesse and I can get dinner since he has to go back to California on Sunday and we're going to Nana's after my grounding is over?" Rachel asked. "Please."

"I don't think so," Shelby said kindly.

"But don't you have exceptions of leniency?" Rachel asked. "We were doing basically the same thing, after all."

"But neither Jesse or I had to skip school to do it," Shelby reminded her. "Rach, I'm not punishing you for sneaking in to the rehearsal. Mr. Schue is taking care of that with his detention. I'm punishing you for skipping classes."

"But isn't there any type of time off for good behavior?" Rachel asked.

Shelby smiled at her wide-eyed, playacting daughter. She was innocence in the flesh in this moment and Shelby had to give her credit. She remembered what it was like trying to sweet talk her parents into just one night off of her grounding. Except Shelby had always tried to ask her dad first. Or if mom had already said no.

"I'll tell you what," Shelby said. "If you behave tonight and tomorrow and don't whine about going to bed and or being stuck in the house, you can invite Jesse over for dinner on Friday. It'll give us all a chance to talk about Vocal Adrenaline and Regionals."

"Thanks, Mom!" Rachel hugged her neck. "I'll be an angel."

"But you have to wait until I tell you it's ok to ask him," Shelby said.

"Ok," Rachel nodded. "I'm going to go and wipe down the counters in the kitchen one more time."

Rachel shot up from her mother's lap and left the room. Shelby shook her head and laughed to herself at her daughter's eagerness. And really, it was a fifty-fifty shot at whether or not Rachel could behave for the next two days.

Shelby's thoughts were interrupted when her phone chimed and she picked it up to read the text message from Judy.

"Did you get a call telling you that Rachel wasn't in her last two classes? I usually get a call if Quinn misses just one class and I realized a few minutes ago that I didn't get anything," Judy sad. "I wonder if the school changed their policy on it."

That hadn't even really occurred to Shelby and so she looked through her recent calls and didn't have any voicemails to listen to.

"I didn't get anything either," Shelby wrote back. "Weird. I'll ask Rachel about it."

Rachel was heading for the stairs when Shelby put her phone down.

"It's a little after nine and so I'm going upstairs for my early bedtime," Rachel said with a smile at her mother.

"Hey, Rach," Shelby stopped her and Rachel turned around to look at her.

"Yes?"

"Do you know why the school didn't call me to tell me you weren't in a class?" Shelby asked. "It's like they didn't realize you weren't there."

Rachel wasn't able to hide the panic and worry that crossed her face at her mother's questions. She misunderstood that the woman was simply curious and didn't realize she hadn't actually been caught. But the look on her face and her hesitation changed that.

"Uhhh…" Rachel said as she tried to buy herself more time to think.

Shelby's curious expression changed and she knew that she wasn't dealing with a simply policy change. She'd just asked about something Rachel didn't want her to know about. At all.

"Rachel?" Shelby questioned in an ominous tone. "Why didn't the school realize you weren't where you were supposed to be?" She got up from the couch and stood in front of her daughter with her arms crossed, waiting for an answer.

"Umm…"

**A/N – Thank you all so much for your patience. I tried my best to get it out sooner and I know it's probably not my best. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. We'll continue to watch Rachel dig herself into a hole soon! Thanks, everyone! **


	81. Chapter 81

**A/N – Thank you all so much for your updates and messages and setting up the alerts. Thank you all so much for reading and especially those who give me feedback. I hope all like this chapter. **

**Thanks for dreamchaser888 for giving me ideas and letting me ramble. I really appreciate it. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

"Mom…" Rachel started, but trailed off as she tried to gather her thoughts on how she wanted to proceed. And it wasn't all that easy to think with her mother looking at her with building anger and disappointment. She could tell that her mom knew something was up and Rachel wanted nothing more than to run upstairs and avoid this. She knew that taking the passes was wrong, but they were just passes. The teachers had stacks and stacks of them and they were used all the time. Would it have been just as bad to miss the class if Mr. Schue had actually written the pass for them? Would his reasons and intentions be any more pure than theirs?

Rachel wished she got more credit for her intentions. She had genuinely been trying to help in this situation. Clearly she went about it all wrong, but learning some more information on Vocal Adrenaline would only help her team. New Directions deserved to win and succeed just as much as any other club. Maybe even more because Rachel knew she wanted it more than anyone else. These were her dreams on the line and a few forged passes seemed like a small price to pay.

Except that small price seemed pretty high now with the way Shelby was looking at her; demanding in silence an answer that Rachel was afraid to give.

For a brief moment, Rachel thought about lying. That could work. She told her mother she'd turned her homework in early so she could just tell her that the teachers assumed that Rachel wouldn't be there and Rachel didn't bother to correct them. But what happened if one of her friends told their parents how they got out of class? What happened when Shelby found out the truth? Rachel knew the answer to that question. Her mother had not been at all happy with her when she caught her in the lie about the car. Rachel did not want a repeat performance of that. Then you shouldn't have stolen the passes, her conscious told her. But she hadn't been thinking about that when she and Kurt and the others were deciding to go to Carmel. Shelby was always trying to get her to think about consequences and Rachel had skipped that step yet again.

She thought about her friends for a second and wondered if this was something that they had already told their parents. No, Quinn hadn't or Judy would have called her mother and they wouldn't be stuck in this conversation right now. And Kurt and Santana would have mentioned it to her. Kurt would have said, 'I'm stuck working in the garage and grounded because I forged the passes. Thanks a lot.' So it was going to be her fault again. They already blamed her for getting them caught during the rehearsal and Rachel did not want to be the one who got everyone else into more trouble. They would be so mad at her. Tears pricked at Rachel eyes as she looked up at her mother once again.

"Rachel?" Shelby asked as she watched her daughter's eyes fill with tears. She wanted to know what was going on in the young brain. She was trying to give Rachel a chance to think, but Shelby was growing impatient. Her little imp had clearly stepped into more trouble than originally thought and Shelby wanted an explanation.

Rachel thought frantically of a way to make this better. She tried to pull up lectures she'd received in the past. What had her mother said when they destroyed stupid Russell Fabray's car? Shelby said Rachel could come to her with the truth and she might be surprised to find out her mother understood. That sounded familiar to what she said when she'd driven the car and hit the tree. Shelby had said that she wished that Rachel had trusted her enough to come to her with the truth. Rachel trusted Shelby. She trusted that her mom was going to punish her even more. But maybe this was the way to fix it. She would tell her mom the truth and Shelby would have to take that into consideration.

"Mom," Rachel started again, but she stopped when she used her sleeve to wipe her eyes. A little bit of a show couldn't hurt, right? "I need to talk to you."

"Ok," Shelby said.

"But before I do, you have to promise not to get angry," Rachel said. "And you have to promise not to tell anyone else."

Shelby uncrossed her arms and leaned against the back of the couch. "I'm going to need a little more information than that before I can make any promises."

Rachel nodded and then tried to give her mom an insight into what she had been thinking about. "You said that I should trust you with the truth because you might understand. You said that if I told you the truth from the beginning, you would appreciate that."

"You're right, I have told you that," Shelby said.

"So I'm going to tell you the truth, but you have to promise not to get mad and you have to promise that you won't tell anyone else," Rachel repeated.

Shelby sighed and stepped forward and gently took Rachel's hand. She led the girl around to the front of the couch and sat her down and then took a seat on the coffee table in front of her. Beth watched curiously from her playpen for a second and then went back to her dolls.

"I love you, kiddo, but I can't make those promises to you," Shelby said. Her eyes were caring and sympathetic as she watched Rachel slump her shoulders and look down and wring her hands nervously. "But I can promise that I will hear you out completely. And I will respect you and your decision to tell me the truth. It does mean so much to me, Rachel."

"Will you promise that if you do decide to tell anyone that you'll explain to them why and that you'll help them understand the way I was thinking about it?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Shelby said. "I will provide the proper explanation for your motives if I feel that I have to tell anyone."

"Ok," Rachel said. "The reason you didn't get a call from the school is because our teachers thought we were excused."

"Why did they think that?" Shelby asked.

"We- I borrowed some passes from Mr. Schue's desk and we filled them out and gave them to our teachers," Rachel said. She glanced up at Shelby quickly and then back down at her hands as if not having to actually see her mother meant she wouldn't be as upset.

Shelby let out a breath and sat back and looked over her contrite daughter. Shelby was angry and disappointed, but she kept her emotions in check in order to keep her promise to hear Rachel out.

"You guys stole passes and forged them?" Shelby asked, just to be clear.

"I took them from Mr. Schue's desk and Kurt filled them all out so they would look the same," Rachel said.

"Why?" Shelby asked.

"Why?" Rachel echoed. She was confused. "To get out of class without anyone realizing we weren't there."

"I know that part," Shelby said. "I want to know why. What justification did you give yourselves to think that would be ok?"

"We needed to get to Carmel to see if we could get any information on Vocal Adrenaline," Rachel said. "They're always so much better than us and I know we're going to see them at Nationals this year. What if we lose to them at Nationals? We were trying to help."

"Even though the means don't justify the end?" Shelby asked. "You stole something so that you could skip school and then go spy, Rachel."

"I know, but our intentions were good," Rachel argued. "They were, Mom! We weren't going to take any of their song ideas or dance moves. We just wanted to see what we would be up against. It started out as just Kurt and I and we were going to go and get an idea of what they can do this year since they don't have you or Jesse. If we saw that they were still really good, it would give us incentive to push New Directions harder. I need this, Mom. And you wanted to know information too. So did Mr. Schue. You sent Jesse over there to gather information. Kurt and I heard you and Mr. Schue talking about finding out what they were doing when we were at lunch last week. Kurt and I wanted to help. To go and see for ourselves. And Quinn and Santana heard us talking about and decided they wanted to go too."

Shelby nodded along with Rachel. She did understand where the girl was coming from. It was also a lesson for her in just how impressionable Rachel could be at times. Shelby knew to watch what she said around Beth for fear that her little daughter might start to repeat it, but Rachel could be just as sponge-like. But Rachel was well beyond uttering a word that she shouldn't. And she was old enough to know better. But young enough to still face the punishment, so maybe old enough to know better was relative, Shelby thought.

"Are you mad?" Rachel asked after a moment.

"I'm disappointed in your actions," Shelby said. "Stealing is wrong, Rachel."

"I know that," Rachel said. "But they're just passes. Every teacher has tons of them."

"Rachel," Shelby chided. "That's hardly a justification to steal anything. Ever."

"But, Mom," Rachel whined.

"Furthermore, you were dishonest with your teachers," Shelby continued. "And did you think of how it would make Mr. Schuester look if one of you was caught?"

"No," Rachel mumbled.

"Of course not," Shelby said. "What do you think he's going to say when he hears about this?"

"No, you can't tell anyone!" Rachel pleaded.

"I told you I wouldn't promise that," Shelby reminded her.

"But everyone else will get in more trouble and they'll blame me for it," Rachel said.

"They are all just as responsible for it as you are," Shelby said. "You are all in the wrong."

"You can't just call up Judy and everyone else and tell them this," Rachel said. "Why do you want everyone to hate me?"

"I don't want that at all, sweetheart," Shelby said. "But stealing is serious and forgery is serious and, at the very least, Mr. Schue deserves to know."

"You just don't get it," Rachel sulked.

Maybe Shelby didn't, but she couldn't think like a sixteen-year-old right now. She was not going to let Rachel get away with something like this and she was certain the other parents wouldn't either. She truly realized just how hard it was to be the bad guy in your kid's eyes, but she had to do what was right.

"Rachel, listen to me," Shelby said and continued when she had the girl's attention. "I'm going to tell Mr. Schuester because they were his passes and it was his name that was forged. And I will let him handle it from there. However he chooses to deal with it is up to him."

"You won't tell the other parents?" Rachel asked.

"No, I won't. But Mr. Schue might," Shelby said.

"Not if you tell him not to," Rachel smiled a bit at her mother to try and get the woman on her side.

"I'm going to advise him that he should tell the other parents," Shelby told her. Rachel was being honest with her and Shelby reciprocated.

"Mom!" Rachel whined.

"I don't want to hear it, Rachel," Shelby stopped the whining in its tracks.

Rachel huffed and sat back against the couch and stared past Shelby at the wall. "You're still going to punish me, aren't you? Even though I told you the truth?"

"Yes, I am," Shelby said. "And I never once told you that telling me the truth would keep you out of trouble and would help you avoid being punished. But I can tell you that your punishment would be so much worse if you had lied to me about this and I found out the truth. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," Rachel mumbled.

Shelby leaned back some and a silence settled around them. She was thinking on what punishment she needed to hand down when Rachel spoke up.

"Mama," her voice was quiet but determined.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you to keep some things in mind when you give me my spanking?" Rachel asked. Shelby hadn't been the only one thinking about a punishment and Rachel wanted to get her concerns and a few line-items out in the open before this started. She had debated with herself as to whether she should bring this up (she didn't want to put ideas in her mother's head, after all), but Rachel had a feeling it was coming and she wanted to say what she needed to say first.

Shelby was shocked for a second, but recovered and nodded her head. "Of course." That punishment had been in the back of her mind, but Shelby hadn't planned to implement it. She was going to ground Rachel for a little over two weeks and she was going even going to wait until after the weekend so that the girl would be free while at her grandmother's house.

"First of all," Rachel said, gaining some confidence, "while some say that I'm too old for such a punishment, you seem to think it is effective. And I'll admit that the threat of it has changed some of my actions in the past, in both good and bad ways."

Honestly, Shelby felt sixteen was probably too old in most cases as well. But the two times she had really spanked Rachel have given her a chance to show that twelve-year-old little girl still trapped inside her teenager that actions have consequences. Rachel looked after herself for so long that consequences didn't matter to her and Shelby had to change that perception. That, combined with her naturally mischievous and not-always well-behaved girl, had led to Shelby using the rare punishment she was raised on. It wasn't needed every time, or even most of the time, but there had been occasions that required it and Shelby knew that all too well.

"And," Rachel continued, "I knew that taking those passes was wrong."

"When did you start thinking about the consequences of stealing those passes?" Shelby asked.

"When you asked me why the school didn't call you," Rachel admitted. "We just never expected to get caught. And I guess I just assumed it wasn't something you would ask about after a while. It had gone unnoticed."

Shelby nodded, she got that. "Rachel, did you think about any consequences at all? I'm not sure a spanking is worth it for either of us if it doesn't help you to consider the consequences of your actions."

Shelby wanted Rachel to think about that for a second. She knew that Rachel was a kid and kids didn't think beyond themselves sometimes. She expected that Rachel would get into trouble because all kids do. And she knew that most kids let their punishments go in one ear and out the other, but she hoped that she'd had an impact on Rachel.

"I was thinking about consequences when I decided not to lie to you about the passes," Rachel said. "I didn't want you to find out the truth later because I knew I would be in even more trouble. You told me that when I drove the car."

"What did you think would happen if I found out you were lying?" Shelby asked.

"That I'd get a spanking," Rachel said with a 'duh' tone.

"But you still think you're going to get one," Shelby said. "Even though you told the truth?"

"Well yeah," Rachel said. "We did steal and forge those passes. But that's why I wanted to talk to you about it first." Then it seemed to hit Rachel what Shelby had said. "Wait a second, why? Am I not going to get a spanking?" Oh great, Rachel chided herself. Way to bring it up.

"I was going to tell you you were grounded until the end of the month, excluding this weekend," Shelby said.

"But that's over two weeks!" Rachel whined.

"Eighteen days," Shelby got specific. She thought it was pretty clever to be over two weeks, but not quite three because she'd been having trouble deciding which of the two was fair.

"But, Mom!" Rachel whined. "I don't want to be grounded." Rachel had complained about being grounded for two days, much less over two weeks. She sat back and crossed her arms in a huff. "I thought it was going to be all taken care of tonight," she muttered. Mentally, Rachel had prepared herself to be punished and then be able to move on. But over two more weeks!

"It can be," Shelby said. Rachel looked up at her wide-eyed and took in what Shelby was saying. "I think both punishments are appropriate. If I didn't think a spanking was appropriate, I wouldn't even entertain it. But you did steal and you did participate in a forgery and I will not let those things go without a punishment. So you choose, Rachel. What is going to get through to you?"

Rachel took a deep breath and looked away from her mom and she tried to sort out what she was feeling about this. She knew without a doubt that she didn't want to be grounded for the rest of the month. She'd just gotten over her surgery last week and the last thing she wanted was to be trapped inside again. And this time without a phone or computer or TV or anything else. It already felt like an eternity. She didn't want her mom mad at her the whole time either. But now that she realized there were other options, she didn't want a spanking either. Because, well, that hurt! Why couldn't she just be told not to do it again and be let off?

Shelby watched Rachel carefully as her daughter tried to work through this. She wondered if it was right to put all of this on her shoulders, but Shelby hoped it did some good. She was giving Rachel a chance to take ownership of this situation and this punishment and really have to think about what each one would mean. Shelby had no problems playing judge and jury and passing a sentence and carrying it out, but there was also a chance to impart a lesson here and she wanted to see how her daughter handled it.

Rachel sat up a little straighter and tried to be confident in her decision. It wouldn't be so bad, right? And it would save her almost three weeks of staring at walls and early bedtimes. Do it and get it over with. It was what she expected, after all. And somewhere in there, she knew she deserved a punishment. For a moment her eyes went far away and she remembered being nine-years-old and stealing a ten dollar bill from her dad's wallet. They never caught her, but Rachel couldn't stop thinking about it and she couldn't bring herself to spend it. It had taken her five days to return it and another two days after that to convince herself that they didn't know and she wouldn't get in trouble.

Just get it over with. Rachel focused her eyes on her mother and said, "Spanking."

"Ok," Shelby said. "Then-"

"But can I talk to you about it first?" Rachel asked. This is what she wanted to say when she brought it up the first time.

"Sure," Shelby said.

"Ok," Rachel said. "I just want us both to be clear on a couple things."

"Oh really?" Shelby chuckled. "Such as?"

"Such as, this has nothing to do with the skipping," Rachel said. "I'm already grounded for that. And it has nothing to do with the spying because you and Jesse were doing the same thing and I've got detention with Mr. Schue for that." Rachel didn't want Shelby spanking her for things that weren't warranted, after all. "And this isn't for any type of lying because I told you the truth."

"Noted," Shelby said. Because it's not like stealing and forgery weren't enough.

"Ok," Rachel said with a nod. That had been easier than she thought.

"Ok," Shelby parroted. "Go to your room and I'll be there shortly."

Rachel wasn't quite as confident as she rose from the couch and followed her mother's instructions. Shelby let out a sigh and turned to look at Beth who was fighting sleep. She was leaning against the side of the play pen with her pacifier in her mouth and nodding off like she had been bored with the entire exchange that just happened. Shelby picked her up and headed for the stairs so she could put her to bed.

Shelby flipped off lights as she made her way up the stairs and wondered why they were all on in the first place. She made quick work of changing Beth and putting her in her crib. She smiled wistfully at her little girl because she knew she would be moving her into the nursery soon. It was almost time to give Beth her own room. She adjusted Beth's blanket one more time before going to deal with Rachel.

"Hey, do you know why all the lights were on?" Shelby asked when she walked into Rachel's room. It happened in here too. The overhead light, bedside lamp and the bathroom light were on. Had Shelby missed something?

Rachel just shrugged and claimed no responsibility for it. That stupid movie!

Shelby gently shut the bedroom door behind her and walked over to Rachel who was now looking at the ground. She reached up and brushed some hair behind Rachel's ear and said, "I'm proud of you, sweetheart. For telling me the truth about the passes. And for taking responsibility for your punishment."

Rachel wrapped her arms around Shelby's neck and held on tightly. "You have to hold me afterwards," Rachel whispered with tears already in her eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," Shelby said.

Shelby held Rachel for over thirty minutes when it was over. Her tears had stopped long before Shelby got up to leave the room and, in fact, Rachel was already asleep when Shelby got up from her bed. She hadn't gone as easy as Rachel may have hoped and the girl had changed her mind about halfway through it and decided she wanted the grounding. But it was over now and Rachel had felt relieved; relieved to not be grounded for the rest of the month and, more importantly, relieved to have paid a penance. Stealing was wrong. Even if it was just Mr. Schue's passes.

Rachel curled into a ball when Shelby got up and the mother tucked the blankets around her and kissed her forehead. She then turned off all of the lights and shut the door on her way out.

Rachel woke up some time later panting and sat up and stared into the darkness of her room. He was here. She had seen him. She kicked the covers away and grabbed her quilt as she got off the bed and left the room. She was half asleep, but she still spared a hand to rub at her sore bottom as she quickly crossed the hall to her mother's bedroom, turning on the light as she did.

"Mama," Rachel said when she opened the door. "Mom."

"Rachel?" Shelby squinted at the light that was now coming into her bedroom from the hall.

"Mommy, I know you're mad at me, but can I sleep with you?" Rachel asked. "I had a nightmare."

The word nightmare got Shelby's attention and she sat up in bed much more awake than her daughter. Was this Rachel's nightmare about being left alone? Was she scared of Shelby leaving her because of the punishment?

"Of course you can, sweetheart," Shelby said. "And I'm not mad at you."

Rachel dragged her quilt much like Linus dragged his blanket as she made her way towards the bed. Shelby spared a glance at her clock and saw that it was just after midnight. It had only been a little over two hours since the spanking and putting Rachel to bed.

"You know I would never leave you, right?" Shelby asked as Rachel crawled across her to get into the bed. "I'm always going to be here for you." She was trying to reassure the girl against whatever had scared her in her dream.

"I know," Rachel said. She snuggled down into her mother after Shelby opened up the quilt so it was covering Rachel.

Shelby wrapped her arms around Rachel and let the girl cling to her and rest her head on her chest. "Can you tell me what the nightmare was about?"

"He was going to get me," Rachel said.

"Who?" Shelby asked. She kissed the top of Rachel's head.

"He's got a big knife and I don't like his ghost face," Rachel said.

Shelby stared down at her daughter incredulously. Ghost face? Shelby knew _Scream_ because she loved scary movies. But she knew that Rachel did not love them and couldn't think of when her daughter had seen it.

"From the movie?" Shelby asked.

Rachel nodded. "He's got a bad voice. Don't answer the phone!"

"Shhh," Shelby said as she shook her head. "When did you see that movie?"

Rachel yawned and her eyes closed. "Santana sent it to me and told me I had to watch it. My laptop." Her breathing evened out and just like that Rachel was back to sleep.

Shelby was glad to discover how Rachel had used the two hours she'd had to spend in her room that afternoon. She made a mental note to remind Rachel tomorrow how her groundings were really supposed to go. Bu for now, they would sleep. She adjusted some and Rachel pulled closer to her and Shelby drifted back to sleep, happy with the knowledge that she was the one who could help Rachel feel safe.

Rachel rolled to her back and stretched as she started to wake up. She could tell the sun was already shining through the windows and it occurred to her how strange that was. She was normally up before sunrise on a school day, especially in the winter. Why hadn't her alarm gone off? She finally opened her eyes and sat up a little bit and was confused when she saw Beth's crib in front of her and her mom coming out of the bathroom already dressed for the day.

"Good morning, sweetie," Shelby greeted. She smiled at Rachel's bedhead and confused expression.

"What am I doing in here?" Rachel asked.

"You came in here around midnight," Shelby said. "You had a bad dream. You don't remember?"

"No," Rachel said.

"Oh," Shelby shrugged. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Fine," Rachel said with a blush. "You won't have to do that again. I promise."

Shelby stepped over to the bed and kissed Rachel's head. "I don't want to have to do it again. But I will."

"I know," Rachel looked down.

"Come on, let's get some breakfast," Shelby said. "You have to be there early for detention."

"Let me get ready first," Rachel said as she kicked the blankets back and got up from the bed. Shelby was on her way back to the bathroom, but stopped when Rachel spoke up again. "What did I dream about? Did I say?"

"As a matter of fact you did," Shelby said and she moved back over to stand in front of her daughter. "It seems you watched a scary movie recently."

"O-Oh," Rachel nodded. "A scary movie? Really?"

"Yes. Now I'm not sure when you would have had the time to watch it yesterday," Shelby said as if she were thinking hard on it. "Between sneaking into Carmel and being grounded I didn't think there was much time to watch a movie. Especially on a laptop you weren't supposed to be using."

"I wasn't supposed to be using a laptop?" Rachel asked in a tone that was pure innocence. Her mother was teasing and so Rachel felt like she could too.

"No, you weren't," Shelby said, still playful. "Grounded and all."

"Oh yeah," Rachel said. "I remember. I remember you saying that I was grounded Thursday and Friday because I missed two classes. But yesterday was still Wednesday so I thought it was ok." Rachel smiled at her with big eyes.

Shelby opened her mouth to respond, but stopped and realized Rachel was right. The girl started to smirk when her mom didn't have an immediate comeback and realized she'd won on a technicality. She had been sent to her room, after all.

"I guess I will have to remember to be more specific in the future," Shelby said. "Ok, go get ready. And don't turn every light in the house on in the process."

Mr. Schuester had not been happy when he received Shelby's call that afternoon and the four kids had been happy to be called into his office and told they would now be serving an early morning detention that Saturday.

"Five in the morning, to be exact," Mr. Schue said. "You will be here with me for four hours."

"What?" Santana asked incredulously.

"You heard me," Mr. Schue said. "I am not happy with any of you right now."

"I have to help my dad in the garage this weekend," Kurt said. It was more than just a good excuse to get out of this, it was true.

"I've already talked to all of your parents and they agree with your being here," Will informed them.

"Thanks a lot, Rachel," Kurt sassed.

"Would it have been that hard to keep your mouth shut?" Santana asked. "I bet my mom is pissed."

"It's not Rachel's fault," Will said.

"It was her idea!" Kurt said.

"But you all went along with it," Mr. Schue reminded them. "You are all at fault. Now go back to rehearsal."

"If I have to miss my weekend with Brittany next weekend because I'm grounded I'm going to be really upset," Santana said as they were walking out of Will's office.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "I tried to get my mom not to tell him."

"Why did you have to tell her in the first place?" Quinn said.

"She asked me about it," Rachel said. "Come on, guys, don't be mad at me. I didn't get us in trouble on purpose."

"No, but you're always getting us in trouble," Santana said.

They didn't say much more to Rachel for the rest of rehearsal and even Quinn only offered a half-hearted goodbye when they left.

"They're mad at me," Rachel said to Shelby later on that evening at home.

"They'll come around. They were just worried about going home and facing their parents. They'll be fine tomorrow," Shelby said.

They weren't fine tomorrow. Or the next day.

The four kids sat tiredly in the choir room at five in the morning on Saturday. As per Will's instructions, they wore workout clothes and had water bottles. They'd already cleaned the choir room Thursday morning and Will thought this lesson might be a little more lasting. They saw the note from Mr. Schue on the white board and at five they headed out to the track to meet him.

"I'm grounded for two weeks, Rachel," Kurt said.

"Me too," Santana complained. "I hope you're happy."

"Me too," Quinn chimed in. "So three weeks total."

"I wasn't trying to get you all in trouble," Rachel said.

"If you couldn't lie for yourself, you at least could have taken the rest of us into consideration," Kurt said.

"Oh yeah, that's real smart," Rachel bit back. "So then I'm in even more trouble if I get caught. Sounds perfect."

"I should never have gone along with the stupid idea," Santana said.

"Nobody invited you along," Rachel said. "You asked to come. So don't blame your poor decision making on me."

"If you could have just kept your mouth shut at Carmel none of us would be in this predicament," Santana accused. "This is your fault, Rachel. If you could have kept quiet we wouldn't be in trouble and I wouldn't be missing my weekends with Brittany and we wouldn't be about run God knows how many laps with Mr. Schuester, of all people, for the next four hours."

"She's right, Rachel," Kurt said.

"You wrote all those passes out," Rachel said to Kurt. "Don't get mad now at being caught. We all knew it was wrong."

"But you're the only one who got caught," Kurt argued. "And then you told on us. That's the difference. Why don't you just keep your trouble to yourself?"

"I hope your next however many weeks of being grounded is as bad as mine will be," Santana said. "You deserve that."

"I'm not grounded," Rachel said causing the other three to stop and stare at her.

"You got us in all of this trouble and you're not in any trouble at all?" Santana said. "That's bullshit!"

"I didn't say I didn't get in trouble," Rachel said.

"Well you certainly weren't punished," Kurt said. "You'd be grounded right along with the rest of us."

"Unless she was punished another way," Quinn said without really thinking.

"What?" Santana asked. "How?"

Quinn realized what she said and looked over at Rachel and saw her friend silently pleading with her. She softened her gaze and said, "I don't know."

"It's none of your business, Santana," Rachel said.

"Like hell," Santana said.

"Just shut up, Santana," Rachel said. "I'm in trouble too."

"Whatever, Rachel," Santana said.

"I thought you were my friends," Rachel said. "Thanks a lot for thinking I would do this to you on purpose."

"Your mom certainly did this to us on purpose," Kurt said. "And she found out from you."

"Yeah, talk to your mother and maybe she can help you understand why we're upset," Santana said. "The rest of this month is basically ruined."

"Ok," Will called out to them when they reached the track. "Laps. Get going."

Kurt and Santana turned away from Rachel and started jogging.

"Quinn, I didn't do this on purpose," Rachel pleaded with her friend as they too started to run.

"Rachel, I'm grounded forever and you don't even have to deal with that," Quinn said.

"But my mom-"

"Got us all in more trouble," Quinn said. "I'm not mad, I'm just- annoyed."

"You don't think I'm annoyed too?" Rachel said.

"It doesn't seem like you have much of a reason to be," Quinn said.

"I don't even know what you mean," Rachel said.

"Leave it alone, Rachel," Quinn said. "You get to enjoy your weekend. So just let us not be as ok with all of this as you are."

"But-"

"Less talking and more running," Will said.

Quinn picked up her pace a little bit and left Rachel to run by herself. She knew they were going to blame her for this! Rachel's anger worked itself up because her friends were mad at her. Why couldn't her mom have just not told anyone? She had taken her punishment, but she didn't see why she should have to lose any friends over it too. Thanks a lot, Mom. Rachel kicked at a small pebble as she ran and picked up her speed.

Kurt and Santana didn't say another word to her the entire time they were there and Quinn told her to have fun at her grandparents' but wouldn't join in any type of conversation. They were all sweaty and tired and fuming with anger by the time the other three got in their cars and drove off. Shelby was picking Rachel up because they were going straight to Columbus and the woman was late which only added to Rachel's anger at the entire situation.

"Finally," Rachel said when she got into Shelby's car five minutes later.

"Hi, honey," Shelby said. She smiled as she passed Rachel's phone back to her since she was no longer grounded for the skipping.

Rachel took it and threw it in her bag. "It's not like I have anyone to talk to anyway."

"What?"

"All of my friends that were supposed to come around are angry at me for getting them in trouble," Rachel sassed to her mother. "Which is all your fault."

"Excuse me," Shelby raised her eyebrows.

"I told you not to tell anyone because I knew this would happen!" Rachel exclaimed. "Why couldn't you just help me out?"

"This is not my fault," Shelby said. "And I would watch your attitude if I were you."

Rachel didn't say anything back and just turned to look out the window so she could ignore her mother. She wished she would have thought to sit in the back seat with Beth. The last thing she wanted right now was to be trapped in the car with her mother for two hours as they drove to Columbus, especially because she felt disgusting and wouldn't have a chance to shower until they got there. Rachel was mad at her friends for being mad at her and she needed a place to put that anger, and dumping it in Shelby's lap had been easy.

Shelby let out a long sigh as she pulled out of the school parking lot and got on the road. Why did teenagers have to be the most irrational human beings on the planet? It was going to be a long weekend.

**A/N – I hope you all like this one and will give me feedback. Please leave me a review.**

**I hope that the whole punishment thing with Rachel makes sense. I am trying to show her growth to show she is learning lessons for the times she gets in trouble. I know a lot of people want to see her get away with things, and I really considered that for this chapter, but I wanted to show that Rachel takes Shelby's lectures into account, even if it's too late sometimes. She has lied in the past and gotten caught. Plus I think that Rachel has lied a lot in the past (in this story, and I'm including the years of lying about her fathers) and I think it's neat to see her learning that she can tell Shelby the truth (about getting in trouble, about whether or not she feels well, etc.) even if the consequences aren't something she likes. If this was less that stealing and forging something, it'd be easier to let her get away with something. And I know teenagers are able to get away with stuff all the time, but I didn't think that was right for this. I don't know… I hope it all makes sense for everyone and that you all stick with me. **


	82. Chapter 82

**A/N – I'm sorry about the delay in getting this chapter posted. Life and stuff get in the way. My grandmother passed away this afternoon. She has been sick for a while and we've known this was coming and I've been trying to get a chapter out before this because of this, but I wasn't able to get it done. I kind of just wrapped this up when I got the class and so it's not where I wanted to end this chapter originally, but I think it works out well. Please leave me a review and let me know what you guys think. And thank you so much for all of the reviews and messages I've been receiving. You guys are wonderful.**

**I don't own Glee. I really wish I did sometimes though. Oh, the changes I would make. **

Rachel stared out the window fuming as Shelby drove towards Columbus. It had only taken her about ten minutes to put her headphones on and crank her music up. Shelby sent her a wary look, but didn't say anything to her. She had hoped they could talk and get this sorted out, but it was clear her daughter wasn't going to do that so she let it go. It was easier to enjoy the drive then to argue the whole way there. Beth was sleeping and so Shelby put on some music of her own to fill the silence.

Rachel let out an annoyed and pointed sigh when she heard the music through the radio interfering with the music from her iPod. She turned it up louder and shot a glare at her mother before turning back to stare out the window. It figures her mother would put the music on on purpose to annoy her. If Rachel had been standing she would have stamped her foot.

After another half an hour Rachel reached down into her bag and pulled out her phone. She checked in vain to see if she had any text messages and, of course, she didn't. Her friends were grounded forever. If they were even her friends still. They were mad at her, but she was mad at them too. Didn't they know that she was affected too? Didn't they understand how she felt? But Rachel knew that she was going to want to talk to them about it and she was mad that she was going to have to wait until Monday to even get the chance.

Rachel barely waited until the car had stopped in her grandparents' driveway to get out and grab her bag that she had packed the night before from the back of the SUV. Paul and Rebecca came out onto the porch to say hello and Shelby watched as Rachel stomped her way too them. Rachel had sent a scowl at her mother, but her face softened by the time she reached the porch and her waiting grandparents.

"Hi, Rachel," Rebecca greeted brightly. She held her arms out for a hug, but Rachel didn't step into them.

"Hi, Nana. Hi, Grandpa," Rachel greeted with a smile. "And you don't want to hug me right now. I'm disgusting." Rachel explained a bit about the running and other things she'd done that morning.

"I don't care about that," Rebecca said. "Give me a hug."

Rebecca pulled Rachel close to her and then Paul did the same and she soaked up their attention and love. The woman examined the traces of Rachel's leftover black eye and gave her granddaughter a reproachful look which caused Rachel to smile sheepishly. Paul winked at her and Rachel smiled broadly which caused Rebecca to point a warning finger at both of them. Rachel was about to speak up and defend her actions, but the frown returned her to face when her mother and the now-awake Beth came towards the porch.

"Hello, sweetheart," Rebecca said to her daughter. She held her arm out to wrap it around Rachel but the girl stepped back.

"I'm going to take a shower," Rachel said when Shelby got to them. She quickly disappeared into the house and missed Shelby rolling her eyes.

"She's mad at me," Shelby explained when Rachel was gone. "Apparently I've ruined her life or something."

"Aww, welcome to having a teenager," Rebecca said and then gave her daughter an exaggerated hug like she was welcoming her to a club.

"What did you do?" Paul asked as he took Beth from Shelby's arms.

"I'll explain inside," Shelby said.

Paul was smirking as they sat around the table with coffee while Shelby explained what had happened. Beth sat on his lap and held a hand on her bottle like she was one of the adults with a mug of coffee and was just waiting for the chance to offer her opinion.

"That sounds like something you would have done," Paul said.

"I know," Shelby smiled. "I hope she doesn't stay mad at me all weekend. I don't want to have to deal with her attitude and I don't want you to have to deal with it either while I'm out."

"I'm pretty sure we can handle one moody teenager," Rebecca said.

"I know," Shelby said. "But Sam and Maggie will be here after a while and we're going out and I was hoping she'd have fun with her cousins and not sulk around all day."

"She'll be fine," Rebecca said. "She and her friends will talk next week and they'll be fine."

"I hope so," Shelby said. "I talked to Judy and she told me how long Quinn was grounded for and I think that'll get to Rachel. Her friends are all grounded and she'll have no one to hang out with. Provided they all make up soon."

"She didn't really think that one through, did she?" Paul asked with a laugh.

"She thought it through for herself," Shelby said. "And I really think she thought she could convince me not to tell anyone and that her friends wouldn't get into trouble. But even then she only seemed to be worried about whether her friends would be mad at her, not the fact that they would have to deal with a punishment of their own."

"Sure seems that way," Paul said. "And her friends are being just as selfish."

"Yeah," Shelby agreed. "And it's the poor, loving mom that gets all the blame." The three adults shared a smile before cracking into a laugh.

Beth wasn't sure what all the laughing was about, but she joined in anyway. She thought they were having a serious conversation about her big sister, but apparently not. But this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get some of her favorite sugary treats out of Nana.

"Mama," Beth said. She was beaming when the laughter stopped and they all turned to look at her. Shelby was all smiles when she reached out and took the pacifier from her girl. "Mamamamama." The grandparents had seen a video of Beth talking, but this was the first time in person.

"Yes, big girl?" Shelby asked.

Beth reached for her and Shelby happily picked her up and kissed her cheek as she did. Beth didn't stop there and reached for Rebecca; she'd been using her mother as a way to get closer to the woman with the sugar. Rebecca smiled broadly as she accepted the girl.

"Hi, smart girl," Rebecca said. "Can you say Nana?"

Noooooo.

"How about a snack?"

Yeeeessss. Beth kicked her feet.

"Oh, I see," Shelby said.

"Oh hush," Rebecca chided. "If my smart girl wants a snack, who is Nana to say no?" Beth agreed.

"Wait until she won't eat anything else and you're cleaning pureed carrots out of your hair and off the floor and everything else because she's thrown a fit," Shelby said.

Beth was scandalized. Like she had ever done that. Nana knew better.

"You wouldn't do that, would you Beth?" Rebecca asked as she got to her feet.

No, of course not. Beth smiled innocently at her.

"Come on then," Rebecca said. "Nana's got you covered."

"Enjoy it while it lasts," Shelby said to Beth. "She won't always be such a pushover."

"Go put your bags away," Rebecca said to Shelby. "Go on."

"Can't I at least finish my coffee?" Shelby asked though her cup was almost empty.

"No. Now go," Rebecca shooed her away.

"See, Beth," Shelby said with as she got up to follow her mother's instructions.

Beth just looked back at her mother as if to say, 'don't blame me because you lost your touch.' Nana pulled the box of marshmallow treats form the cupboard and Beth squealed with delight. She was back in business.

Shelby climbed the stairs with the bags she brought for herself and Beth and put them in the second guest bedroom. It was the bigger of the two and used to be Sam's old room. Rachel had taken Shelby's old room. Shelby could hear the water running in the shower and sighed. She truly hoped this fight with the friends didn't last long; for Rachel's sake and hers. But Shelby had worked with teenagers for years and knew that even the best of friends had spats and fights and they were usually resolved pretty quickly.

But, Shelby conceded, she knew Rachel wasn't like a lot of teenagers and that her fears were more often than not different. She wanted to talk to Rachel about it. She wanted the girl to understand why she had to tell Mr. Schuester and why she thought the other parents deserved to know. Shelby had hoped that Rachel's friends wouldn't have reacted like this, but they were kids. She wanted to be able to chide Quinn for not understanding how Rachel was feeling because the girl knew Rachel's fears very well. But at the same time, her daughter was being selfish as well and she couldn't demand Quinn be understanding when all Rachel cared about was whether or not she was on the line with her friends and didn't bother to take the time to look into why they felt the way they did. Rachel was basically saying that she didn't care that they were grounded as long as they weren't mad at her in the process. Shelby hoped to make the time to talk to the girl before she went out that evening.

Rachel sat in the guest room brushing out her hair after her shower. She had checked her phone again, but of course, she didn't have any messages. She thought about sending a text to Quinn, but decided against it. What was the point if her friend couldn't see it anyway? She did know one thing though, she was glad her mother would be gone most of the day. She didn't want to deal with her.

"There you are, darling," Rebecca said from the doorway. She knocked lightly on the door frame and then entered the room when Rachel smiled at her.

"I was just finishing up," Rachel said. "When will Uncle Sam be here?"

"Not for another few hours," Rebecca told her.

Rachel slumped her shoulders and asked, "Are they going to be gone all day?"

"Your aunt and uncle are taking your mom out as a late birthday present," Rebecca said. "It's an evening out with some friends."

"I know," Rachel said.

"And tomorrow morning they're going out for a brunch, just the three of them," Rebecca said.

"Maybe they'll take all day," Rachel muttered.

"Now, now," Rebecca scolded lightly. "You take it easy on your mother. Nothing that happened is her fault."

"Yes it is," Rachel said. "She didn't have to say anything. She said they would understand and they don't. She said they would come around and now they hate me."

"They're just upset," Rebecca said. "They don't hate you."

"Yes they do. And it's just going to get worse because they're grounded for so long," Rachel said. "Especially because I'm not. It makes them hate me even more."

"Hey," Shelby said as she walked up to the doorway and looked in at her mom and daughter. "Lunch is ready."

"Great," Rebecca said brightly. Hopefully a lunch together would put her petulant granddaughter in a better mood.

Shelby smiled at them. She was looking forward to getting Rachel around her grandparents because she knew it would open the girl up and maybe help dissolve some of her anger.

"I'm not hungry," Rachel said and she looked away from her mother. Rebecca sighed.

"Rach, you had to get up at four and you worked out all morning," Shelby said as she stepped into the room. "You need to eat something."

"No I don't," Rachel said.

"Rachel, let's go," Shelby said. "It's time for lunch."

"I said, I'm not hungry," Rachel spoke firmly and entered into a staring contest with her mother. "I'm not eating," she added after a moment. "Though you probably don't care about what I have to say."

Rebecca started to say something but stopped herself and looked to her daughter whose eyes had narrowed and face hardened.

"Fine," Shelby said. "If you want to act like a cranky child, I'll treat you like one. It's nap time. Get up and get into bed."

"No," Rachel said and the word hung heavy the air. "I'm not tired."

And icy moment of silence settled over them and Rebecca stood up and moved out of the room. She was not going to get in the middle of it. This was Shelby's territory; she just hoped her little granddaughter got her act together before Shelby left because Rebecca wouldn't put up with it either. Shelby was right when she told Beth that Rebecca wouldn't be a pushover forever.

"Rachel," Shelby said dangerously. "Get up. And get into bed. Now."

Rachel held her mother's gaze for a few more seconds, but finally followed the instructions. Not because she wanted to, but because she knew better. She didn't get under the covers though; she couldn't help another small act of defiance. She laid on her side and stared angrily at the wall and listened as her mom moved around the room. Shelby opened one of Rachel's bags and pulled out her quilt. She walked around so she would be in Rachel's line of sight and spread the beloved blanket over her daughter.

Shelby crouched down and looked at Rachel's scowling face though the girl wouldn't return her gaze. "Young lady, I would use this time wisely if I were you. Do whatever it is you need to do to fix your attitude before you come downstairs because I will not put up with this type of behavior all day. You can be angry, but you will also be respectful and you will listen when I tell you to do something. Understood?" Rachel didn't react at all. "Good," Shelby said.

Rachel didn't move until she heard her mother closing the door on her way out of the room. She relaxed and sighed as she rolled over to look at where her mother had just been. God, she was starving. She thought about waiting a few minutes and then getting up so she could at least have lunch, but her stubbornness won out. She rolled back over and pulled her quilt close to her. Shelby hadn't been wrong when she pinpointed Rachel as tired because it didn't take long for the girl to fall asleep.

It was a little over two hours before Rachel made her way downstairs. She bypassed everyone in the living room and went to the kitchen to find herself something to eat. Rebecca, Paul, and Shelby watched her go by in silence. Shelby was going to get up to follow her, but Paul beat her to it. Shelby had checked on her about an hour ago and was glad when she found that Rachel was asleep and not sitting up there sulking.

Paul entered the kitchen just as Rachel was sitting down at the table with a glass of ice water and a banana. "Hey, slugger."

"Grandpa," Rachel said. "I didn't hit anyone."

"Of course," Paul said as he sat down with her. "Hungry?"

"Yeah," Rachel answered sheepishly.

"I'll make you a plate," Paul said. "Nana made some of your vegan stuff for lunch."

"My vegan stuff?" Rachel laughed.

"Don't worry, it's edible," Paul said. He reached into the refrigerator and Rachel was relieved when he pulled out pasta.

After heating it in the microwave, Paul put the plate in front of his granddaughter and sat back down with her. Rachel took a huge bite and shut her eyes in satisfaction partly due to how good it was and partly because she was just so hungry.

"You'd better eat up because the boys will be here soon and they're going to want to play with you," Paul said.

"Really?" Rachel asked. "I don't really think I'm going to be that good at playing with them. We don't have anything in common. And they're kids."

"You'll be fine," Paul said knowingly. "Plus they're both super impressed by your black eye. Get ready to tell the tale of your fight. Make it good."

"I got elbowed once and then fell down and tried not to cry," Rachel said.

"Well I wouldn't tell it like that," Paul laughed.

"Are you telling me to lie, Grandpa?" Rachel asked cheekily.

Paul looked offended. "Of course not. But at least put on a little show. They're little boys, they'll love it."

Rachel laughed at his assessment and nodded. A show she could do.

"And how's Quinn?" Paul asked after a few beats of silence.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah," Paul said. "She got hurt in the scuffle too, didn't she?"

"Oh yeah," Rachel said. "She did. She's doing better now. Her nose bled a lot and I was afraid it was broken at first, but it wasn't."

"That's good."

"I bet she wouldn't jump in a fight to try and help me now," Rachel said. "No one would."

"Sure she would," Paul said. "She's your best friend."

"Was," Rachel corrected.

"Is," Paul said.

"She's mad at me," Rachel said. "Everyone is. I ruined it. Mom ruined it."

"Nothing has been ruined," Paul said. "I know you don't see it right now, but it will all work out. Quinn would not give up on your friendship over something like this. But she and the others just needed a few days to feel angry. They're entitled to that, just like you are."

"But I don't understand why mom didn't listen when I told her I was afraid this would happen," Rachel said. "She didn't have to tell anyone."

"Your mom had to do what she felt was right," Paul said.

"Even if it turns out badly for me?" Rachel asked.

Paul nodded and Rachel huffed.

Shelby stepped into the kitchen with Beth in her arms and was glad to see that Rachel was eating something. Rachel only glanced at her briefly and the focused on her plate. She shrugged her shoulder when she felt her mom rest a hand there and Shelby moved it away.

"Do you want anything else to eat?" Paul asked when Rachel neared the end of her plate.

"No thanks, Grandpa," Rachel said. "I'm just going to go back upstairs."

"You're not going to hide away up there all night," Paul said.

"I won't," Rachel assured him. "Will you tell me when Maggie and Sam get here? I'm looking forward to seeing them."

"You'll know they're here," Paul said.

Rachel didn't say another word as she got up from the table and left the room. Shelby watched her go and then sat down sadly and took a sip from the glass of water Rachel left there.

"I was hoping to be able to talk to her," Shelby said.

"Then go up and talk to her," Paul said. "Don't let it get too far gone."

"Ok," Shelby nodded.

Shelby passed Beth off to Paul and then followed after Rachel to the guest room. She took a second and then knocked. There was a delay and finally Shelby heard, "Come in."

Rachel was looking at the door when Shelby entered and she could see the girl's face fall in disappointment because she was clearly hoping it was anyone but her mother. Shelby closed the door gently behind her and then stood there and looked as Rachel turned away and went back to retrieving her laptop from its bag.

"Rachel-"

"Don't you have to get ready?" Rachel asked. "They should be here soon."

"I can do that later," Shelby said. "I want to talk to you."

"Why?" Rachel asked. "It's over."

"It's not over," Shelby said.

"Sure it is," Rachel said. "You made your decision and I don't have friends anymore."

"That's not true," Shelby said. "They are still your friends. Quinn wouldn't turn her back on you because of something like this."

"Too late," Rachel said.

"Honey-" Shelby was interrupted again.

"I told you the truth," Rachel said. "I trusted you enough to do that. I took the punishment without complaint. I only wanted one thing in return and that was for you not to tell. But you ignored me."

"Rachel," Shelby said, "I appreciate that you told me the truth, but you knew that I was going to tell Mr. Schuester. I told you that before a punishment was decided on." She was not going to let her daughter make herself out to be a martyr. "They got in trouble and were upset about it the same way you were upset when I grounded you for two days. But they are not going to be angry forever. And you being mad because they're mad is not helping anyone."

"It's helping me," Rachel said. "I am angry. You said earlier that I'm allowed to be angry so let me be angry. As long as I'm angry I don't have to feel sad. Once again I've ruined something because of my actions. I lost people. I never had friends before and now I've lost them. Because you had to tell."

"Rachel, no," Shelby said. She moved closer and wanted to pull her daughter to her, but Rachel moved out of the way. "You didn't lose them."

"Mom, please leave me alone," Rachel said.

"No," Shelby said. "No one has left you."

"Yes, they have. Like always," Rachel said. "And I don't want to talk about it anymore. Please leave me alone."

"I'm going to call Judy and get Quinn on the phone so you can talk to her," Shelby said.

"No!" Rachel yelled. "You don't listen. You broke it and you still won't listen. Leave me alone!"

The words were loud and they seemed to echo around the room. Shelby was taken aback, but only for a second and she recovered quickly when Rachel pushed past her and tried to leave the room. But Shelby grabbed her arm to stop her and pulled her back and made her sit on the bed. Shelby held her by the arms as she knelt down in front of her.

"Listen to me," Shelby said. "I know that you are mad at me, but simply being mad at me isn't going to solve anything. I want to help you. I understand that you don't think I should have done what I did, but I disagree." Rachel tried to shift away, but Shelby held her tightly. "You were all in the wrong. Do you think that I think it's fair for you to be the only one having to take any of the blame? Because you were grown up enough to tell the truth? Mr. Schuester deserved to know and so did the other parents. I'm sorry you are upset and I'm sorry that your friends are angry. I'm sorry you feel abandoned because, Rachel, that's the last thing I ever want you to feel. I will help you talk to you friends. I will talk to their parents if you need me to. Whatever it takes, Rachel. But you also have to understand that I did not do anything to hurt you on purpose. You and your friends broke the rules, kiddo."

"So," Rachel said. "Why does it have to be absolute? You didn't tell Judy when there was a party at her house."

Shelby sighed. "That was different. You guys didn't throw the party, the party happened around you. You did this."

"They shouldn't be mad at me," Rachel said. "I tried to protect them and they don't care. Everything I do is wrong."

"It's not," Shelby said. "Not at all."

The doorbell interrupted them and they both knew that Sam and Maggie and the boys were there.

"You have to go and get ready," Rachel said.

"I'll stay here with you," Shelby said.

"No," Rachel said. "I can't do this all night. Because no matter how many ways you try and say it, it doesn't change anything. My friends don't like me anymore and I'm upset about it."

"Rach-"

"It's not all in my head, Mom," Rachel said. "Dr. Woodward says that I'm allowed to have my feelings and I'm angry and upset and no talk or kiss on the head is going to change that. And I already messed up your first birthday party because I was in the hospital. Don't make it so that I've ruined this one too."

"You did not mess anything up," Shelby said firmly. "You have not lost anyone." She was making sure to say it again so that Rachel heard it once more, but she didn't think it was getting through to the girl. She also knew that sitting around here with her all night would only make it worse for Rachel. If Shelby left, she hoped it would get the girl's mind of it and she'd have a good time with her cousins.

"I love you," Shelby said. She got to her feet and kissed Rachel's head and turned and left the room.

Rachel waited another few minutes but then went downstairs to say hello.

"Rachel!" Michael said when he saw her coming.

"Hey," Rachel said.

Michael leapt up into her arms unexpectedly and Rachel had no choice but to catch him. He gave her a quick hug and then wanted to examine her eye. "What happened to the black eye?"

"It's been fading," Rachel said.

"It's still there a little bit," Jack said.

"Tell us what happened?" Michael said.

"Well," Rachel tried to figure out what she was going to say and she looked up at her grandfather and he winked at her. Next to him, Rebecca was frowning. "Come with me and I'll tell you all about it." She carried Michael and Jack followed her out of the room.

A few hours later, Sam, Maggie, and Shelby were gone and Rachel had really gotten into the fun of playing with the boys. They had to carry their game of hide-n-seek inside when it got too dark outside and now they were sitting in the kitchen raiding the cookies Rebecca had told them to stay out of because dinner was cooking all around them.

"There you three are," Rebecca said when she walked into the kitchen. She narrowed her eyes at them as she watched each kid quickly try and hide the cookie that was in their hands. "Those were for after dinner."

"We were hungry," Michael said around a mouthful.

"Good. Then you'll eat every bite that's on your plate at dinnertime," Rebecca said.

"Of course, Nana," Michael smiled big for her.

"Go and get washed up," she told them, temporarily won over by how cute he was.

After dinner the boys talked Rachel into watching a movie, but refused to let her pick. They weren't going to fall for that again after she picked that awful musical last time. _The Incredibles_ was the chosen movie and they settled down on the couch to watch it. The boys talked through most of it as they tried to explain to her every plot point of the movie, as if she couldn't follow it or something. She told them a couple times that she had already seen it, but that didn't matter. Paul was used to the running commentary and ignored it.

"We should show her our fort tomorrow," Michael said. "We've had tons of super heroes there before."

"But it's a secret," Jack said. "And she's a girl." He was a little clearer on the rules than his little brother.

"But she got into a fight with forty people and all she got was a black eye," Michael argued. Paul laughed from his spot across the room. "She can see it."

"Ok," Jack said. "But you can't show anyone else where it is."

"Where is it?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel!" Jack admonished. "We can't tell you that here. We have to show you."

"Oh right," Rachel said. "Ok."

They talked some more about the plans for the following day and Rachel's inclusion into the super hero fort in the woods and then eventually everyone headed for bed. Rachel got her guest room and the boys were camping out in living room. Their parents were returning late and going out the next morning and so it just made for sense for the boys to stay the night as well. Beth was in the playpen that had been set up in Shelby's room.

"They were great," Rebecca whispered to all the parents when they got home a little after midnight. "Rachel played willingly with Jack and Michael all day and they are so taken with her."

"That's wonderful," Maggie said.

They talked for another ten minutes or so and then finally said their goodbyes and Shelby followed Rebecca up the stairs. Rachel stirred when the bedroom door was opened and they looked in at her. She didn't want to admit that she was awake and so she stilled herself and pretended to be asleep so she could hear what was being said.

"Are you sure she didn't give you any trouble?" Shelby asked in a whisper.

"None at all," Rebecca said.

"Good," Shelby said. "I was hoping she wouldn't act up all night. I wish I knew what to say to get through to her."

"She'll come around," Rebecca said. "I can only imagine how hard it is for her to understand some of the things that are happening."

"Yeah," Shelby nodded. "I just hate when she pushes me away. Sometimes I feel like I'm everything she needs and sometimes I feel like I'm the cause of all of her problems."

"You and every other mother of a teenage girl," Rebecca said.

"But Rachel is different," Shelby said. "She's still very much a child in a lot of ways."

Rachel frowned at being called childish and stopped listening for a few seconds as her thoughts took over. She hated that her mom thought she was childish. Her grandmother probably did too. She soon relaxed her face when she heard her mother stepping into the room to say goodnight. Shelby pulled the blankets close and tucked them around Rachel and then kissed her head. It was a nightly routine that didn't help to dissolve Rachel's anger at the moment. She didn't need to be tucked in like a child. Her mom didn't understand or care what she thought about things because Shelby said she was a child. Her tiredness and anger were clouding her mother's words and their meaning and it only served to make the girl more upset. She loosened the blankets and kicked them back some once Shelby had left the room. The security of the blankets she always felt after her mom tucked them tightly around her was gone and it didn't satisfy the girl like she thought it would. She was scowling as she drifted back to sleep.

Rebecca had always been the lightest sleeper in the family and she heard Rachel's whimpers before anyone else did. It was close to three in the morning when she got out of bed and crossed the hall to Rachel's room. The girl had just woken herself up out of the nightmare and was sitting in bed staring off into space.

"Rachel," Rebecca said and the girl jumped.

"Turn the light on," Rachel said so softly that Rebecca had to strain to hear it.

"Ok," Rebecca said and did like Rachel wanted. She moved to the bed and sat down and pulled Rachel into a tight hug that the girl willingly grasped onto. "Shhh," Rebecca cooed to her frightened granddaughter.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," Rachel said after a minute.

"That's ok," Rebecca said. "I just want you to feel better right now."

"I'll be fine."

"Let me get your mother for you," Rebecca said. "That's probably who you really want."

"No," Rachel said. "Don't wake her up. I don't want- It's over now."

"Your mom would want to be here with you," Rebecca said. "I know you're mad at her, but-"

"She can't do anything now," Rachel said. "It's over."

"She can hold you."

"I don't need anyone to hold me," Rachel asserted though her grip on Rebecca never loosened.

"You need to talk to her, sweetheart," Rebecca said. "About everything."

"I'm not a child," Rachel said.

"But you're not too old to go to your mom when you have a nightmare," Rebecca said.

"Please don't bother her, Nana," Rachel said. "I'll talk to her about the nightmare tomorrow. Please. I just want to go back to sleep."

"Ok," Rebecca relented. "Talk to her tomorrow. Don't shut her out."

"I won't," Rachel said.

Rebecca stayed until Rachel was back to sleep and then turned on the dimmer bedside lamp so she could turn off the overhead light on her way out. She knew this situation with Rachel's friends and her anger at Shelby were taking a toll on the girl and Rebecca wished she knew what to do to make it better for her granddaughter. Rachel agreeing to talk to Shelby in the morning was a good start, Rebecca thought. She silently wished her granddaughter a peaceful and restful night's sleep as she closed the door and headed back towards her own bedroom.

**A/N – I hope you guys like this one. This wasn't exactly where I had planned to end this chapter, but I needed to get it out since I'm certain I won't get much of a chance to write for the rest of the week. And this was a logical stopping point before heading into the next day. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think and how it is. Please. Thank you all so much.**


	83. Chapter 83

**A/N – I'm so, so sorry for the delay. I know you guys must be tired of excuses. I got behind on everything when I went out of town or the funeral and playing catch up is never fun, especially when I have to do it for everything. And I know I wrote out that other story, but I promise I'm going to try and make sure they don't interfere with each other. But that's another tale I wanted to tell and I needed to get it out there. **

**Thank you all so much for sticking with me and keeping me going. I appreciate you guys so much. Your reviews mean the world to me. As does your continued readership and following of this story. Thank you, thank you. **

**I got a question a couple chapters ago asking if I was a mom. No, I'm not a mom. I'm a pretty awesome aunt thought. I'm not just saying that. The kids think I'm pretty cool. Don't worry, they grow out of it. Also, I get a lot of questions about whether or not Quinn and Rachel will ever be together romantically in this story. No, they will not. I said so very early on, but I'll say it again. I support Faberry 100% and can totally dig it, but that's just not this story. They are friends and that friendship is extremely important for both of them. This was never meant to be a romantic story for the two of them. And I know it's under the Quinn and Rachel tags, but I figured friendship counts because that's what the story is listed as. I don't mean to disappoint anyone or anything, but I think it's been pretty clear the entire time that there wasn't going to be anything romantic between the girls. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Rachel woke up early the next morning. She wasn't sure how much sleep she got after her nightmare because she remembers tossing and turning quite a bit. It wasn't even six now, but she was awake and didn't think she'd be able to fall asleep. Her mind was too wired and her thoughts were going a mile a minute. Even as she laid there awake and processing her thoughts, she couldn't settle. She eventually moved her blankets back and got out of bed.

She was as quiet as possible as she slipped out of the room and made her way to the bathroom. She didn't want to wake anyone up and she was happy when she made it back to the guest room without a sign that anyone else was awake. She'd only have the early morning to herself for a little while though because she knew that, if no one else, Beth would be awake soon.

Rachel entered the guest room again and went through her laptop bag until she found what she was looking for. She got back in bed with a notebook and a pencil and sat cross-legged and only had to stare at the paper for a few moments before she got the first words down. She wasn't exactly sure what she was writing, but just the act of it was setting her emotions off and her eyes soon filled with tears and it wasn't long before they were spilling down her cheeks. She used the edge of her quilt to wipe some of them away and then flipped to the next page of the notebook and started to write again. This page was a little more focused, but not much. Another page flipped and yet more writing.

After a while she stopped and set the notebook to the side. She looked down at the words she had written and hummed a soothing melody. She felt better, she guessed, and when she realized she didn't have any more words for the paper, she sat back and closed her eyes. She didn't sleep, but she relaxed a bit, even if it was short lived.

Rachel heard Beth in the other room and knew her mom was up. Despite telling her grandmother that she would talk to Shelby in the morning, Rachel still didn't feel much like it. Her mother had called her a child. Rachel didn't mind that all the time. She felt herself to be pretty mature about most things, but she understood that some people just couldn't recognize that. There were actually times she relished in the feel of being child-like with Shelby. But in this case, she hated it. She hated that she felt like her feelings over the entire situation were being dismissed. Rachel's angry. Oh, she's such a child. But she didn't think her feelings of guilt and abandonment, hurt and anger were anything to be dismissed so easily. She had screwed it up again and with everyone contradicting that, it made her feel like her feelings weren't real. At least the notebook didn't have an opinion. It let her express herself without telling her she was wrong.

What Rachel couldn't see, of course, was that her mother and grandparents were trying to help her by telling her not to worry or that she hadn't messed everything up again. They hoped she could see that and she couldn't understand why they didn't see that she was right.

Another thing that made her feel bad was that part of Rachel's anger was directed at herself. She wished she could believe that her friends weren't really mad or that they would come around, as everyone kept telling her. But it was hard to comprehend after messing up so royally again. Because Rachel knew that at some point people stopped caring and stopped having to try. They didn't always come around. She believed in her grandparents and she almost always believed in Shelby, but she didn't exactly have the best history with all of her friends so why wouldn't they turn on her. There certainly was precedence.

Rachel picked up her notebook and carried it to her overnight bag. It was still open when she dropped it in after grabbing a sweatshirt to put on. She shut the bag and then headed down to the kitchen in search of breakfast.

Shelby found her there forty-five minutes later. The woman was grateful that Beth enjoyed playing by herself for a little bit so she could shower and get ready for the day. But now, like Rachel, the littlest Corcoran was ready for some breakfast.

"Good morning," Shelby said.

"Morning," Rachel mumbled.

"Did you sleep well?" Shelby asked as she stepped past her and placed a kiss on her head and smiled to herself when Rachel didn't pull away.

"Yeah," Rachel answered. "Why?" Her cereal spoon was hovering in mid-air halfway to her mouth. Even though she had told her grandmother she would, Rachel never planned on mentioning the nightmare to her mother.

"Just a question," Shelby said. She hadn't expected her daughter to get so defensive over such an ordinary question.

"Oh," Rachel said and she finally took her bite.

"I slept well too," Shelby said. "So did Beth. Thanks for asking."

"Wonderful," Rachel said sarcastically and she got up from the table and started to leave.

"Rachel," Shelby sighed, but the girl didn't look back.

"Good morning," Rebecca said brightly as she stepped into the room and caught Rachel by the arms and turned her around so she couldn't leave. She directed her back to the table and made her sit down. She pointed at the half-eaten bowl with the spoon before handing it to Rachel.

"Morning," Shelby said.

"What would you all like for breakfast?" Rebecca asked. "I'll do one up right."

"I'm almost done with my cereal," Rachel said.

"I don't want much since we're going out for brunch," Shelby said. "I'll probably just have some cereal too. And coffee."

"The boys, all three of them, will be hungry so I'll just whip something up," Rebecca said. "Rachel, would you like to help me? Shelby, you can get some eggs out of the fridge."

"I can't cook," Rachel mumbled.

"I know," Rebecca said. "And the best way to learn is to do it."

"Maybe next time," Rachel said. She had finished the cereal and no one stopped her when she stood up and left.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Shelby said.

"Don't worry about it," Rebecca said. "She just needs a little more time. But talk with her before you go out this morning."

"I'll try," Shelby said. "I will certainly try."

An hour later, Rachel had taken a shower and was hiding out in the guest room once again. She knew the boys were awake because she had heard them asking about her, but they were still eating breakfast. She would go down there later. After her mother left.

"Hey," Shelby said as she knocked lightly and poked her head in the room. Rachel nodded and closed her book. So much for waiting until her mother left. "Honey, please let's have a talk."

"I don't know what else to say," Rachel said.

"We need to work something out," Shelby said. "I'm so sorry you're angry and upset. Will you please let me help you?"

"You can't," Rachel shrugged. "No one can. I just have to get used to it."

"No you don't," Shelby said. "Don't give up on your friends, Rachel. That's not fair. Do you remember when Quinn was mad at you when you found out you could live with me? You bugged her for days. You called her all the time and went to her house and talked to Judy. Don't just give up this time."

"This time is different," Rachel said.

"Why?" Shelby asked. "You've told me several times that you're allowed to have your feelings and that you're angry and upset. Your friends are entitled to their feelings too, honey. But it doesn't mean they've given up on you or never want to see you again. So don't give up on them."

"Well what about you?" Rachel asked.

"What about me?" Shelby asked in return. "I know you're angry at me and I'm doing everything I can to fix that. You think I like you being mad at me?"

"You don't think I should be feeling angry or upset at all," Rachel said, alluding to her interpretation of Shelby saying she was like a child in many ways. "They can have their feelings, but I can't have mine?"

"Rachel, I never said that," Shelby said with a confused expression. "I've told you that I know you're feelings are valid."

"You said you wished I didn't feel that way," Rachel said.

"Because I don't want you to be upset," Shelby said. Shelby could practically see the wheels in Rachel's mind spinning as she tried to work through all of this. She had sent off an email to Dr. Woodward yesterday and they had set up an extra appointment for Rachel on Monday. Neither of them wanted to wait until her normal Thursday slot to have this issue addressed. Shelby was encouraged when Rachel scooted just a few inches closer to her on the bed. She wanted to reach out and pull the girl to her, but she resisted. She needed to let Rachel lead on this.

"But what if it doesn't work?" Rachel asked meekly with her head hung down. Her mother kept saying they could fix it, but what if they couldn't. She was so close to just resting her head on her mother's shoulder.

"It-"

"Rachel!" Michael shouted as he flung the door open and raced into the room and jumped right onto his aunt's lap. "Are you ready?"

"Michael," Shelby groaned as she adjusted the boy so his knee wasn't digging into her ribs.

"Almost," Rachel answered his question.

"Ready for what?" Shelby asked.

"Me and Jack are going to show her our fort in the woods," Michael enthused.

"Michael!" Jack scolded as he too came into the room. "You're not supposed to tell everyone," his eyes flicked to Shelby.

"My lips are sealed," Shelby assured them.

Jack nodded seriously. He would hold her to that. "Mom and dad are here, Aunt Shelby."

"I guess that's my cue," Shelby said. She stood Michael up and instructed the boys to go and tell their parents that she'd be right down.

"Are you going to be gone long?" Rachel asked. She wasn't sure where that question came from because yesterday she was ready for her mom to be gone all day and right now she couldn't stop the sudden feeling that she would miss her. It only added to her confusion.

"Just a few hours," Shelby said. "And besides, you get to see a secret fort in the woods." Her voice was full of over-exaggerated awe and it earned her her first smile from Rachel in a few days. Shelby cupped her face and placed a gentle kiss on Rachel's forehead. "Be a good girl. I love you."

"I love you," Rachel said and Shelby couldn't stop her smile.

Shelby made her way back downstairs and was intercepted by Rebecca before she could go into the living room and greet her brother and sister-in-law.

"Did you and Rachel talk?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah," Shelby smiled. "A little. But it's a start."

"Oh good," Rebecca said. "She told me last night when I woke her up that she would tell you about her nightmare, but I was worried that she wouldn't actually do it this morning." Shelby just stared at Rebecca and the older woman understood. "She didn't tell you about the nightmare she had last night, did she?"

"No," Shelby pursed her lips.

"I heard her and tried to get you for her, but she said she was fine and that she would tell you this morning," Rebecca said. "She told me she wanted to go back to sleep. I should have told you anyway."

"Yeah," Shelby said. "I'll go talk to her."

"Why don't you wait until you get back," Rebecca suggested. "Let her play and then I'll talk to her again. That way she won't dwell on it all afternoon."

"Ok," Shelby sighed. Rachel hadn't kept her nightmares from her in a long time and Shelby didn't like it. She may have understood it somewhat, but she didn't like it.

It was another two hours after their parents left before the boys, along with Rachel, were able to venture out into the woods behind Paul and Rebecca's house in search of the secret fort. Rachel was keeping a keen eye out for spiders or any other wild animals that may attack her during this journey. She wasn't exactly the trek through the woods type of girl. But she couldn't deny their excitement about the whole thing and as much as the teenager didn't want to admit it, she really enjoyed the company of her younger cousins. They didn't care about the fact that she hadn't always been in their family and they didn't care about her past; they just loved her for her. They'd even come to accept some of the singing she insisted on doing. And Rachel found that she loved them just as fiercely in return.

"This is it," Jack said proudly when they reached the fort.

They were both watching her anxiously as she looked around at the two pieces of wood propped up by a tree to create a makeshift… structure. She wasn't sure. But she ooohhed as she looked around.

"This is so cool," Rachel said. "I can understand why you wanted to keep it a secret."

"We can't let the enemy know we're this close," Jack said.

"Who is the enemy?" Rachel asked.

"We're not sure," Michael said. "Jack said they live deeper into the woods and like to attack when they think no one is looking. We've been protecting Nana and Grandpa."

Rachel smiled and crouched down, careful to keep her knees and hands out of the mud. "What can I do to help?"

Rachel really got into the swing of things with their game and let her imagination take over. The battle had been low key so far, but the boys were convinced that it was going to pick up anytime now. They had thrown a few bombs in the direction of the enemy in an attempt to drive them back and Jack breathed a sigh of relief when he declared the enemy scouts to be retreating.

They boys were both dirtier than Rachel because even with a battle being waged, she was doing her best to keep clean. Fort or no fort, getting muddy was not her idea of a good time. She was going to have to clean her shoes already as it was.

"We need to get a better look at them," Jack said.

"I'll do it," Michael volunteered immediately. He was on his feet in an instant and working to climb the tree close by.

"Let me do it," Jack said.

"No, I'll be fine," Michael insisted and continued his ascent.

"He's always too scared to come back down," Jack said to Rachel.

"Oh," Rachel said. "Wait, what?" She looked up and watched as Michael climbed even higher and then back down at his older brother who had shrugged it off and was back in the game. She turned back to the youngest in the tree and kept a close eye on him.

Sure enough, a few minutes later when Michael wanted to get down, he was only able to go a couple of branches before he stalled and then clutched even tighter to the tree.

"Jack," Michael called out. "I can't get down."

Jack sighed and stood up. "I'll go get Grandpa."

"No," Michael said. "The last time he told me not to come up here anymore without him around."

"But he's the only one that can get you down," Jack said. He had tried himself one time and they both got stuck.

"No," Michael cried. "He said I'd be in timeout." He did not want to end up in trouble.

"Maybe I can get you down," Rachel said.

"Can you even climb trees?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said confidently. How hard could it be? There were a ton of strong branches and she wasn't afraid of heights. And she didn't want Michael to get in trouble.

Rachel took a deep breath and then started a slow climb up to try and reach her cousin. The mud on the bottom of her shoes didn't help, but she was careful and finally made it to the boy. Michael immediately tried to latch onto her and she had to stop him and make him hang on to the tree. She helped him guide his feet down one branch until they were close to the bottom. They only had about ten more feet to go when Michael stopped and started to stare at something.

"Look at that spider," Michael said.

Rachel froze. "Where? What spider?"

"There," Michael pointed. "I hate spiders." Rachel nodded.

It was a few branches over and, as far as Rachel could tell, looked to be about the size of a football. That spider could probably take out birds. It was staring at them now; no doubt ready to capture the intruders to its tree.

"Michael, come on," Rachel said though her own heart rate had picked up in a panic.

Just then the spider started to charge at them and Michael screamed. Rachel would have screamed too except for the body of the seven-year-old boy that slammed into her as he jumped out of the way. Her feet slipped and she lost her grip on the branch and held onto the only thing she could reach as they fell, Michael.

Rachel landed with a thud on her back on the ground below and Michael landed right on top of her. He was crying and Rachel didn't know if it was because he was hurt or scared. But that wasn't her main focus right now. Air was her main concern. She hadn't made a sound and it felt like she couldn't breathe. The pain of the fall was registering as her eyes filled with tears and her lungs fought for some oxygen. She mouthed the word 'mom' as Jack pulled Michael off her of.

"Rachel!" Jack said. "Are you dead?"

Rachel couldn't respond and she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. Michael continued to cry as he sat next to her.

"I'll get Grandpa," Jack said with hurried fear as he got to his feet and took off at a full sprint.

Paul and Rebecca were sitting with Beth in the living and were enjoying a talk as they watched the baby play. Shelby, Sam, and Maggie would be home soon and so should Rachel and the boys. Paul had leaned in to steal a quick kiss from his bride when the back door swung open and Jack ran inside.

"Jack," the adults were on their feet in an instant as the boy doubled over and tried to catch his breath.

"Michael," Jack panted, "killed Rachel." He went ahead and alleviated himself of all blame right from the start.

There was a short moment of silence as the words sunk in and then the grandparents erupted.

"What?" Rebecca asked.

"What's going on?" Paul questioned at the same time.

"Michael couldn't get out of the tree," Jack explained. "Rachel went to get them but they fell. Michael was crying and Rachel couldn't talk."

"Oh my god," Rebecca put a hand to her mouth.

"Take me there," Paul said. He grabbed Jack by the shoulders and led him out the back door.

Rachel finally started to feel like she was getting air in her lungs and she was able to take a bearing on what had happened. Michael was still crying and she was lying in the mud.

"Rachel," Michael cried. "Wake up."

"I'm awake," Rachel rasped out and then tried to sit up.

Michael was so relieved that he lunged forward and hugged her, stopping her progress.

"Ow," Rachel said. "Get off." It wasn't the nicest thing to say, but it was what came to mind.

"I'm sorry," he said as he sat back.

"Are you hurt?" Rachel asked. Michael shook his head. "Ok. Let's go back to the house."

It took Rachel a second, but she stood up gingerly. Her back hurt and her stomach hurt from where Michael had landed on her, but she didn't think anything was broken. She held Michael's hand and wondered if her mom was home yet.

They were almost to the fort when Paul and Jack saw Rachel and Michael walking towards them. Michael's cries were just sniffles now and Rachel was doing her best not to cry despite the soreness she felt. Paul breathed a sigh of relief to see them walking towards him.

"Are you two ok?" Paul asked when he and Jack reached them. He made them stop walking so he could look them over.

"I think so," Rachel said with a trembling voice. "It knocked the wind out of me."

"I landed on top of her," Michael said. "I'm ok."

Paul could see that Rachel was torn between trying to hold her back and trying to hold her stomach. He wanted to get her back to the house as quickly as possible so they could really assess if she was injured badly. Paul scooped her up despite her protests and started to carry her back to the house. Jack took over holding Michael's hand.

Shelby was the first to come in the house when the kids' parents returned from their brunch. "We're back," Shelby said. "Mom?" she immediately questioned when she saw Rebecca's face.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"The kids were out playing and Jack ran back here and told us that Michael and Rachel had fallen out of a tree," Rebecca said. "He said that Michael was crying and Rachel couldn't talk. Your father went with Jack to find him and I stayed here with Beth."

"Oh my god," Maggie said.

"They went to their fort, right?" Sam asked and Rebecca nodded. He turned to go out the door and Shelby followed after him. Maggie stayed behind to sit with Rebecca.

They were just coming into the clearing of the large backyard when Shelby and Sam spotted their father and the kids. Paul had Rachel securely in his arms and her eyes were closed as she leaned her head against him.

"Is she alright?" Shelby yelled out as they got closer.

Rachel's eyes popped open and she turned her head to look at her mom and her eyes filled with tears. "Mom," Rachel cried.

"It seems they took a nasty fall, but I think she's going to be fine," Paul said.

"Are you ok, buddy?" Sam asked Michael as he knelt before the boys.

Michael nodded. "I landed on Rachel."

Shelby kissed Rachel's muddy head and held her hand. "Where are you hurt, sweetheart?"

"I'm fine," Rachel continued to cry. "I just couldn't breathe. There was a spider."

"It tried to get us," Michael said.

"Where did you land?" Shelby asked.

"On my back," Rachel said. She was reaching for Shelby, but Paul held her firmly in his arms. Shelby's own eyes filled with tears.

"Did you hit your head?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Rachel answered. "I don't remember if I did. Michael landed on my stomach."

"Let's get her back to the house," Paul said.

Sam sent Jack to run ahead and tell Rebecca and Maggie that they were ok. He told Jack also to explain that Rachel was covered in mud, but was going to need to lie down so she needed to find some towels or something. He knew Shelby and his mother and probably wife were going to be anxious to look Rachel over, whether the girl realized it or not. Michael ran with him, happy to be part of the mission.

Rachel's tears started to slow and she cast an embarrassed look at Sam who caught it and patted her leg.

"I fell off the roof one time and cried for three hours in the emergency room as I sat on my mom's lap," Sam confessed.

"You were probably really little," Rachel said.

"He was twelve," Shelby clarified. "And he wouldn't shut up. And of course he had to do it right at dinner time so I was starving the entire time we had to sit there."

Rachel smiled through her tears at the story.

"In my defense, I did have a broken arm," Sam said. "I just wanted my mom to hold me. Nothing wrong with that."

"Certainly not," Paul said and he and Sam exchanged a smile when Rachel did her best to hide the fact that she was reaching for Shelby again. Her anger at her mother was forgotten in this moment because that had really hurt and she knew her mom could make it better right now. Paul was convinced that most people never quite outgrew that feeling of wanting mom to make them feel better after they've gotten hurt.

"Grandpa, I can walk," Rachel said. "I'm fine now. And I'm getting you all dirty."

"I'm not worried about me or my clothes, sweetheart," Paul said.

"I'm ok though," Rachel insisted.

"How about you humor your grandpa then," Paul said. "Let me carry my little girl for a little while longer." He was worried that she may have hit her head and have a slight concussion, but he didn't say so out loud. Shelby kept ahold on Rachel's hand, but turned her head away at her father's words. Sam put a comforting hand on her back as they walked the rest of the way to the house.

When they reached the house, Rebecca instructed Paul to take Rachel upstairs and lie her down on her bed in the guest room. She had put a couple of towels down, but she wasn't really worried about it. There was a mattress protector on the bed and the sheets would be washed as soon as they left anyway.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Rachel said when laid her down.

"My pleasure," he said. "I'm glad you weren't hurt very badly."

"I don't think I'm hurt at all," Rachel said.

"Probably some bumps and bruises," Paul said. "So you let them look and make sure." He was alluding to the three women that were hovering around.

"Ok," Rachel said.

"Michael told us how you tried to get him down," Maggie said once Paul had left. "Thank you."

"I didn't do a very good job of it," Rachel said.

"But you tried," Maggie said. "That's what's important."

Rachel nodded and then looked at her mom. "Can I go hop in the shower?"

"In a few minutes," Rebecca answered for her. "We'll leave you two alone. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks, Mom," Shelby said as Rebecca and Maggie left the room and shut the door behind them.

"Ok, kiddo, tell me if something really hurts," Shelby said. "No just saying you're fine if you're not."

"That really hurt," Rachel started to cry in earnest again and Shelby bit back a smile. "I'm never going in a tree again."

"I know, sweetheart," Shelby cooed. "How about we get you out of these muddy clothes and then you can take a bath."

"When can we go home?" Rachel asked through her tears.

"Later on today," Shelby answered. "Probably after an early dinner."

Rachel sat up and Shelby helped her take off her sweatshirt. The girl let her mom lift her shirt and look at her stomach and back to make sure there weren't any cuts or scrapes. Shelby could see some red marks and knew the girl would have a few good bruises, but nothing that serious. Rachel said her sides and stomach didn't hurt too badly and so Shelby assumed that she didn't have any broken ribs.

Shelby used one of the towels to try and wipe some of the mud from Rachel's hair. When Shelby started to touch the back of Rachel's head to feel for any bumps, the girl leaned forward and put her forehead on her mother's shoulder in front of her. Shelby smiled as her gentle hands continued to work.

"How come you didn't tell me about your nightmare?" Shelby asked after a few moments.

Rachel stiffened and then shrugged. "It was over," Rachel said.

"What was it about?" Shelby asked lightly.

"It was that nightmare," Rachel said. "I screw up and people walk away. I always feel so lonely. It always scares me even though I should be used to it by now."

"Rachel, I want to be there with you if you're frightened," Shelby said. "I want you to tell me about your nightmares. Why is it that you could come to me after a spanking but not last night? Or this morning?"

"I wasn't mad at you after the spanking?" Rachel said.

"Are you mad at me right now?" Shelby asked.

"No," Rachel sighed.

"Why were you mad at me before?" Shelby asked.

"Because you didn't listen to me," Rachel answered with her head still resting on Shelby's shoulder.

"I listened to you, honey, I just didn't do exactly what you wanted," Shelby clarified. "There's a difference."

"That difference doesn't help me feel any better or get it right with my friends," Rachel said.

"I know, sweetheart," Shelby conceded instead of trying to make her see that everything would be ok. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Rachel headed off to the bathroom and took a quick shower first to wash her hair and when she was clean, she filled the bathtub with hot water because Shelby told her a quick soak would make her feel better because she was sure to stiffen up after a fall like that. Rachel had the curtain drawn and her eyes closed as she rested in tub when Shelby came in to get the rest of her muddy clothes.

"Mom, I forgot to grab anything to put on," Rachel said.

I'll get you something," Shelby said.

When Shelby opened Rachel's bag she saw the open notebook on top and picked up so she could move it to get to the clothes. It looked to be a short verse on the page and Shelby's eyes filled with tears as she read the words.

"What have I done? I can't go back and undo this," Shelby read. "I was trying to help, but it hurt everyone else. The weight of the world is on my shoulders. I don't know what to do because my good isn't good enough." The words 'it never is' was written in the margin. "My best intentions keep making a mess of things," Shelby continued. "Everyone leaves and I wish I could fix it somehow. How many times will it take for me to get it right?"

Shelby flipped a couple of pages back and saw similar sentiments on each page. Her heart broke for Rachel.

"Mom," Rachel called out and Shelby wiped her tears and set the notebook aside so she could get the clothes.

Shelby didn't mention the notebook for the rest of the day. She didn't want to drag down the day and she had just gotten to a point where she could talk to Rachel again and she didn't want that to change. She needed to wait until they were settled in at home.

The weekend at the grandparents came to an end in the late afternoon after a hero's lunch for Jack and his quick thinking to get help. The boy walked around like a peacock the rest of the day. Rachel assured everyone time and again that she was ok, but then complained most of the ride home that she couldn't get comfortable in the car.

"I'll give you some medicine and rub some muscle cream on it when we get home if you want," Shelby said.

"Nah, I'm fine," Rachel said. She knew how her mother was. She'd no doubt get some medicine that would put her to sleep three hours early or something.

"Rachel," Shelby scolded. "You will feel better."

Rachel did finally give in, but not until later in the evening after Beth had been put to bed. Rachel was lying on the couch watching TV when Shelby sat down on the coffee table with some pain medicine and a tube of Bengay that she knew would relieve Rachel's sore back. Rachel rolled her eyes, but let her mom lift her shirt and work some of the medicine into her already bruising back.

"I want to talk to you about something," Shelby said when she was finished and Rachel sat up to take the pills. "I found this earlier," she pulled the notebook from where she had set it so it would be hidden behind her back.

"How did you-"

"It was in your bag and I saw it when I was getting your clothes at Nana's," Shelby said.

"It's nothing," Rachel said.

"It's not nothing," Shelby said. "I wish there was something I could do to help you understand that what you do is good enough. Your best is good enough."

"Not always," Rachel said. "Sometimes it's not even close."

"It's always good enough for me," Shelby said.

"Right," Rachel mumbled and looked down.

"Is it a song?" Shelby asked, changing the subject slightly.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "I guess."

"It's got good potential," Shelby said. "You gave it such a lyrical quality. I'm proud of you for finding such a good way to express your feelings." Shelby was hoping that the praise would get through to Rachel. The last thing she wanted to do was to start another fight over how Rachel feels.

"I hummed a little bit while I was writing it," Rachel said. "It was so early in the morning at Nana's that I couldn't sit down at the piano with it."

"Well the piano upstairs is just waiting for you to write a beautiful song on it," Shelby said. "Maybe we can work on it together." It was an almost timid statement.

"Yeah," Rachel smiled "Maybe we can."

"I'd love that," Shelby said. "But as for right now, do you think maybe I can show what you've got to Dr. Woodward tomorrow? If you do write a song out of it, I'm sure she'd love to see the progression of it."

"Do you think so?" Rachel asked. "I've never sang for her."

"Then we'll try and work it out," Shelby said. "Let's show her what you've got tomorrow."

"Ok," Rachel said.

Shelby knew that the doctor needed to see it and talk to Rachel about it. Dr. Woodward was able to get through to Rachel in ways that Shelby often couldn't. Those song lyrics weren't just an attempt at a ballad, they were Rachel's very real worries and Dr. Woodward always appreciated getting things that Rachel had written.

"Ok," Shelby smiled. "And my little monkey, I hate to tell you this, but it's getting close to bedtime."

"Mom," Rachel whined.

"Sorry," Shelby said. "Up."

"I don't know if monkey is a fair assessment," Rachel said as she got to her feet. "I did fall out of the tree."

"Perhaps you should have been a flying monkey," Shelby said.

"And who would the wicked witch be? You?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, my pretty," Shelby answered. "Now fly up to bed." She placed a couple of gentle pats on Rachel's backside to help get her moving up the stairs.

Rachel smiled as she went up to her room. Her anger at her mother had dissipated into her wanting her to hold her after falling out of the tree and she was glad it hadn't returned. But having to face her three people she assumed no longer wanted anything to do with her weighed heavily on her mind as she lied in bed trying to get to sleep. The blankets were tucked safely around her courtesy of Shelby and she eventually fell asleep feeling secure, but it had taken a while for her mind to get there.

Rachel drove to school the following morning with trepidation and anxiety. She needed to talk to her friends, but she had to make sure to say the right thing so she didn't made them any madder. She needed everything to go perfectly.

Rachel didn't even have to go looking for one of them because Quinn found her at her locker a few minutes after she entered the building. Rachel was stunned when the girl started to talk to her.

"Hey, Rach," Quinn said brightly. "How was your weekend?"

"What?" Rachel asked, confused.

"Your weekend with your grandparents?" Quinn asked.

"Fine," Rachel answered and gave Quinn a funny look. "I fell out of a tree."

"Seriously," Quinn laughed. "You're ok, right?"

Rachel nodded dumbly at her.

"Good. And I'm glad you're here a little early because I've been dying to talk to you all weekend," Quinn said. "Rachel?" she asked when the girl gave her a funny look. "Earth to Rachel."

**A/N – Again, I apologize about the wait. And Rachel's writings are, of course, the song "Get it Right" that was featured in the show. I have resisted using it for a long time, but I think it really works here and I've got some plans for it. And I know the lyrics aren't exactly right, but it was just supposed to be things that Rachel was coming up with, almost stream of consciousness like. And it's a first draft and could be worked on. **

**Thank you all so much for reading and please leave me a review. **


	84. Chapter 84

**A/N – Here's the next chapter! Thank you all so much for the reviews and for reading. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. I appreciate your feedback so much. I know I'm late again, but life is just getting in the way right now. I'm trying, guys. Thank you.**

**And I know I've got grammar mistakes. Trust me, I see them as soon as I hit submit. My English degree that's hanging on my wall then points and laughs at me. Feel free to do the same.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

"Rachel?" Quinn asked again when her friend didn't say anything.

"You wanted to talk to me all weekend?" Rachel asked finally. "Why?"

"Because I was stuck at home with no phone or computer or music," Quinn said. "And I wanted to tell you that my mom and I talked and she reduced my grounding by a week."

"Oh," Rachel said. "That's great. Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

"Well yeah," Quinn said. "I just thought you'd like to know that I'll be free to hang out sooner than we thought."

"You want to hang out?" Rachel asked. She was still confused.

"Seriously?" Quinn asked. "Of course I want to hang out. Why? Do you not want to hang out with me?" Quinn was suddenly defensive and hurt.

"You don't want to hang out with me," Rachel said.

"I just said I did," Quinn shot back. She wasn't quite sure how or why this had turned into an argument.

"Hey, Q," Santana said as she walked up to them. "Enjoy your house arrest? How about you, munchkin?" she turned to Rachel. "Did you enjoy your completely free weekend?"

"Not really," Rachel bit back. She was upset, but she was also angry. She'd come to try and make things better and she wasn't even getting the chance to do that. Rachel gathered her courage and stood up straighter. "Stop calling me names. If you're not going to be my friend then stop calling me names!" She slammed her locker shut and turned and stormed off.

"What'd you do to her?" Santana asked Quinn.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I don't know what's up with her. I tried to talk to her this morning and she acted like she was confused by it. I don't know what's wrong."

"Well she seemed pretty pissed," Santana said.

"No kidding," Quinn said sarcastically. "Maybe you shouldn't be calling her names."

"Whatever. She loves my names," Santana said. "She knows I'm only kidding."

"It didn't seem that way," Quinn pointed out.

"Listen, I don't know why she's so upset," Santana defended herself.

Quinn was thoughtful for a second and she looked down the hall in the direction Rachel had taken off, even though the girl wasn't there anymore. "I hate when she gets like this."

"Like what?" Santana asked. Her tone had softened because Quinn's did.

"This," Quinn answered. "I feel like I always figure it out too late."

"Then go and talk to her and figure it out now," Santana said kindly.

"Yeah. See you later," Quinn said. She was walking down the hall when she heard Santana call out to her.

"And make sure you tell her she better fix that snappy attitude before glee."

Quinn could hear the smile and playfulness in Santana's voice and she rolled her eyes and didn't bother to respond. She was on a mission to find her friend when the bell rang and cut that off. With a groan, Quinn turned and went the opposite direction so she could get to her class.

Quinn still hadn't been able to track Rachel down by lunch because they didn't share a class together until the end of the day. She should have known that her friend wouldn't be there with the rest of them as they ate in the cafeteria.

"So what's wrong with Rachel?" Santana asked as she sat down next to Quinn. Kurt looked up from his spot across the table and gave them a questioning glance.

"Something's wrong with Rachel?" Kurt asked. No one else was really paying attention because they were too busy watching Puck try and sweet talk the lunch ladies into extra dessert for everyone.

"Yeah, she was in a mood or something this morning," Santana answered.

"She seemed upset," Quinn added.

"What does she have to be upset about?" Kurt asked. "I ruined a two-hundred dollar pair of boots having to work in my dad's garage this weekend. It's not like she was grounded or anything."

"Why the hell would you wear a two-hundred dollar pair of boots to work on cars all day?" Santana asked. "That's your own fault."

"Still, we shouldn't have been grounded," Kurt said haughtily.

"We did steal those passes," Quinn said. "And forge them."

"But we didn't get caught," Kurt said.

"Clearly we did," Santana added. Her initial anger from the end of last week had worn off. It's not like she'd never been grounded before.

"Ok, whatever," Kurt said. "Does this even have anything to do with why Rachel was upset this morning?"

"She was mad at me," Santana said.

"You were mad at her," Quinn pointed out.

"Not today," Santana said. "Geez, I stopped being mad Saturday afternoon some time. It's not my fault it's taking Twinkle Toes a little bit longer to get over it."

Kurt huffed and sent Santana a glare. "I'm not mad at her. I'm annoyed."

"And they say Rachel is a prima donna," Quinn said. "Get over it."

"Did you talk to her at all over the weekend?" Santana asked.

"No, of course I didn't," Quinn said. "My mom has my phone."

"Me too," Santana said. "But I still managed to talk to Brittany." She was smirking at the annoyed looks they gave her.

"I didn't have anyone to call," Kurt lamented.

"She went to her grandparents' house anyway," Quinn said. "It's not my fault I couldn't send her a message or something. I knew I'd see her here today anyway. It's not like I was never going to talk to her again or…" Quinn trailed off and the other two leaned in like she had gotten softer and they couldn't hear.

"Quinn?" Santana asked.

"We told her it was her fault," Quinn said.

"Yeah," Santana nodded.

"And we were all mad at her," Quinn said.

"So…?" Kurt asked.

"And this morning she looked so confused and surprised when I said I wanted to hang out with her," Quinn continued. "God, I'm an idiot!"

"What?" Kurt asked. "What are you talking about?"

Realization dawned on Santana, but not as clearly as it did for Quinn. Santana knew some of Rachel's issues, but not the way Quinn did.

"She thinks she messed up?" Santana asked.

"What?" Kurt asked. He had never been privy to any discussions of Rachel's internal fears surrounding the way her dads treated her.

"And that we left her," Quinn confirmed sadly.

Santana remembered telling Rachel earlier in the year at a sleepover that Rachel needed to open her mouth and say something if the girl felt afraid or alone. But, she admitted, it would be hard to do so if you thought that your friends were angry at you. Santana hadn't been too worried about Rachel's feelings at the time. She was angry, but she figured that they would all get over it by Monday. She and Quinn had grown up together and had these stupid fights all the time. But Rachel was still learning how to have friends and Santana knew that. She felt terrible.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kurt asked.

"I've got to go and find her," Quinn said.

"Yeah," Santana said. "Let me know when you do."

"Hello?" Kurt said again in an attempt to get their attention.

"I'll tell you," Santana said.

Quinn got to her feet and left the table just as Puck came back with a tray full of chocolate pudding to the delight of everyone else.

The choir room was empty and so Quinn checked the auditorium next. It proved to be empty as well and so was the library. Quinn stood in the hallway outside the library and tried to think of where else Rachel could be. She wished she had her phone on her so she could call Shelby to see if perhaps Rachel went home early. She didn't know if the girl would skip, but Quinn certainly didn't put it past her.

Quinn's next stop was the courtyard outside, but a scan of the tables didn't show Rachel either. She was getting frustrated and the bell signaling the end of lunch didn't help that. She kept an eye out as walked through the crowded halls to get to her next class. It looks like she would have to wait until their biology class later.

Quinn got to biology first and Rachel walked in a couple minutes later. She didn't look at Quinn, but instead took her spot on the other side of the room. Quinn tried to get her attention, but Rachel kept her eyes trained on the front of the classroom. A balled up piece of paper landed on the desk in front of her when the teacher's back was turned and people around them snickered. Rachel didn't even bother to open it and chose to set it off to the side. Quinn huffed in frustration and tried to turn her attention to the lesson, but found that she couldn't concentrate.

Quinn had her bag packed and ready to go before the bell rang to signal the end of the day. She shot up out of her chair and headed towards Rachel. She noticed that the girl was packing the balled up paper in her bag.

"Rachel," Quinn said. "Wait. I looked everywhere for you during lunch."

"I was in my car," Rachel said as she started to walk away. "We're going to be late for glee."

"No, we're not," Quinn said. "Come on, please."

"It's ok, Quinn," Rachel said, finally looking up at her. "I get it. I just need to accept it, right?"

"No, you don't get it at all," Quinn said. "I'm sorry. Rachel." She had to move quickly to catch up with her because Rachel was leaving the room was headed towards the choir room.

Rachel finally stopped when Quinn took a hold of her arm and pulled her into a side hallway that wasn't as crowded. Rachel looked up at her with weary and cautious eyes.

"Rachel, I'm sorry," Quinn said earnestly. "I was stupid. No one should have been mad at you last week."

"But you were mad at me," Rachel said. "I wish I could take it back, but I can't. I said I was sorry that you were all grounded, but I can't change that either. I can't really do anything right, can I?"

"That's not true," Quinn said. "You didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry. We're all sorry."

"Thank you, Quinn," Rachel said. "We better get to glee."

"Rachel," Quinn sighed as her friend started to walk away.

Rachel sat by herself in the choir room and Quinn quietly explained what happened to Kurt and Santana. They were going to have to break through the shell that Rachel was rapidly building around herself.

The three of them stopped her after glee and wouldn't let her go to her car until they could talk to her. She told them she had an appointment to get to, but they weren't letting her pass.

"Rachel, while I was upset that I ended up in trouble and ruined shoes, I shouldn't have blamed you," Kurt told her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Santana said.

"Thank you," Rachel said. "And it's fine."

"It's clearly not fine," Santana said. "Come on, squi-Rachel. We're sorry."

"That's not always easy to hear," Rachel said quietly.

"Why not?" Kurt asked. "We get you were upset, but we apologized."

"I said thank you," Rachel said. "But that doesn't mean it's easy."

"Rachel," Quinn cut in. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Rachel said, getting increasingly upset. "It doesn't matter."

"Come on, Rachel," Santana said. "It matters."

"You didn't even mean it, did you?" Rachel asked. "You weren't really angry at all?"

"I was mad about being in trouble," Kurt said.

"You just needed someone to take it out on," Rachel concluded. "You were mad at me for no reason and now that I'm upset, you tell me you weren't really angry at all. Do you know that I can't tell the difference?" Rachel looked at Quinn. "I spent the entire weekend angry at my mom and angry at myself because I don't know how to be a friend. I don't know how to make people stop and then I don't know how to deal with it when they walk away. I thought you guys were in the right when you told me it was my fault and that I deserved it when you walked away. And you tell me that it didn't actually mean anything. Do you know what it's like to never get anything right?"

"Rachel," Quinn tried to reach out to her.

"It doesn't matter," Rachel said. "Thank you for your apologies. We're friends. And I have to go because I have an appointment."

"Rachel," Kurt tugged on her arm to stop her from leaving and was not expecting the result he got.

"I have to go!" Rachel shouted in tears. "I- You wouldn't understand. I have to go."

"Then help us understand," Kurt yelled after her as she walked down the hallway towards the school entrance.

"Oh my god," Quinn put her hand to her mouth as tears swam in her eyes.

Santana hugged her. "It'll be ok. We'll talk to Shelby about what we can do to try and fix this."

Quinn nodded and Kurt linked an arm with her as they made their way back down the hall.

Kurt's words echoed in Rachel's ears as she drove towards Dr. Woodward's office. She didn't know how to help them understand. She thought Quinn already understood and she'd been letting Santana in more and more. She wished her response had been to take their apologies for what they were and move forward, but her confusion, anger, and hurt stopped her from being able to do that.

Rachel arrived at the doctor's office early and went inside to check in. She had to wait and pulled out the notebook that Shelby had asked her to show to the Dr. Woodward. Rachel read over what she had written and started to make changes and notes. She started a new page for a new draft, but the words weren't coming as quickly. She leaned her head back and started to hum. When she started the tune over, she looked at her words and let them flow with it. She smiled when she remembered Shelby's words of how it would make a good song. Rachel quickly drew a staff on her page and started to write out the music to the tune in her head. She didn't want to forget it.

Rachel wasn't surprised when Shelby walked into the office ten minutes later and greeted her with a kiss to the top of her head. Shelby came to every appointment.

"Were you able to talk to anyone?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah," Rachel answered. "They all apologized and said they weren't mad at me."

Shelby wanted to smile but one look at Rachel and she knew that the girl didn't feel good about it.

"They said sorry and I don't understand why I'm not happy about it," Rachel continued. "Why does everything have to be so complicated?"

"I wish I knew, sweetie," Shelby said gently. She wrapped an arm around Rachel and let the girl rest her head on her shoulder.

Dr. Woodward smiled when she came out of her office and saw the way Shelby and Rachel were sitting. When she called the girl's name, Rachel stood up. She started to walk away, but stopped and took Shelby's hand and pulled her up. They both entered the office and Shelby had to sit on the couch because Rachel always sat by herself in the chair; sitting on a couch in a therapist's office was entirely too cliché for her liking.

"Well, Rachel," the good doctor started, "is there any reason you want your mom to join us today?"

Rachel shrugged and then looked over at her mom. "I just need- I just want her to listen."

"Fair enough," Dr. Woodward said. "Just listening, mom." She spoke to Shelby who nodded to show she understood that she needed to not say anything unless they started talking to her directly.

Dr. Woodward had heard pieces of what happened during the session last week and she listened attentively as Rachel filled her in on the rest. The girl showed her the notebook and, as she normally did with Rachel's writings, she made a copy of it for her records. It gave her a chance to look them over during the week.

"Do you think that you can help Kurt and the others really understand what you're feeling?" Dr. Woodward asked. "Why their misplaced anger hurts you so much?"

"I thought Quinn already understood," Rachel said.

"It's not always that easy," Dr. Woodward said. "I hate to tell you this, young lady, but teenagers aren't always the best listeners. Empathy and awareness are gained through experiences. Quinn has that… sometimes. But you cannot shut them out. They are trying to talk to you. Talk to them in return. Explain to them or show them so that they do understand. Maybe you could show them what you've written."

"Yeah," Rachel looked down at her hands. "I'll try."

A glance at the clock told them all that the hour was up and Dr. Woodward asked Shelby to stay back for a second when they started to leave.

"Just for a minute or two, Rachel," Dr. Woodward said when Rachel eyed them suspiciously.

Shelby sat back down on the couch and Dr. Woodward returned to her chair and looked over at her. Shelby suddenly felt like she was in the principal's office in high school.

"I wanted to tell you what a great job you're doing," Dr. Woodward said.

"But she's still in so much pain," Shelby said.

"That'll take a lot longer to fix than a few months of therapy and a stable home," Dr. Woodward said.

"Maybe I should have listened to her and not told anyone," Shelby said.

"No," Dr. Woodward said. "You were right. A painful past does not mean she's above reproach or discipline. She's a kid."

"I should have just grounded her," Shelby said. "They'd all be grounded together."

"From what I heard, that was her decision," Dr. Woodward said.

"But I shouldn't put her in that position," Shelby said. "Maybe I shouldn't have spanked her."

Dr. Woodward sat back and looked at the mother across from her. The woman was grasping at any moment she could have changed that would have spared Rachel any of this. "Normally, most people wouldn't spank a sixteen-year-old, that's true. But whether you see it every day or not, Rachel has responded exceptionally well under you care, punishments and all. You discipline her with love and a spanking is not a beating, don't ever forget that. Don't change what you're doing now. Scold her, hug her, tuck her in at night, pop her if you need to, but don't change it. That normalcy is everything to Rachel right now. You make her feel safe and loved and that's the most important thing. And if you do feel you need to change something, talk to her about it first so that she understands. In this case, you let her take responsibility for and ownership of her wrongdoing and it had consequences no one could have foreseen. Her friends let her down. It happens. The only thing to worry about now is how to move forward."

"How do we do that?" Shelby asked.

"Right now, the best thing she's doing is her writing," Dr. Woodward said. "This is what I wanted to tell you. If she's writing, leave her be and let her write. I'm not saying let her skip homework or dinner or anything. But if you want to talk and she wants to write, let her write. Let's see where it takes her. This is her way of working this out and it needs to run its course."

"Ok," Shelby smiled. "Thank you. I don't know what she would do without you."

"She'd be ok," Dr. Woodward said. "Trust me; it's you she couldn't be without."

Rachel was pretty quiet the rest of the evening. She was relieved that Shelby had been in the therapy session with her because that way she didn't have to explain what had happened at school all over again. She also appreciated the fact that her mother didn't weigh in on it too much. Shelby was letting her sort it out in her head and Rachel liked that for this.

After dinner, Rachel distracted herself and played with Beth for most of the evening. Shelby found them in the bathroom after she did the dishes. Beth was playing in the tub and Rachel was trying to stay dry.

"I can't believe she'll be one soon," Rachel said when Shelby entered the room and sat on the closed toilet seat.

"I know," Shelby said sadly. "The year went by so fast."

"Do you have any ideas for a party?" Rachel asked.

"Not yet," Shelby said. "I'm sure we'll just do something here. We'll get her a cake and balloons and she'll be happy."

Cake? Beth grabbed onto the side of the tub and tried to pull herself up.

"No," Rachel said as she sat her back down. "You'll slip and fall. And trust me, that's not pleasant."

"Are you still hurting?" Shelby asked. Rachel hadn't mentioned anything about being sore.

"Yeah, a little," Rachel conceded.

"Honey," Shelby said sympathetically.

"I'm fine," Rachel shrugged. "I've got some bruises, but I knew I would."

"Yeah," Shelby said. "There's not much you can do about that."

Beth pouted and cried when she was taken from her playtime in the bathtub so that she could be dressed and put to bed. She squirmed on the changing table for Rachel until Shelby joined them with her pacifier and blanket. God, she loved those things.

"I'm going to move her crib in here soon so that she's sleeping in her own room," Shelby said.

"How do you think she'll like that?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know," Shelby said. "I imagine she'll be upset with me for a night or two."

"She'll be fine," Rachel said. "She'll realize that you're right there in the next room."

Shelby smiled and kissed Rachel's head. "Thank you."

Shelby left them alone and let Rachel rock Beth to sleep. When she came back, both girls were asleep in the rocking chair. Shelby carefully took Beth from Rachel's arms. She didn't want to wake Rachel up, but she wasn't successful.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep," Rachel said as she stretched.

"That's ok," Shelby said. "It's been a long day for you."

"Maybe I'll just go to bed," Rachel said. It was an uncharacteristic move for the girl but Shelby nodded.

"Ok," Shelby said. "But only if you want to."

"Yeah," Rachel said as she stood up to move out of the room.

"You can talk to me if you need to," Shelby said.

"I know," Rachel said. "Maybe I should have just accepted their apologies."

She said it as she was walking out of the room and Shelby sighed and looked down at her sleeping baby. It didn't take her long to get Beth settled in her crib and then she went to check on Rachel. She was just climbing into bed when Shelby knocked and entered the room.

"Try not to worry about it tonight, ok," Shelby said as she sat down on Rachel's bed and reached out and tucked some hair behind the girl's ear. "Give your mind a break and get some sleep."

"I'll try," Rachel said.

Shelby kissed her goodnight and tucked her in. Though it was barely past nine, it hadn't taken Rachel very long to fall back to sleep. And even though Shelby had told Rachel she shouldn't worry, she wasn't able to take her own advice. She wasn't able to fall asleep herself until close to midnight.

Shelby thought she was dreaming when she heard a noise a few hours later. She opened her eyes and stared into the darkness and strained to hear it again. Just when she had decided that it must have been in her head, she heard it again. Now that she was focused more, it wasn't a hard sound to pick out and Shelby sighed as she threw her blankets back and got out of bed.

Rachel's bedroom door was open and Shelby headed straight for the third story music room. Sure enough she could see the light from the bottom of the stairs and made her way up and found Rachel pecking out notes at the piano. Shelby could tell right away that the girl was crying. Rachel took her hands off the keys and picked up her notebook and held it in her lap as she made some more notes.

"Rachel," Shelby said gently.

Rachel startled and turned to look at her mom. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up, but I couldn't sleep and I have to write this."

"It's ok," Shelby said. She moved to Rachel's side and sat down on the piano bench next to her and took her in her arms. Rachel cried into her shoulder and Shelby did her best to rock her as she cooed softly in her ear.

"I should have just accepted their apologies and moved on," Rachel said. "They came around just like you and everyone said they would and I pushed them away. I don't understand what's wrong with me."

"Hey, nothing's wrong with you," Shelby said. "Calm down now."

"I can't," Rachel cried. "I'm upset and I'm angry at them and I'm angry at me."

"Shhh," Shelby said.

Rachel cried for a couple of minutes until she was finally just leaning into her mother and staring down at her page. She sat up as another thought came to her and she picked up her pencil and started writing again.

"Is that your song?" Shelby asked.

Rachel nodded. "It's how I can make them understand. Dr. Woodward told me I should show them my writing, but I can't just show it to them. Back when none of us were friends, the only time they ever really paid any attention to me was when I was singing. I have to make this into a song."

"That sounds like a great idea," Shelby said. "I can help you with it tomorrow if you want."

"No," Rachel said. "I have to do it now. I have to finish it so I can sing it so they will understand."

Shelby was silent for a moment as she considered making Rachel go back to bed. Dr. Woodward's advice of let her write rang in her ear and though it was the middle of the night, Shelby conceded. For Rachel, this was the most important thing right now.

"I'll help you," Shelby said.

Rachel looked up at her smiled and Shelby wiped away some of the girl's tears. "Show me what you've got."

They worked on it for hours. Shelby listened intently as Rachel told her what certain lines meant. Rachel's words touched on everything from this fight with her friends to situations she had had with her fathers and Shelby herself. Shelby found that the more Rachel worked to perfect a stanza, the more she talked out what it meant. It was a trove of information, both new and old, for the mother to take in.

Shelby had to take a break in the morning so she could run Beth to her babysitter's house after the woman had agreed to watch the girl all day for her. She also called the school to excuse Rachel's absence because there was no way she could send the exhausted teen in.

They perfected the melody and used some of Shelby's lined paper to write the music and then added the words to the song. It was close to eleven in the morning when they finished. Shelby played the piano while Rachel sang and though they both were in tears when it was over, Rachel beamed at her accomplishment. She'd written a song!

They both ate a quick lunch and then Shelby forced Rachel to lie down and sleep. Rachel reluctantly curled in her bed and Shelby gratefully collapsed in hers. It was much too soon that she felt her daughter shaking her arm to try and wake her up. Rachel had only let them sleep a couple of hours. As much as she dreaded the rejection, Rachel knew that she had to show her friends this song soon or she might lose her nerve.

Shelby called Mr. Schue before they left and explained to him that Rachel wanted to come in and perform a song for the group. He readily agreed, but was surprised to see Shelby arrive with her. She told him she was there to play the piano for her daughter because it was a brand new song. Brad didn't take offense, but stood off to the side so he could hear what the girl had come up with.

"Ok, guys," Will said when everyone had assembled. "Rachel has a song she would like to sing for us. It's an original piece that she wrote and we are honored to get the first listen."

Shelby sat at the piano and Rachel stood in the center of the room and took a deep breath.

"This is a song I wrote to try and express how I feel a lot of the time," Rachel said. "I want my friends to understand how I feel and why." She was looking at Quinn, Kurt, and Santana who were all sitting together. "I just struggle so much sometimes and feel so confused and hurt. And a lot of the times, it's my fault. Or at least I think it is. I wish it wasn't. I feel like I always push people away because of something I did. I don't mean to do that. I don't mean to make people, especially my friends, mad at me. I guess I just want my friends to understand how I feel when they do walk away."

Quinn already had tears in her eyes and Kurt let out a long breath. Santana's face was soft and her eyes intent as she watched Rachel turn and nod to Shelby. A slow and melodic tune came from the piano as Shelby played, but all eyes were on Rachel when she started to sing.

"What have I done? I wish I could run…" Rachel sang.

Her voice was as beautiful and as strong as ever as it filled the choir room. Shelby's heart was aching with pride as she watched her girl pouring everything she had into begging her friends to understand her. Quinn couldn't stop her tears and neither could Santana. Kurt wiped a stray one away as he listened to the words. He had no idea about Rachel's insecurities or feelings until Santana had filled him in the day before. He knew all about insecurities, but he'd never once in his life felt abandoned. It hurt to realize how his petty anger over a punishment of his own doing played into making his friend feel worse about herself and her place in his and Quinn and Santana's lives.

Quinn was on her feet the moment Rachel finished the last note. She hugged her friend fiercely as everyone started to clap. Santana joined the hug and then so did Kurt. The rest of the kids looked with curiosity because they knew there were details of this story that they didn't know. Shelby had to wipe her own tears when she stood up from the piano. Will gave her a comforting smile as he clapped for his student.

"Rachel, that was fantastic," Will said as the clapping died down.

"Thank you," Rachel said. Quinn, Kurt and Santana stood at her sides so she could see Mr. Schue.

"And I think I speak for everyone when I say that I think we found one of our numbers for Regionals!" Will exclaimed.

Rachel's tear filled eyes and sparkling smile lit the room.

**A/N – Thanks for reading guys. I hope you liked it. Rachel's song is, of course, Get it Right from Glee. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. They'll be another chapter soon. **


	85. Chapter 85

**A/N – I'm so sorry this is late. I had such a horrible week at work last week. I had to remind myself several times that I couldn't quit because I've got a mortgage to pay and there's always concert tickets to buy. Seriously though, the worst work week I've had in a long time. And then the weekend promised me that it would be relaxing and slow, but it lied to me. I am trying desperately to get back to the once a week updates, but it's been difficult, as you know. But I am trying and I do apologize for taking so long. **

**Thank you all so much for all the reviews and messages and for the new alerts that are still coming in. You guys amaze me. And thanks for all of the encouragement. I truly appreciate it. Thank you. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Beth yawned widely enough that her pacifier slipped from her mouth and fell off to the side. Once the yawn was over, the little one rolled over and picked it up and put it back in place. She held onto her blanket as she sat up and stared out into the darkened room. There was a little bit of light coming in around the curtains, but it was enough to allow Beth to see. She could see her mom was still asleep in the big bed across the room. Beth grasped onto the bars of the crib and pulled herself up so that she was standing. She was ready to get out of here, but she hadn't yet figured out how to get over these silly bars. No one else's bed had bars on it. Beth scowled around her pacifier and let out a tiny cry. It really was time for her mother to wake up.

Shelby didn't stir and Beth pulled herself up to her tip toes, as if that would give her a better view of the woman. Beth's latest trick was standing by herself. She would pull herself up and then let go. She still hadn't taken a step though. Shelby and Rachel were convinced it would be any day now.

"Mamamama," Beth spoke to Shelby. She knew that usually got her what she wanted.

But still Shelby didn't move. Beth decided that harsher measures were needed and let out a loud cry as she worked up some tears. She had her pacifier tucked on the side of her mouth and made herself heard.

Shelby woke up, but stayed still for a second in the hope that perhaps Beth would quiet down and play by herself for a little bit. That way Shelby could get some more sleep. It wasn't to be and Beth cried again and Shelby finally sat up and gave her little girl a tired smile. Now that she had her mother's attention, Beth stopped crying and held one hand out to her while keeping a firm grip on one of the bars. Shelby glanced at the clock and saw that it was just after six and she grumbled good-naturedly as she got out of bed. Rachel had spent the night at Quinn's and Shelby had considered this to be the opportune morning to sleep in. Rachel was in full Regional's mode and liked to practice every morning. Early. Every morning. She had happily sent her off to bother Judy and Quinn with her early morning routine when the girl had asked. It had been a little over three weeks since they'd snuck into Carmel and Quinn's punishment was over and the girls had jumped at the chance to hang out. Beth, apparently, had not received the memo that they were sleeping in.

That didn't matter once Shelby was greeted with a big smile and arms waiting for a hug. Shelby lifted the girl, blanket, pacifier, and all, from the crib and held her close while Beth rested her head on her mother's shoulder.

"Happy birthday!" Shelby said in an excited, but soft tone to the girl. Beth lifted her head and looked at Shelby and smiled. She wasn't quite sure what that meant, but it sounded like it could be a good thing. "You're a year old, big girl!" Beth smiled for her again. Ok, lady, if you say so.

Shelby carried Beth over to her bed and sat on it and leaned back against some pillows that were propped up on the headboard. She pulled the covers back into place and her birthday girl in footed pajamas with cupcakes on them sat down on her lap and rested her head on her mother's chest.

"Happy birthday to you," Shelby sang softly. "Happy birthday to you." Beth lifted her head and smiled as her mother sang. "Happy birthday, dear Beth. Happy birthday to you!"

Beth scooted forward and gave her mother a sloppy kiss and then settled back down to snuggle. Shelby counted this as among her most perfect mornings.

Rachel assumed she was only one awake at the Fabray household as she sat at the island in the kitchen and looked over some sheet music. She was singing softly and tapping her foot against the stool she was sitting on. She'd already had some breakfast and was nursing a second glass of juice and trying to be as quiet as possible. She stopped singing after a moment and picked up her pencil so that she could make another note in her notebook. She'd been bringing Mr. Schue ideas every morning at school. He kept trying to explain to her that the plans were made and the routines had been finalized, but that didn't stop her. She knew all that. But that didn't mean they should stop trying to look for improvements. What if someone came up with something great? Were they just not going to give it a second look because routines were finalized? Shelby and Will had given up trying to get her to stop.

Shelby had been helping at some of the practices just like she had with Sectionals. The kids were happy with the song choices and were gaining confidence in the dancing with each passing practice. By this time next week, they would be preparing to head to Youngstown, Ohio for the competition.

In a complete contrast with her daughter, Judy was a natural early riser and wasn't surprised to see that it was quarter after six when she got out of bed. She assumed the girls would be asleep most of the morning because she had still heard them after two that morning. She'd just rolled over and gone back to sleep. Judy threw on some casual clothes so she could go down and have breakfast and enjoy the quiet morning.

Judy supposed she shouldn't have been surprised to see Rachel already up and dressed and sitting in the kitchen when she went down to start some coffee.

"Good morning," Judy said.

Rachel jumped and spun around, startled. "Morning. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No," Judy assured her. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"I already ate," Rachel said. Her attention was back on writing her notes.

"How long have you been up?" Judy asked.

"Since about five or so," Rachel answered though she didn't look up.

Judy just shook her head, but smiled. "So you got less than three hours of sleep?"

"I guess," Rachel said. She really wasn't paying much attention anymore. She had to get this all down on paper.

Judy just left her to it and got the coffee pot ready. But she considered this to be pretty good payback to Shelby. The woman had sent Rachel to her completely wound up and excited so sending her back tired and possibly cranky later on seemed fair. Quinn hadn't been much better because both girls were happy the grounding was over, but Judy knew that Quinn would sleep as late as possible so she wouldn't be as bad later. She smiled deviously.

Rachel had finally finished writing and looked up. "Beth's party is at ten so I have to be home earlier than that to help my mom set up."

"I know," Judy said. "I thought Quinn and I might go over with you to help."

"That would be good," Rachel said. "My grandparents and aunt and uncle will probably try and get in early too."

"Sounds good," Judy said. Rachel, however, was looking back at her paper and not paying attention again. Judy just waved her off and went to the pantry to find something to eat.

"Oh!" Rachel exclaimed a couple minutes later. "That's perfect!"

"What is?" Judy asked.

"My idea," Rachel answered. "Quinn will love it. I have to go and tell her."

Rachel got up from the stool and started to leave the kitchen so quickly that it took Judy a moment to register what she said.

"No. Rachel," Judy said as she raced after the excited girl. "Don't wake Quinn up." Judy caught up and snaked an arm around the girl's waist to stop her. "Let Quinn sleep."

"But this idea would involve her," Rachel reasoned. It was getting close to seven. Everyone should be up by now.

"You can tell her later," Judy said as she turned Rachel around and walked them back to the kitchen. She knew that Grumpy Quinn wouldn't care at all about Rachel's Regional's idea. "Tell me about it. I'd love to hear."

"Ok," Rachel said with a smile as she returned to her seat at the island. "First, we're going to have to scrap every bit of choreography we already have."

Judy sat down opposite Rachel with her coffee and a bowl of oatmeal and settled in for what she was certain would be a long explanation.

Quinn still wasn't awake when Rachel left the Frabray's at eight so she could go home and held set up for the party. Rachel practiced her song for Regionals on her short drive home and was kind of surprised to find that none of her family were there yet. She thought they would all be there by now.

"Hey," Rachel said when she entered the house.

"Hi, sweetheart," Shelby said from the kitchen. Beth came crawling out of the room to meet Rachel by the door.

Rachel dropped her bag and picked her little sister up. "Happy Birthday! You're one!"

Beth babbled to her and Rachel listened intently as she walked into the kitchen. Shelby was pulling one cake out of the oven and getting ready to put another in. She set a small chocolate cake off to the side so it could cool. This was a private cake for Beth to enjoy later. The larger cake that was about to bake would be for everyone else.

"How was your night?" Shelby asked.

"Great," Rachel said as she walked up to her mother and gave her kiss on the cheek. "We watched a few movies and I even got Quinn to rehearse two of the songs for Regionals. And that reminds me, I've got some new ideas I want to go over with you."

"We'll have to do that later," Shelby said diplomatically. "Right now, we need to get this place decorated."

"But the party's not for two more hours," Rachel pleaded her case.

"And we still have a lot to do," Shelby said.

"Fine. Come on, Beth. You can help me with balloons," Rachel said. Beth wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulder and patted her back as if to say that she was willing to listen.

Rachel felt like she'd blown up about a thousand balloons (there were twenty) when the door rang some time later. Beth was sitting on the floor surrounded by her colorful new toys and Shelby called out for Rachel to please get it.

Michael and Jack were at the door and both barreled into her for a hug. Sam and Maggie were still getting some things from the car and Paul and Rebecca were just pulling up. Rachel led the boys into the house and left the door open for everyone else.

"They're here," Rachel yelled out to Shelby.

"Hi, Aunt Shelby," Jack said.

"Hi, bud," Shelby greeted as he and Michael went into the kitchen to see her.

Michael's eyes went right to the small chocolate cake that was sitting on the counter and he made his way over to it. "Can I have some cake?" Even as he was asking, the boy was reaching his hand out to scoop some icing off with his finger.

"Don't you dare," Shelby intercepted him. "That's Beth's cake. Go and help Rachel with the balloons."

"Come on," Rachel said. "I've got about a million more balloons to blow up."

A couple hours later the party was in full swing and Beth was loving all of the attention she was receiving. She wasn't quite sure what the special occasion was, but she would certainly agree if they decided to do this once a week or so. Right now she was sitting in Puck's lap as he sat on the floor next to Santana and Quinn. Puck was showing Beth how to work the new toy he bought her. It was loud and lit up and Beth loved it and clapped her hands every time the noise would start again. Shelby glared at him as Beth squealed in delight again. Hopefully the batteries wouldn't last that long.

There were presents and wrapping paper all over and Rebecca was doing her best to pick it all up. No one else seemed that interested because Sam had started a paper fight when he threw a balled up piece of wrapping paper at Shelby. She threw one at Jack who threw it at Rachel who whacked Puck on the side of the head with it. Beth picked up the paper and started trying to tear it apart just to be sure there wasn't another present in there. Sam was displeased that his game got derailed and threw another one at Shelby. She picked it up and threw it back, just in time for Rebecca to step into the path and get hit in the face.

"Shelby," Rebecca growled as she shot her daughter a glare. She picked up the paper and put it in her trash bag.

Shelby could not believe that her mother was accusing her and pointed a finger at Rachel to blame the girl.

"Mom!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Rachel, I told you not to throw things at your grandmother," Shelby said in a scolding tone.

"And I'm sure Nana told you it's not nice to lie," Rachel matched her.

"That's right," Rebecca said. Rachel's smile was smug and Shelby rolled her eyes. Sam laughed on the other side of the room. He was glad that he never really lost his ability to get his sister into trouble.

"Come everyone, let's have cake," Shelby said to the room. "Just leave it, Mom. Rachel will clean it up later."

"But-"

"Cake's in the kitchen," Shelby cut Rachel off.

Rebecca conceded and put the trash bag down and led the way into the kitchen. Shelby took the opportunity of her mother's back being turned to throw some paper at Sam.

As everyone piled into the kitchen, Quinn held back so that she could take Beth so Puck could get up. Beth was happy in Quinn's arms, but didn't really understand why they were leaving the noisy toy behind.

"Can you believe she's one?" Puck asked when he got to his feet.

"No," Quinn said with a sad smile towards her former boyfriend. "Sometimes it feels like it was only yesterday and sometimes it feels like forever ago."

"I know what you mean," Puck said. He realized they were the only ones left in the room and so he put an arm around Quinn's shoulders so they could walk together. "We did the right thing." He said it as if he was admitting it to himself for the first time.

"I know," Quinn said softly.

"We need Beth," Shelby stepped around the corner and stopped when she saw that it was just the three of them.

"We're coming," Quinn said.

"Don't move," Shelby said.

The teens stood still and gave each other confused looks as Shelby disappeared from view. She was only gone a few seconds and returned with her camera.

"Let me get a picture of the three of you," Shelby said.

They nodded. Puck still had his arm around Quinn and she held Beth and they all looked at Shelby and smiled. Shelby snapped the picture and then walked over to them. She wasn't quite sure how to start to she stood up on her toes and kissed Puck on the cheek before kissing Quinn's forehead.

"You two gave me a perfect gift," Shelby said. "And I am thankful everyday for her. And for you. She is my daughter and I adore her." Beth reached out to Shelby and she held her hand, but didn't take her from Quinn. "You two will always have a place in her life. I promise."

"Thanks, Coach C.," Puck said.

Quinn only nodded, but her eyes shone as she looked at Shelby. She knew that she would always have a place in Shelby and Rachel's, and so therefore, Beth's life, but she appreciated the words all the same.

"Ok," Shelby's tone perked up. "Let's let this girl have some cake!"

Despite the advice, Shelby left Beth's 'Birthday Girl' shirt on for her to eat the cake. The shirt would wash. And the pictures would be cute. Beth wasn't quite sure what the game was when Shelby set the small cake in front of her, but they better not be playing with her. There was a number one candle and everyone sang while Beth looked at it curiously. She reached out to try and touch the flame, but Rachel pulled her hand back and then helped her blow it out.

Maggie was filming and Quinn was taking pictures as Beth watched Shelby remove the candle from the cake and set it off to the side.

"That's your cake, Beth," Shelby said encouragingly. "Eat up."

Beth wasn't quite sure why everyone was staring at her, but the temptation of the cake was too much to make her care for long. She reached a hand out to it at first and tentatively dipped it in the chocolate icing. She put her hand to her mouth and started to eat it. The icing wasn't enough because next time she reached out and grabbed an entire handful and put it to her mouth. Everyone laughed and clapped for her as cake went everywhere. Beth reached out with her other hand and got a second handful. Presents and cake by the handful? This was the best day ever!

Beth finally went for it all and pulled the whole cake to her and stuck her face down in it. Shelby had to rescue it to keep the whole thing from falling on the floor. Beth was quite pleased with herself and the mess she was making. Why didn't they do this every day?

"You did the same thing," Judy said to Quinn.

"Are you kidding me," Quinn said. "I still like cake that much now."

"You had it everywhere, Jud said. Except your cake was vanilla."

"Quinn was vanilla even then. Shocking," Santana joked.

Quinn reached over and gave her friend a not so gentle slap on the leg. "Shut up, Santana."

Santana smiled devilishly and Quinn rolled her eyes and reached out and took a piece of Beth's chocolate cake and threw it at her friend.

"Quinn!" Santana said when the cake hit her on the face. She threw it back and was satisfied when it landed in Quinn's hair.

Beth watched with interest and did not agree at all with them throwing her cake around. But then again… was she allowed to throw cake too?

"Girls," Shelby stopped them even though she was laughing. "Let's not start a food fight."

Beth grabbed a handful and took aim. Rachel was closest to her and her big sister became her default target. Beth threw the cake and then put her hand back in her mouth to eat what was still there.

"Beth!" Rachel said, but the baby's actions had created another round of laughs. Rachel tried to pick the cake out of her hair and looked at Santana. "See what you started." Santana just shrugged her guilt away.

Michael wanted in on this and he reached towards Beth's plate so he could grab his own cake ammo to throw at someone; probably his brother. Paul was quicker though and moved the little boy's hand out of reach.

"I don't think that's the best idea," Paul said with a laugh as he sat the boy on his lap. "I know for a fact there's more cake and I would rather eat it than throw it. What do you say?"

"Yeah!" Michael agreed.

"You heard the man, Shelby," Paul said. "We want cake!"

The party had died down a few hours later and Sam and Maggie had gotten the boys together and on the road for the drive back to Columbus. It was a less than two hour drive, but they all needed to get home. Paul and Rebecca agreed and said their goodbyes. Puck had already gone home and Quinn and Santana left to do some homework together. Judy offered to stay and help clean up.

"I'd help too, but I've got to go and shower and get this cake out of my hair," Rachel said.

"Sure, worm your way out of all of the work," Shelby said.

"I blew up balloons earlier," Rachel defended herself. "I'll take a quick shower and then come and get Beth for a bath."

"Ok," Shelby agreed. She had wiped Beth down after the cake, but it was going to take a bath to get it all.

Rachel skipped away, happy to have gotten out of dirty dishes and a floor full of wrapping paper.

"I'm surprised she didn't go with Santana and Quinn," Shelby said. "I doubt they're really doing much homework."

"She's probably exhausted," Judy said. "I know they were still up after two and Rachel told me she got up at five."

Shelby closed her eyes and groaned. "I don't know why she does that to herself. Who only wants three hours of sleep?"

"She had more Regionals ideas this morning," Judy said. "It sounded very elaborate. She wanted to wake Quinn up and tell her, but I wouldn't let her."

"That's probably why she stayed," Shelby laughed. "She wants to work on Regionals with me."

Judy agreed and they got down to work with the cleaning. Beth was really starting to get fussy because it was past her naptime, but she needed a bath first. Rachel finally returned from her shower in sweats and scooped Beth up to take her upstairs.

Shelby and Judy cleaned and loaded the dishwasher and chatted about the drive to Youngstown next weekend. Shelby would be on the bus with the kids and Judy was going to drive her own car and meet them there later. Beth was staying the night with her babysitter Katie since Shelby's family would also be attending the competition.

Judy left when they had finished and Shelby went in search of Rachel. She assumed she would find her in the music room because she and Beth never came back downstairs. She hoped that Rachel had put Beth down for a nap after the bath. Shelby went into her bedroom to check that Beth was in her crib and found that both her girls were asleep in her bed. Rachel had created a pillow barrier on one side of the bed and had Beth in the middle. Beth was spread out in the middle with her blanket and pacifier and Rachel was curled into a ball next to her. Shelby smiled at the scene and captured it with the camera on her phone since her real one was downstairs. She sent it to her parents and Judy with the caption, 'worn out.' Not one to let the chance of a nap pass her by, Shelby moved the pillow barrier and climbed into the bed as well. Beth stirred a little bit, but Rachel didn't move even as the tiniest girl rolled into her. Shelby was smiling as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Yep, it was a perfect day.

The week flew by much too quickly for Rachel's liking. Her new dance routine hadn't been used and the team stuck with what they had, which was really good. They were practicing longer hours after school and Shelby and Will were really proud of how everything had come together. The only night they cut short was Friday because everyone had to be at the school early the next morning to take the bus. It would just be Will and Shelby on the bus with the kids. Emma was going to meet them there because she hadn't been able to get out of an early morning commitment.

"Mom," Rachel yelled again. "We have to go."

"Rachel, we've got plenty of time," Shelby said. "Please stop yelling. Start putting stuff in the car."

Rachel followed the instructions and packed away their bags and everything for Beth. The only thing she needed now was her mom and sister. What was taking them so long? Rachel had gotten up far too early for the time they needed to be at the school and had been bothering Shelby about going fast ever since. Shelby knew that they had time and was trying to corral Rachel, but the girl's anxiousness and excitement were getting the better of her. They were also getting on Shelby's nerves.

"Mo-" She had just come back inside from loading the car.

"Rachel, I suggest you not finish whatever it is you were planning to say," Shelby said.

Rachel clamped her mouth shut but glared at her mother as the woman sat down with Beth to put the baby's shoes on. She waited as patiently as humanly possible while Beth squirmed and Shelby had to fight her to get the shoes on her feet. Rachel glanced over at the clock again and sighed. Loudly.

"Rachel," Shelby warned.

"Mom," the girl whined.

"Outside," Shelby said. "Right now. Don't come back in. We'll be out soon."

"But-"

"Now," Shelby repeated.

Rachel gave an annoyed huff and spun on her heel and stomped out of the house. Shelby and Beth sat back on the couch and looked at each other as if commiserating over what they had to deal with.

"Your sister is crazy," Shelby said. Beth agreed.

Shelby finally did emerge from the house and took her time driving to Katie's so they could drop Beth off. Rachel said her goodbyes in the car and Shelby waited there when Shelby and Beth went to the front door.

"Be a good girl," Shelby said as she hugged her little daughter. "And don't walk until I get back."

Katie and Beth stayed on the porch and waved goodbye as Shelby and Rachel drove away. They arrived at William McKinley High a few minutes later and Rachel realized they were the first ones there.

"We even beat the bus," Rachel said and then she noticed her mother giving her a pointed look. "What?"

It was another forty-five minutes before the bus and everyone arrived. It didn't take them long to get loaded and on the road. Youngstown was about a four hour drive and they wanted to get there early so they could check in at the hotel and then go and see the theater. Plus, they would be able to get in at least one more practice. The competition was that evening and they would be returning home the following day.

Most of the kids wanted to go right back to sleep and Rachel was shushed when she suggested practicing the songs. It had taken about half and hour, but they finally settled into a comfortable ride.

Their conversations were disrupted an hour and a half later when Sam noticed black smoke coming from the back of the bus.

"What is that?" Sam asked.

Before anyone could answer the bus started to sputter and slow down. The driver pulled to the side of the road and turned the engine off. There was smoke coming from under the hood now as well.

"Ok, everyone off the bus," Will instructed. He wasn't sure if there was an actual fire or what.

The engine was dead and so the lift wouldn't work and so Puck picked Artie up and Finn moved the wheelchair. Will had them move away from the bus and into the field on the side of the road.

"We are in the middle of nowhere," Tina commented.

"I think I'm sinking into the mud," Artie announced.

"Can he fix it?" Brittany asked.

Rachel was pacing. She marched up to the bus driver the minute he finished a phone call and demanded some answers.

"Rachel," Shelby scolded.

"What's going on?" Will asked Lou, the driver.

"I can't get it to start again," Lou said. "And I just talked to the company and it'll be four or five hours before they can get another bus out here."

"Four or five hours!" Rachel exclaimed. "That is unacceptable!"

"Nothing's available until later," Lou explained. He was apologetic, but there was nothing he could do.

"We're never going to make it in time," Rachel said as she made her way back over to the group. "We're stuck here."

"We can't be stuck here," Mercedes said. "We can't miss the competition."

"We're not going to miss it," Rachel said. She was determined and she was already coming up with a plan. "We need rides and we need them fast. Santana, Brittany, start hitchhiking. You two are our best bet to get people to stop."

Brittany nodded, but Santana gave her a quizzical look. She wasn't sure if that was some sort of compliment or not.

"Take Artie with you," Rachel said. "We'll take any sort of sympathy we can get."

"Rachel," Shelby admonished as she stepped in. "That's enough. No one is hitchhiking. We will figure this out."

"I hope it's soon," Mike replied.

"Yeah, I don't want to be stuck out here with the bugs and god knows what other else kind of wildlife for too long," Kurt said.

"Oh my god, do you think there's snakes?" Mercedes shrieked and the kids all started to look around for any unwanted visitor.

Shelby rolled her eyes and then looked back to Will who was pulling out his phone to start to make some calls. They had to get this sorted out soon or these kids were going to go crazy out here. Especially Rachel. Shelby looked back at the kids who were still complaining about the possibility of snakes and all of the mud that was there. She scanned the crowd and furrowed her brow when she realized something was off. Where was Rachel?

**A/N – I hope you like this one. Thanks for reading and please leave me a review. I really appreciate it. You guys are the best!**


	86. Chapter 86

**A/N – I know I'm a broken record, but again, I'm sorry this is late. I'm trying my best guys. And the writer's block that moved in with me last week didn't help at all. But here it is. I hope you enjoy it. **

**Thank you all so much for your continued support and for all of the reviews I continue to receive. You guys have no idea how much it all means to me. I do my best not to disappoint you. Thank you, thank you. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Shelby scanned the group one more time to make sure Rachel just wasn't being blocked from view by someone bigger than she was. The kids were wrapped up in talking about how they would get out of there to notice the way Shelby was looking at them and no one else seemed to realize Rachel wasn't with them. Shelby turned back and looked at Will who was on the phone with the bus company doing his best to secure another ride. It wasn't as simple as putting another bus on the road because they had to have one that was wheelchair accessible and they were all already spoken for that day. Shelby squinted her eyes against the son and took a second look. Where was Lou?

Shelby started to make her way around the back of the bus so she could figure out where her daughter disappeared to. Leave it to Rachel to be able to vanish in just a few seconds. Shelby thoughts flashed to what Rachel must have been like as a toddler. Smart, full of energy and able to hide in small places. The thought alone made her want to laugh and cringe all at the same time.

"Finn! Puck!" Shelby stopped when she heard Rachel call out to her friends. "Sam! Does anyone know anything about engines?"

Shelby rolled her eyes and made her way around to the street side of the bus and looked down towards the front. Sure enough, Shelby saw Lou unlatching the hood and opening it. Rachel climbed up on one of the steps and stuck her head in so she could take a look. Thank god there wasn't any more smoke coming from it. Not that that was much consolation to Shelby as Rachel reached her hand in towards the engine.

"Rachel!" Shelby scolded as she made her way towards the front of the bus. Rachel was tinkering with something and didn't look up. "Rachel!"

"What?" Rachel asked as she finally looked up and over at her mother. Her hand was covered in grease and she got some on her cheek and forehead when she put her hand up to block the sun so she could actually see her mother. Oh, she didn't like that look she was getting.

"Get down from there," Shelby said. "What are you doing?" She reached the girl and grabbed her around the waist and lifted her from the bus and away from the engine.

"I'm trying to get this thing fixed so we can go," Rachel said. She was partially leaned over Shelby's shoulder because her mother had yet to put her down.

"Why is she anywhere near this engine?" Shelby asked Lou, the driver.

"Sh-she thought she could fix it," Lou said. "She was very persuasive and I know you guys are in a hurry."

Shelby shook her head in annoyance. How was Rachel able to talk people into these things? "Do not let the children near the engine. Close it so no one gets hurt."

"Yes, ma'am," he said hurriedly.

Shelby took a few steps away and set Rachel on her feet. They were still on the street side of the bus and out of view of everyone because the boys had wisely turned back when they heard Shelby talking.

"What were you thinking?" Shelby asked. "You don't know anything about fixing a bus. You could have hurt yourself."

"We can't just sit here and do nothing," Rachel countered. "We can't miss this competition."

"We are not doing nothing," Shelby said. "Mr. Schuester is on the phone trying to work it out right now. One way or another we will get to competition on time. You disappearing and getting hurt would not help anyone. I know you're worried, but you do not have all the answers. Let us work it out."

"It's ludicrous that this even happened in the first place," Rachel argued. "We should have left earlier. Or last night. Or picked a better bus company."

"And sometimes stuff just happens," Shelby said. "Honey, you need to relax a little bit because you have been strung tight since very early this morning. You getting upset about this situation is not going to help."

"If we don't get there in time we won't be able to win and go to Nationals," Rachel said. "Of course I'm worried."

"Well you're going to worry yourself into a lot of trouble if you don't watch out," Shelby warned. "Just calm down."

"Fine," Rachel said through clenched teeth. "I'm calm.

"Sure you are," Shelby said with a smirk. "Seriously, Rach, relax. It'll be ok."

"Ok," Rachel conceded. She started to wipe at her face again, but Shelby caught her arm to keep her from getting even more grease on her face.

"You're just like your sister," Shelby said. "I look away for two seconds and somehow you end up filthy."

"I was trying to help," Rachel defended herself and then playfully reached for her mother, but her wrist was grasped once more and held out of the way.

"Don't even think about it," Shelby said.

Shelby turned Rachel around and gave her a slight nudge to start walking so they could join the group on the opposite side of the bus. A car went by on the road and Rachel paused and looked after it. She changed her course and started to walk towards the street.

"Rachel…" Shelby said.

"Maybe we can flag someone down," Rachel said.

Rachel didn't stop at the side of the road and stepped out into the lane and craned her neck to try and see down the street. Shelby quickened her pace and caught up to her and took Rachel by the arm and pulled her back to the shoulder.

"We do not play in the street," Shelby said and she delivered a solid swat to Rachel's backside to emphasize her point. Yep, toddler Rachel would have been something else.

"I wasn't playing," Rachel pouted. She did cast a quick glance around to make sure that they still couldn't be seen.

"Go," Shelby said and Rachel finally went back around to the other side of the bus.

Rachel rejoined her friends and Shelby went back on the bus to get her purse and see if she had something she could use to help clean Rachel's face and hand. She usually had a small packet of baby wipes in her bag. She wasn't seeing them though and so she settled on some napkins.

"Rachel," Shelby said to get her attention when she got back over to the group of kids.

"Yeah?" Rachel turned to her.

Shelby used her tongue to wet the napkin and took a hold of Rachel's chin to keep her face in place and started to try and clean the grease off of the girl's cheek.

"Mom!" Rachel hissed, embarrassed as the other kids started to snicker. "Gross."

"Hush," Shelby said. She repeated the process with another part of the napkin and tried to get the grease off her forehead.

Rachel glared at her mother and Shelby just smiled at her as she worked. It was a right of motherhood to use mom spit to try and clean a face and Shelby was putting it to use.

"I think you missed a spot," Santana said with a laugh.

"Come here, Santana, I think you've got something on your face as well," Shelby let go of Rachel and started to move towards the other girl.

"No I don't," Santana said she stumbled as she tried to back away much to the amusement of everyone else.

Rachel was relieved and tried to turn away, but Shelby caught her and started the cleaning process again. "Mom!" Rachel whined.

Everyone was back on the bus and waiting not so patiently when rides started showing up. Artie's dad was the first to get there and then Judy arrived. Burt Hummel was next with Carole following him. Emma showed up as well and quick work was made of transferring all of the luggage to the cars and then they got on their way again.

They had three hours to spare before the competition, but they missed their practice time in the hall. Will pleaded their case with the manager of the theater and he at least let them in to look around so they would have an idea of what the stage and backstage area looked like. But they were not allowed to practice.

The next stop was the hotel and Will checked everyone in while Shelby talked to someone about borrowing a conference room for an hour. The kids were separated two to a room and they got to pick their roommate, though girls had to be with girls and boys with boys. Brittany and Santana were pleased. Going on past experience, Shelby told Will she didn't think that was a good idea, but he assured her it would be fine. If nothing else, it stopped them from trying to trade rooms after everyone had gone to sleep.

They ran through their set list twice in a conference room and then everyone hurried through showers and snacks so they could get to the theater for the competition. Rachel scoped out the audience and saw her grandparents waiting in the third row. Her aunt and uncle and cousins couldn't make this trip, but Rachel understood.

"Is that your seat?" Rachel asked Shelby as she pointed out the empty seat next to Rebecca.

"Yes," Shelby answered. "They're saving it for me."

"And you'll be sitting there? The whole time?" Rachel asked.

Shelby cupped Rachel's face and gently kissed her forehead. "I'll be right there the entire time. I promise." They were both thinking back to the Sectionals performance and neither wanted a repeat of the fallout from that.

"Ok," Rachel smiled.

"You're going to be wonderful," Shelby continued. "I am so proud of you. You wrote that song from your heart and it is a gift to be able to share it with all of these people here. I love you so much, Rachel."

"You helped," Rachel said as tears formed in her eyes. "I couldn't do it without you. I love you too."

"Don't cry," Shelby said. She kissed her again. "I'm going to go and get my seat."

Rachel took a deep breath and gathered herself after Shelby walked away. The other kids started to crowd around and pumped themselves up as they waited for their introduction. Rachel took the stage alone when they were finally called while the others waited backstage for their cues.

Shelby was in her seat and smiled as Rachel stood center stage and waited for the music to begin. She winked when Rachel caught her eye and she could tell the girl let out a breath. The music started and the spotlight hit Rachel and her voice was clear and strong as she started to sing. The vulnerability shone through the words and the performance and Shelby heard Rebecca take a shuddering breath as they watched Rachel sing. The audience was captivated and Shelby had tears on her cheeks by the time it was over. Judy reached up from her seat behind Shelby and tapped her shoulder and handed her a tissue.

The audience roared with approval when Rachel was finished and the group transitioned into the next song. All of the kids were wonderful and despite the hectic day and not getting to practice on the stage, everything was perfect. They all knew it was going well because Shelby could see it written all over their faces. Their pride and confidence was palpable and it all worked to create a stunning performance. Shelby, along with everyone else, jumped to their feet to applaud when New Directions was finished. The kids bowed and then raced off stage in clear happiness.

The parents and team all went to a restaurant close to the hotel after the competition to celebrate their win. Nationals was next and the kids were already talking about what kinds of things they could do in Washington D.C. while they were there.

"You were wonderful," Judy said to Quinn as she sat down next to her daughter. "All of you were."

"Thanks," Quinn smiled. "I'm so glad we won."

"There was never any doubt who would win," Judy told her. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."

The kids were all having time with the parents who had been able to make it. The new bus had arrived a little while ago and so the parents decided to leave and give them their night in the hotel. Shelby was staying, of course, as an official chaperone. She promised Judy and Mrs. Lopez she'd keep a watchful eye on the girls, and the rest of them.

It was after ten by the time they all got back to the hotel. Will gathered them all in the lobby to try and go over some of the rules. The kids may have been looking at him, but each and every one of them were letting his words go in one ear and out the other.

"Ok, I want everyone in their rooms by midnight," Will said. "I want you all to get some sleep. We're meeting down here at 7am sharp so we can have breakfast and leave. There's to be no one wandering the halls and absolutely no one is to leave the hotel. Everyone understand?"

Some of the kids gave a half-hearted 'yes' and Will dismissed them.

"That went well," Will said with a smile to Shelby. He was quite proud of himself. "They know the rules."

"Yep," Shelby said. She was placating him because this was his first overnight trip with the team. She'd let him stay blissfully unaware for now. She'd been through this multiple times and she knew there was practically nothing more exciting to teenagers than to have the run of a hotel all night. She gave it until two in the morning before Will was woken up with an issue concerning the kids.

The rooms were all on the same floor, but separated. The girls and Shelby were to the left of the elevators and the boys and Mr. Schue to the right. Shelby didn't get an answer at the first door she knocked on, but Mercedes opened the door to the second room and let the woman in. All of the girls were gathered in there talking.

"I just wanted to say goodnight," Shelby said.

"Goodnight," Rachel chirped. They all looked at Shelby expectantly and waited for her to leave.

"Behave tonight," Shelby continued. "And get some sleep." They all nodded. She rolled her eyes as she gave in and left them alone.

Knocking woke Shelby up. She tried to ignore it, but it grew more incessant and she finally opened her eyes and looked at her clock. 3:02. Not bad. Shelby opened the door to find Will standing on the other side holding a stack of towels.

"I'm sorry to wake you, Shelby, but-"

"What did they do?" Shelby asked.

"Apparently they're all down in the pool," Will said. "The indoor pool that closes at 10pm. The front desk has been getting complaints about noise in the hallways."

"How do they know it's our kids?" Shelby asked. Will just held up a soaking wet red McKinley High t-shirt. "One second."

"Bring some towels," Will said as she turned to go back and put on her flip flops.

"Are they all down there?" Shelby asked.

"I assume," Will answered. "But I don't know. I wouldn't have woken you up except that I don't know how any of the girls are dressed and if they've all been swimming… I mean, I don't know if any of them brought bathing suits."

"It's fine," Shelby said. "Let's just get them and get back to bed."

"Agreed."

Shelby and Will walked into the pool area and each did a quick head count. Ten kids. There was no telling where the other two were. Some kids were in the pool and some were sitting on the sides. There were McDonald's bags and wrappers and cups scattered everywhere and most of the kids were happily munching on the food. They were loud and looked to really be enjoying themselves and no one had noticed the addition of the adults in the room.

"Guys," Will got their attention and ten heads snapped their way. "What is going on in here?"

The room fell silent except for the lapping of the water and none of the kids wanted to speak first.

"Well?" Will asked sternly. At least Shelby assumed that was sternly.

"We're just swimming, Mr. Schue," Finn answered.

"The pool closed at ten," Will said. "And you're all making so much noise that people have been complaining to the front desk. Were you running up and down the halls or something?"

"Not in a while," Puck answered before shoving more fries into his mouth. He was sitting on a towel on the edge of the pool with his feet dipped in over the side.

"And how did you get this food?" Will wanted to know. "Who went out to get it?"

Silence.

Shelby really did think pretty highly of Will and his efforts, but sometimes he was way too nice. She'd have already had Vocal Adrenaline lined up and worried about rehearsing until they left in the morning, even though they had just won a competition. That might not be such a bad idea for these kids…

Rachel was trying to stay hidden in the corner of the pool, but she knew when her mother's eyes had landed on her. It was hardly fair to be the only one with a parent around a time like this.

"Everyone out of the pool," Will said. "Let's go."

The kids all started to complain and whine at once. They said they weren't hurting anything and they promised to be quiet.

"Guys, come on," Will said. "You know you're not supposed to be in here."

They reluctantly started to get out of the pool and pretty much all of the kids were in bathing suits, except for a few who were wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Rachel was wearing a bikini that Shelby had never seen before and she pointedly offered a towel to her daughter. Rachel slipped on her flip flops and started to shiver as she wrapped the towel around her shoulders. Quinn got a towel next.

"Where's Santana and Brittany?" Shelby asked the girls. They were the only two that were missing.

Both girls mumbled that they didn't know which Shelby didn't believe for a second, but she moved on. She wanted to be able to get back to sleep at some point tonight.

"Puck, you're sitting on my towel," Kurt said.

Shelby made her way over to the group so she could try and round them up.

"Not that I really want it back now," Kurt added.

"Here," Shelby said as she handed a dry towel to Kurt. "Puck, you need to get off."

"Wanky," a voice said behind her and Shelby spun around and looked into the dark room just off the pool area.

Shelby stepped into the room and had to search for a light switch before being able to turn it on. Once the room was illuminated, Shelby saw Santana and Brittany sitting close together in the hot tub. Santana was grinning at her joke. Shelby was not amused.

"Out. Right now," Shelby ordered.

"Hang on," Santana said. She adjusted her top to make sure it was in place and then stood up from the hot tub. She was smiling as she stepped out and took a towel from Shelby and wrapped it around her body. Her smile disappeared when she saw the look on Shelby's face.

"Do I look like I'm laughing?" Shelby asked.

"No," Santana shook her head slightly.

"Thanks, Coach C," Brittany said happily as she took a towel from Shelby and went to join the others. She wasn't as in tune to Shelby's anger. But then again, she wasn't as scared of Shelby as Santana was.

"What were you doing in here?" Shelby asked.

"Making out with my girlfriend," Santana said confidently with her head held high.

Shelby couldn't stop the smirk that played on her lips at Santana's answer. "That better be it," Shelby said.

"You don't care?" Santana asked.

"I don't think you should be having sex yet," Shelby answered her immediately. "But there's nothing wrong with kissing. Except when it's in a place you know you're not allowed to be."

"It's not a big deal," Santana said, trying to get some of her bravado back.

"The pool was closed and all of you were supposed to be in your rooms," Shelby said. "No one was supposed to leave the hotel. It's a big deal."

"But why?"

"Because I say it is," Shelby said. "Any more questions?"

"No," Santana's swagger was diminished again and she went to join the group. Shelby grinned to herself. She couldn't help it that she got such a kick out of the fact that Santana was still intimidated by her. She was going to use that as long as possible.

Shelby walked all the girls to their rooms and told them to try and get some sleep. They all seemed confused when nothing was said about their transgressions.

"That was weird," Quinn said when she and Rachel were alone in their room.

"I know," Rachel agreed. "I'm sure she'll talk to me about it later."

"Yeah, lucky you," Quinn laughed.

Rachel rolled her eyes as she grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom so she could take a quick shower. If they were lucky, they might still be able to squeeze in an hour of sleep.

Shelby met Will back down by the elevators and he handed her a master key card to the rooms. He'd talked with the manager of the hotel and they promised the help of the kids later on. Shelby went back to her room and took a shower and then packed up the rest of her stuff.

At about five, Shelby let herself into Quinn and Rachel's room. The girls were sleeping and Shelby watched them for a moment and smiled at how peaceful they looked and she almost felt bad about having to disturb them. Almost.

"Rachel," Shelby said. She shook the girl lightly. "Wake up."

Rachel rolled away from her mother and groaned. She settled back on her other side and went back to sleep.

"Rachel," Shelby said again.

"What?" Rachel whined. She and Quinn had only been asleep about twenty minutes.

"It's time to get up," Shelby said.

"No," Rachel said and she tried to roll away again.

Shelby moved to Quinn next and shook her awake and smiled down as the girl looked at her blearily.

"Go away, Shelby," Quinn said and she shut her eyes again.

"I'm sorry, girls, I can't do that," Shelby said. She stood in the middle of the room and clapped her hands loudly.

Rachel and Quinn both startled awake and sat up . "What's going on?" Quinn asked.

"We're all getting up to help clean the pool room," Shelby told them.

"Can't we do it later?" Rachel asked as she started to lie back down.

"No, no, no," Shelby said and she pulled Rachel back up. "Get up and get dressed. Let's go."

The girls groaned as Shelby pulled the blankets off each bed, but they started to get up. Shelby left them to go to the other two rooms and all of the kids were half asleep, but down by the pool all the same within the next ten minutes. The kids swept and mopped and cleaned up all the towels that had been left behind. The kids grumbled their way through the entire thing, but Shelby and Will kept a close eye on them to keep them on task.

By the time they got on the bus to drive home, the kids were all dead on their feet. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Will asked anyone if they would like to talk about Nationals and if anyone had any ideas they would like to share. There was a collective exasperated no as the kids settled in the back. They wanted to be as far away from the adults as possible.

"I do not want to have to do that again when we go to D.C. for Nationals," Santana complained to her friends.

"We won't get caught at Nationals," Puck assured her with a yawn. "We'll be there longer and there will be more to do."

"What about Nationals?" Shelby asked.

"Nothing," was the reply from at least eight kids.

Silence settled over the bus as it pulled out onto the interstate. The kids were falling asleep and Shelby and Will clinked their water bottles in a toast to a job well done.

Beth was happy to see her mother and sister when they arrived at Katie's house that afternoon to pick her up. Rachel had managed a few hours of sleep on the bus, but was still glad to finally be back. They dropped their bags in the doorway and Beth got down to play while Rachel and Shelby collapsed on the couch.

"Go get the rest of the stuff in from the car," Shelby said.

"Why do I have to get it?" Rachel asked.

"Because I said so," Shelby replied.

"I'll get it later," Rachel said.

"Get it now," Shelby said as her eyes closed.

Rachel huffed and got to her feet and stepped past Shelby. She didn't even make it out of the room before she had to stop and check her phone. Anything to not comply with her mother's instructions.

Beth watched them curiously and wondered why they were so tired. She wasn't tried at all. She really wanted to play. Rachel looked grumpy, but she knew Mom would play with her. Beth got on her knees and reached up and grabbed the coffee table and pulled herself up so that she was standing. Rachel looked up from her phone in time to see Beth let go of the table. The baby looked like she was concentrating hard and started to move her foot.

"Mom," Rachel said. "Mom." Rachel quickly pulled up the camera on her phone and set it to video and started to record. "Mom."

"What?" Shelby said. She looked up at Rachel, but saw that her daughter wasn't looking at her.

"Look," Rachel said. "She's walking."

**A/N – I hope you all like this one. Please leave me a review and let me know. I really, really appreciate it. **

**I've set up some stuff and am working on getting them to Nationals. Thanks, guys! **


	87. Chapter 87

**A/N – I'm so, so sorry everyone. I did not mean to take this long to get a chapter out to you guys. I was out of town on vacation all last week and I mean to have a new chapter written and out before I left and that obviously didn't happen. Then I had all these grand plans to write every night while I was gone. That didn't happen either because I was exhausted the entire time. Somehow I missed the brochure for the vacation where you go somewhere awesome and get to sit around and do nothing but drink on a beach or something. We were on the go all day every day. And then I just had a lot to catch up on when I got home a couple days ago. I need a vacation to recover from my vacation. But I do appreciate your patience and I'm very sorry for having kept anyone waiting. **

**Also, thank you so much for the reviews and messages. I take your words to heart and I try and write this story to the best of my ability so I appreciate your feedback. Thanks so much for sticking with me and continuing to read. You guys can't even imagine how much that means to me. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. I do, however, own tickets to see Idina Menzel in concert very soon. So yay! Guys, this is going to be the best concert year I've ever had. I saw Neil Diamond while on vacation. I've got tickets to see Idina twice. And I've got tickets to see Madonna and Barbra Streisand (though not together, but oh my god, could you imagine?). Sorry. I just got excited and had to share. And after all of that, I still don't own Glee. **

Shelby snapped her head over to look at Beth when she heard Rachel's words. She smiled broadly and her eyes filled with tears as she watched Beth take one step and then another. Shelby got down and kneeled on the floor with her arms opened wide to greet her little daughter.

"Good job, Beth! Keep going," Shelby encouraged.

Beth's face showed determined concentration and she took another step and then another. She looked at her mom and then Rachel and was pleased to see the smiles on their faces. Her little legs started to get wobbly as she took another step. Shelby had to back up a couple feet to give Beth more room.

"Walk to Mama, Beth," Shelby said.

"Mamamama," Beth repeated and she held her arms out towards Shelby.

Beth only got one more step before losing her balance and plopping down on her bottom. Her lower lip stuck out in an immediate pout and Beth wasn't sure if she should cry or not over her stumble. She whimpered and started to work herself up to a cry, but soon found herself being scooped up in her mother's arms. Rachel continued to film as Shelby held Beth close.

"Shhh, don't cry," Shelby said. "You did great, sweetheart! You walked!" Shelby praised Beth who had one lone tear making its way down her cheek. She leaned into Shelby and the woman patted her back. Beth copied the action and gave Shelby similar pats on her back.

Rachel finally put her phone down and joined the pair and kissed Beth on the head. "You did it."

"Yes she did," Shelby smiled at her daughters. "My big girl."

Beth's pout disappeared and then finally turned into a smile for her mom and sister. She was soon put back on her feet to see if she would repeat her accomplishment, but Beth wasn't all that interested anymore. She instead crawled over to some of her toys. Shelby and Rachel shook their heads at her for a second and then turned their attention to Rachel's phone so she they could watch the video to see how it turned out.

"I wonder what my first steps were like," Rachel pondered out loud after a moment. "I wonder if my dads even remember them."

"I'm sure they do," Shelby said.

"Yeah," Rachel turned her attention away from the phone now that the video was over. She looked up at Shelby and shrugged.

"I'd certainly love to know," Shelby said. "I want to know about your first steps and your first word and everything."

"My dads never really told me any of those stories," Rachel said. "I don't even remember losing my first tooth or anything like that."

Shelby was at a loss of what to say to make Rachel feel better. She wanted to know all those things about her daughter and she wanted to be able to share in those memories with her. But Rachel hadn't brought up asking her dads about it and Shelby didn't know if she should either. The Berry men were still such a sensitive subject around the girl. Sometimes they were great like when they came to visit her after her stay in the hospital for appendicitis and sometimes they wouldn't return a text message for a couple weeks. Rachel still had her nightmares, though not as often, and Shelby did her best to act as normal as possible about whatever Rachel needed from them. It could be a fine line sometimes.

In the back of Rachel's mind the idea of calling up one of her dads to ask about those important firsts in her life seemed like a good idea, but she wasn't sure. It could be hard for her to make the first move sometimes because she so feared the rejection that often came with it. But sometimes they wouldn't talk to her for months at a time unless she said hello first. And she didn't really think she could just call up and say, 'Daddy, please tell me about my first steps because my mom wants to know.' No, it would just be easier to let it go.

"Oh," Shelby said. "You have some of the cutest pictures where you're missing teeth." She was trying to ease the subject into something else.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed with a small smile. "I'm going to send this video to everyone."

"Make sure you send it to me too," Shelby said to her as Rachel walked up the stairs.

"I will," Rachel called back to her.

Quinn was half asleep on her bed when her phone chimed and she blindly reached for it and opened her weary eyes. What could anyone possibly want right now?

It only took Quinn a second to focus on what she was watching and she quickly sat up and bed and watched Beth take her first steps. She shot up from the bed and raced down the stairs and bumped into Judy as she rounded the corner into the living room.

"Quinn," Judy admonished. "Don't run in the house."

Quinn rolled her eyes at the scolding she hadn't heard since she was much younger and held her phone out for her mom to see. "Did you see this video? Rachel just sent it out."

"My phone's in the kitchen, I think," Judy said. "What is it?"

"Beth's walking," Quinn answered. "She walked."

Judy watched the video with an adoring smile and pulled Quinn to her side in a one-armed hug.

"You still make that face," Judy said when they saw the look of concentration on Beth's face.

"She's getting so big," Quinn said.

"That's what happens," Judy said. "It wasn't that long ago that I was watching you take your first steps."

"It was forever ago, Mom," Quinn said.

"It doesn't feel that way," Judy said. "Frannie had taken one of her you favorite toys and you just stood up and walked over to her and tried to take it back. I was so happy to see you walking, but as soon as you started tugging on the stuffed animal, Frannie grabbed it back and pushed you down. You started to cry and then Frannie started to cry when I took the toy from her. It was another week before you walked again and I was beginning to think that I imagined it all."

"Well after being treated in such a manner, I'm sure I just didn't want to walk," Quinn said with an air of self-righteousness.

Judy laughed and then continued with her story. "Frannie took great delight in telling everyone about how you had gotten her in trouble on purpose."

"She pushed me!" Quinn defended herself like she might be getting in trouble now.

"I know, honey," Judy placated. "She was only seven. You bit her a couple hours later so you got even."

"She deserved it," Quinn said.

"That was a long day," Judy remarked as she thought about it some more. "You both went to bed early."

"Mom! You punished me too?" Quinn was shocked at the injustice of it all.

"Quinn, you weren't quite one yet," Judy said. "You didn't know it wasn't your bedtime yet. And as I recall, you went right to sleep."

"Punished and tricked," Quinn said shaking her head. "Not cool, Mom. Not cool."

Judy just rolled her eyes at her daughter as she started the video again so she could see Beth.

It was two days before Beth walked again. It took less than a week for the walking to turn into running. Beth was a woman on the move and she was not keen on being slowed down. The most commonly used phrase in the house became, 'Beth, no.' Shelby put up a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and left one upstairs that could be put in place when they were on the second story. Beth figured out the fun in hiding and took great delight in crawling into small spaces much to Shelby's chagrin. Rachel thought it was pretty funny to see her mother lying on her stomach on the floor trying to coax Beth out from under the bed.

"Rachel, this isn't funny," Shelby said in an exasperated tone as she looked over her shoulder at her grinning teen.

"It's pretty funny," Rachel said.

"Get down here and help me," Shelby ordered.

Rachel was saved by the bell as her phone started to ring. "I can't. I've got to go and answer that."

"Rachel," Shelby scolded as the girl walked out of the room. She turned her back to her baby that was hiding and said, "Alright, young lady. Come out from under there right now."

Beth had plenty of room as she scooted forward on her stomach and gave her waiting mother a kiss. Shelby sat up and Beth stood on her lap so they were face to face.

"I just want you to know that that innocent face is not going to save you every time," Shelby said.

Rachel's phone had stopped ringing by the time she got to her phone. She had left it in her room earlier and didn't make it back to it in time. She looked at her missed call log and saw that the call was from her dad Scott. She gave it a quizzical look and tried to come up with the reason he' be calling, but she couldn't come up with anything. Rachel moved and shut her bedroom door before hitting the button to return the call.

"Hello," Scott answered.

"Hi, Daddy," Rachel said. "Sorry I missed your call. I didn't get to the phone in time."

"Hi, Rach," Scott said. "That's ok. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Rachel answered. "How are you?"

"Pretty good," Scott said.

"Good," Rachel nodded.

"Umm listen, I've got a free weekend coming up in a few weeks and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come and spend a weekend with me," Scott said.

"Oh," Rachel said and then paused. This was so out of the blue she wasn't even really sure how to react. She felt… confused. She wanted to be happy, but was too guarded to let herself get there. And she wanted to know the why of it all. She hadn't talk to him or Henry since before Regionals when she'd invited them to the competition and they both declined.

"Rach?" Scott prompted.

"Yeah? I mean I'd have to ask my- Shelby," Rachel said. "I don't know if we've got anything going on or something."

"Right, of course," Scott said. "Just let me know, ok?"

"Ok. I will," Rachel said.

"Bye, Rach."

"Bye, Daddy."

Rachel hung up the phone and sat down as her mind raced. Shelby knocked as she entered the room with Beth in her arms.

"Who was that?" Shelby asked.

"What?" Rachel was brought out of her staring contest with the wall and looked at her mom. "Oh, nothing. It was just Kurt. He was asking about an assignment for school."

"Oh. Well come on. Now that I've got the troll under the bed, let's go have some dinner," Shelby said.

Rachel left her phone in her room once more as she got up and followed her mother out of the room.

Now that Beth had discovered the joys of walking she no longer wanted to do things like sit in a cart in the grocery store. She squirmed and cried until Shelby let her out to walk and then tried to take off running down the aisle. Rachel had taken great delight in watching her mother take off after the little girl. Beth proved just how stubborn she could be when she cried the entire time they were in the store because she was strapped into the baby seat in the cart. Rachel had wandered away from them so as not to be caught with the people who were making such a scene.

Judy came over on a Saturday a couple weeks after Beth started to walk and visited with Shelby and Beth while Rachel was out at a dance class. Quinn was home working on a project for school that she'd been putting off for weeks. Judy was forcing her to finally get to work on it, but Quinn huffed and declared that she couldn't get anything done with her mother breathing over her shoulder all day. So Judy had compromised and agreed to go out for a few hours, but she made it clear she wanted to see that significant progress had been made when she got home.

"Beth, no," Shelby said with a warning tone as Beth started to try and go up the stairs. Rachel had forgotten to put the gate in place when she left.

Beth looked over at her mother forlornly and her shoulders sagged in defeat. Her little eyes filled with tears and she let out a cry at being reprimanded.

"Oh poor baby," Shelby couldn't help but laugh along with Judy at Beth's actions. She got up and went over to the girl and picked her up and expertly put the gate in place with one hand. "You've got it rough, I know." Beth snuggled into her and agreed. She firmly believed she should be able to do whatever she wanted.

Shelby sat Beth between her and Judy on the couch and the little girl only sat still for a second. Her tears were dry now and she worked herself down from the couch and toddled away.

"She has so much energy," Shelby said as they watched Beth play. "She always did, but now it seems like it's doubled."

"It's just because she's faster now," Judy said.

"And I think she's become more defiant," Shelby said with a laugh.

"I'm not surprised by that," Judy said. "And this is just a preview. Wait until she turns two."

"Oh god," Shelby laughed.

"Dog," Beth said when a pet food commercial came on the TV. "Dog."

"That's right," Shelby said. She was so proud.

"Dog," Beth said again, except this time she was pointing at a cat.

"That's a cat, sweetheart," Shelby said. "Cat."

"Dog," Beth said again. She looked at her mother like she was crazy. Who didn't know the difference between a dog and a cat?

"All animals are dogs to Beth," Shelby explained. "And she says 'up' whether she wants to get up or down. And she's got something that sort of sounds like Rachel, but I'm not sure," Shelby said.

"Speaking of Rachel, what is she doing when she gets home?" Judy asked.

"I'm not sure," Shelby answered. "Why?"

"I was hoping we could go out and get some lunch," Judy replied. "It'll let you get away from Beth and one word conversations."

"That sounds great," Shelby smiled. A couple hours would be lovely. "I'm sure Rachel won't mind watching her."

Rachel returned about half an hour later and agreed to watch her sister. Beth had already been fed lunch and it was almost the baby's naptime and Rachel figured she could just put her down and that Beth would probably sleep the entire time her mom was gone. Rachel wouldn't mind lying down for a bit herself. She hadn't slept well the night before; she wasn't having nightmares, but she felt restless and couldn't ever seem to get settled. She still hadn't mentioned her dad calling to her mom and Scott had asked again the night before if she had an answer yet. Rachel just didn't know how to bring it up to her mother and she still had a week before he wanted her to stay so she was putting it off. Her tiresome night hadn't been helped by her exhausting dance class and the couch looked so inviting.

"Be a good girl," Shelby said to Beth on her way out. Beth only smiled at her. Of course she'd be a good girl.

"You too," Shelby said to Rachel causing the girl to roll her eyes. "And keep a good eye on her."

"I will, Mom," Rachel said. "I know how to take care of Beth." Her tone was laced with teenage annoyance.

"Please try not to make a mess," Shelby said. She knew how her girls could be when they were left to their own devices.

"Bye, Mom," Rachel said pointedly as she worked to get Shelby out of the house. The woman relented and left and Rachel and Beth turned away from the front door and went back into the living room. "Finally."

Rachel sat down on the couch and settled Beth in her lap as she turned on the TV and started flipping through the channels. She kicked her shoes off and shut her eyes for a second.

"Up," Beth said as she started to squirm on Rachel's lap so she could get down.

"It's naptime," Rachel said. "Don't you want to lie down and take a nap?"

Beth stopped her movements and looked at Rachel like her sister had grown a second head. Why would she want to lie down and take a nap? She wasn't even tired.

"Come on, let's go get ready," Rachel said and she stood up with Beth in her arms before the girl had a chance to squirm again.

Rachel entered the nursery and put Beth down on the floor and the girl went to grab some of her toys while Rachel pulled out a diaper. Beth's crib had been moved into this room two weeks prior and the transition hadn't been exactly smooth, but they had weathered it and now Beth slept through the night just fine in her own room.

"Come on, Beth, let's get you changed," Rachel said. She picked the girl up and laid her on the floor in front of her. "Are you ready to lie down and go to sleep?"

"Up," Beth said as she tried to roll away. "Mama."

"Mama went out," Rachel said. "Lie still."

Rachel fought with the squirming child as she took her shoes and then pants off. She had just removed the tapes from the diaper and turned around the reach for some wipes when Beth got free. She got up and ran out of the room with only her little t-shirt on.

"Beth, come back," Rachel said with a huff as she got to her feet.

Rachel had only taken three steps when her socked foot landed in something wet and she looked down and realized that Beth was peeing without her diaper on.

"Beth, no," Rachel growled out as she quickened her pace. "Not in my room!"

Rachel took a few more quick steps and picked her sister up before Beth could make it all the way into her room. She held the smiling baby with outstretched arms so she wouldn't end up getting peed on in case Beth wasn't finished. Rachel carried her right into the bathroom and set her down in the tub.

"Seriously?" Rachel asked as she took the shirt off her sister. But Beth wasn't paying any attention to her anymore because she was already playing with her toys. Beth loved bath time.

Rachel turned the water on and let Beth play for a minute as she peeled her sock off and washed her own foot. The little girl wasn't too keen on being washed up so soon because she wanted to play more, but Rachel had other ideas. She yawned widely as Beth splashed some more.

Twenty minutes later Beth was cleaned and dressed and sitting her crib watching Rachel through tired eyes. Rachel had put the girl in some footie pajamas because she thought maybe it would help Beth know it was time to go to sleep. Beth was holding onto her blanket and had her pacifier firmly in place, but she gave Rachel no hint that she was going to go to sleep. Instead she watched as her sister worked to clean up the mess that had been made.

"Mom said not to make a mess," Rachel said to her sister. "This is all on you."

"Up," Beth mumbled around the pacifier.

"No," Rachel told her. "It's naptime."

"Mama," Beth said. Her bottom lip was trembling with the threat to cry.

"Mama would put you down for a nap too," Rachel said.

Beth stood up in the crib and watched as Rachel moved out into the hall to finish cleaning up. She really needed to figure out how to get out of this thing. It wasn't fair that she was the only one in the house that had bars on her bed. Rachel disappeared from view for a minute when she moved into the bathroom so she could wash her hands after cleaning. Beth held her arms out to be picked up when Rachel returned to the room, but her smile lasted only a second when she realized that Rachel was only laying her down. Rachel made sure the baby had everything she needed and then left the room. She didn't even make it to the stairs before Beth let out a wail.

"Beth," Rachel groaned. "It's naptime."

Rachel continued down the stairs and figured that Beth would cry for just a couple of minutes and then go to sleep. Beth proved her wrong and she was still crying loudly five minutes later when Rachel climbed the stairs to go and get her. Beth was standing in her crib and snuggled into the Rachel's shoulder when her sister picked her up and swayed with her to get the girl to calm down.

"What's the matter with you today?" Rachel asked. "You never give mom any trouble when its naptime." Or at least that's what Rachel assumed. She wasn't normally home during the day for Beth's afternoon nap. "Will you lay down with me?"

Rachel carried Beth, along with her blanket, downstairs and flopped down on the couch. Beth had no problems resting against Rachel's chest when they lied down. Rachel covered Beth with her blanket and rubbed the girl's back as she sang a soft lullaby. Beth closed her eyes and relaxed and after a few minutes Rachel did the same.

It didn't take long for Rachel to fall asleep and after a few minutes Beth pushed herself up and looked at her sister. She scooted to the side and carefully crawled backwards off her sister and the couch until her feet hit the floor. She held her blanket firmly in one arm and took a couple steps away from the couch. Now then. Freedom.

**A/N – I hope you all like this one. I apologize once again about the delay in posting the chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. Thank you so much for reading! **


	88. Chapter 88

**A/N – I've got an update! Did I get it out in a week? Or is it a week and a day? Either way! Thank you all so much for your reviews and for the alerts and messages and questions I still receive. You guys blow me away. Thank you, thank you! I hope you like this chapter as well. **

**I saw Idina Menzel in concert last week and it was fantastic as usual. She picks people out from the audience to song Take Me or Leave Me with her. She sang with three different people at the concert I was at and two of the people she picked were named Rachel and Beth. Hand to God, people! I had a silent, internal freak out. And the lady named Rachel was amazing. I can't wait for the next concert. **

**And I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reading the other story I'm working on called She's Always Been Right There. I'm enjoying writing that one as well and I wanted to thank you guys for your support. It means so much to me.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Rachel stirred a little bit and stretched her legs out and sighed in satisfaction. She felt like she was waking up from the best sleep she'd had in ages. She wasn't even quite sure where she was or what time of day it was. Should she be up and getting ready for school? Rachel felt around blindly because she didn't want to open her eyes and ruin the peacefulness that was blanketing her. She found what she wanted and pulled her phone up to her face and slowly opened one eye slightly so she could see the time. 12:47. In the morning? What was with all of the bright light in the room if it was just after midnight?

Reality crashed down on Rachel in an instant and she sat up straight and reached for Beth. The little girl wasn't on her lap or the couch and Rachel could feel her heart start to race. She'd only been asleep for about forty minutes, but that could be a lifetime.

"Beth?" Rachel called out.

Rachel moved to get her feet on the floor and stepped on a wooden block. It was then that she got her first glimpse of the room. There were toys everywhere. It hadn't looked like this when she went to sleep. There were dolls and blocks and books and everything else spread all throughout the room. How had she not heard any of this?

"Beth!" Rachel tried again.

She stood up and looked wildly around the room for her sister. Where was she? This wasn't happening. Rachel looked over to the stairs and saw that the baby gate was not in place.

"Oh my god," Rachel muttered as tears formed in her eyes and she moved over to the area. She kept her eyes glued to the floor so she could see her sister in case she had fallen. There was no sign of her.

Keep calm, Rachel, keep calm. The mantra wasn't working as she raced up the stairs straight to the door that led to the third story. It was closed, thankfully, but Rachel opened it anyway. Keep calm. Rachel reasoned that if Beth had fallen, surely she would have heard the baby cry. Beth couldn't have fallen. She was fine. She was just missing. That really wasn't much better.

Rachel looked all around the third story and didn't see any sign of the girl.

"Ok," Rachel breathed out a sigh of relief. "Think. The kitchen!"

Rachel practically jumped down each flight of stairs in her haste to get to the bottom and find her sister. She rounded the corner into the kitchen and groaned at what she saw. It was a disaster area. The trash can had been turned over and the refrigerator door was open. The carton of milk was lying on its side on the floor in front of it and milk was everywhere. There were two cloth dolls lying in the mess. There were three books and one Elmo who was sitting in a chair like he was keeping guard over the entire scene. The cabinets had been spared because Shelby had put safety latches on everything when Beth started to crawl.

"Beth," Rachel said again.

The girl wasn't there and Rachel made her way through the kitchen towards the basement door. It was closed, but just like with the third story, she went down there to look as well. It was clear Beth hadn't been down there and Rachel breathed a little easier. Beth hadn't fallen anywhere in the house.

A new thought occurred to her then. What if Beth cut herself? Or had choked on something? Her heart raced again as she made her way back up from the basement.

Rachel ran in every room downstairs. The kitchen was clear and so was the living room. The hallway near the front door was a sight to see. Beth had gotten into her diaper bag that had been left there (and instead of the in the closest where Shelby constantly reminded Rachel it belonged) and its contents were scattered everywhere. But Beth had really outdone herself right here because she'd figured out how to open the baby powder bottle and the white stuff was everywhere. It was on the floor and the walls and there were tiny footprints in every direction.

Rachel stepped into Shelby's office and her eyes went wide with the mess that was there. It was bigger than the kitchen. Books had been pulled off of the lower shelves and there was paper everywhere. The phone had been pulled down from the desk and it had taken some of the contents of the desk with it. Pens and note pads and a stapler and about a thousand staples had fallen and scattered from their box. Rachel was careful not to step in them. She was grateful that Beth hadn't been able to reach any of the computer cords like she had been for the phone. She gave the room a quick once over as she assessed the mess, but she didn't see her sister.

Rachel ran back into the living room and tried to avoid stepping on any toys that would hurt her feet and grabbed for her phone. She called the number as she opened the door to the backyard and went out onto the deck and looked around. Quinn answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Rachel," Quinn greeted.

"Quinn, oh my god, you have to come and help me," Rachel said in a rush.

"What's the matter?" Quinn asked. Her friend was scaring her.

"I can't find Beth," Rachel said.

"What?"

"I was watching Beth and I fell asleep and I can't find her," Rachel explained further.

"Oh my god, Rachel!" Quinn scolded. "Where is she?"

"I don't know!" Rachel yelled.

"She could be hurt," Quinn said. She was already getting to her feet and abandoning the project she was supposed to be working on.

"She's not by any of the stairs so I don't think she fell down them," Rachel said. She was back inside and going up the stairs. "But she likes to hide now. She could be anywhere in here. My mom is going to kill me if I lost Beth."

"I'm going to kill you if you lost Beth," Quinn said. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Rachel had to slow herself down if she wanted to be sure she searched everywhere. She realized that she couldn't run around frantically because she might miss something. Rachel started out in the nursery.

The doorbell rang a few minutes later and Rachel got up from where she had been laying on the floor to see underneath her mother's bed to go and answer it. As promised, Quinn was on the other side and glaring at Rachel.

"How did you lose Beth?" Quinn asked.

"I told you, I fell asleep," Rachel answered. "She was lying with me and I thought she was already asleep."

"Oh my god, look at this mess," Quinn said when they got to the kitchen. "Did she do all of this?"

"She must have," Rachel answered. "I didn't do it."

"Your mom is not going to be happy about this," Quinn said.

"She's not going to care about this when I tell her I can't find her baby," Rachel said. "Help me find her."

The girls split up and Rachel went back to the second story while Quinn went into the dining room. It was a decent sized house, but it shouldn't take that long to find a one-year-old, right? Rachel was searching through every inch of her bedroom, but there was nothing. Her next stop was the bathroom and she was once again grateful that her mother had already put safety latches on all the cabinets. Beth wasn't in the tub and none of her toys had been touched. Rachel believed that her sister had not made it anywhere upstairs in her escape act. Maybe it would be better to have two sets of eyes looking downstairs.

Quinn was looking in the hall closet when Rachel joined her downstairs. She was about to ask if she'd found anything when her phone chimed with a text message. Rachel opened it and saw that it was from Shelby and she quickly read it over.

"My mom said she's going to make a quick stop by the grocery store and that she'll be home in about half an hour," Rachel said.

"Do you think maybe you should call her and tell her what's going on?" Quinn asked.

Rachel shook her head. She was going to be in so much trouble if she didn't find her sister. "If we can't find her after searching every room, and my mom's still not home, I'll call her. But she has to be here. We're just not looking in the right places."

"Ok," Quinn said. "I'll go check the dining room again."

"I'll go look in the office," Rachel told her.

Rachel stepped into the office and made her way through the mess. "Beth, come on. Where are you?" It was then that Rachel noticed some blocks mixed in with the books and papers on the floor. And there was another small Elmo. And then Rachel noticed the faint powder stains on the carpet. Most of them had been covered up by books and papers.

Rachel carefully moved the chair away from the desk and crouched down and put a hand to her mouth to stop from crying out. Her little sister was all the way under the desk next to the wall fast asleep. She was lying on her stomach with her pacifier in place and a firm grip on her blanket. Rachel could tell immediately that she was covered in the baby powder. It was all over her clothes and hair and the blanket and the floor where she was laying. But that wasn't as important right now.

"Quinn!" Rachel yelled out. "I found her!"

Rachel moved the chair completely out of the way and got on her hands and knees so she could reach the girl. Quinn came running into the room a second later and she too had to hold back some tears and seeing that Beth was ok. Rachel picked her up and moved back out so she could stand. Beth wasn't too pleased about the disturbance and started to cry because she'd been jostled awake.

"Beth, you scared the hell out of me," Rachel scolded as she held her tightly. Quinn leaned over and kissed the little girl's head.

Beth rubbed her face and then tried to find a comfortable spot against Rachel's shoulder. It was naptime. Why in the world was her sister waking her up?

"I'm not letting you out of my sight again," Rachel said. "Mom is going to punish us both when she comes home and sees the mess you made." Rachel looked around the room and thought for a second and then said, "Quinn, we've got to get it cleaned up before she comes home!"

"We've only got like twenty minutes," Quinn said.

"Right. We have to hurry." Rachel was already moving out into the hallway. "Pick a room and get started."

Quinn groaned and headed towards the kitchen. She'd rather be working on her project than cleaning. "You owe me for this."

"Sure, anything," Rachel agreed. All that mattered right now was that her mom didn't ever find out any of this had happened.

While Quinn started to pick up in the kitchen, Rachel carried Beth upstairs and got her in the tub for the second time in a couple hours. Beth was not as happy with the bath this time because she was trying to sleep. What was Rachel thinking? She was clean. Rachel gave Beth the quickest bath the baby had ever received and then scooped her up and carried her back to the nursery to get her dressed. Another pair of footie pajamas was selected and Rachel did her best to coo at Beth so she would stop crying. Rachel had taken her blanket and dropped it in the dirty clothes with the other clothes Beth had been wearing, but the girl wanted it back. She needed that blanket. Rachel also changed her own shirt because it too had been covered in baby powder when she picked Beth up.

Rachel thought briefly about depositing Beth in her crib, but changed her mind. She really wasn't going to let the girl out of her sight. At least not until her mother got home… which really could be any time now. She had to hurry.

Rachel pulled Beth's stroller from the downstairs closet and strapped the girl in and locked the wheels. Beth wasn't pleased, but Rachel gave her a few toys to play with so she could start to clean. Beth quieted down a bit as she held her Elmo and a book. Quinn was mopping the floor in the kitchen. It hadn't taken very long to clean up all of the trash. The milk had been disgusting and there was probably other stuff in the refrigerator that should be thrown away because of how long it had been open, but she wasn't worried about that right now. Right now, it just needed to look clean.

Rachel grabbed the vacuum cleaner and started to clean up the powder. She quickly threw everything back in the diaper bag and got it out of the way. Quinn finished with the kitchen and went into the office and started to pick up books. She wondered if they had been on the shelves in any type of order. Should she try and alphabetize them? No, she didn't have time for that. Quinn put books on the shelves in any spot they would fit in. She picked up the phone and returned it to the desk and then made a neat pile of all the papers that had been on the floor. She had no idea where they had all come from, but the corner of the desk was where they were going. Four pens were tossed onto the desk to stay where they landed. She picked up the toys that had been left in there and handed them to Beth when she left the office.

"You need to vacuum in there too," Quinn said. "I didn't even try to get all the staples up."

"Ok," Rachel said. There was powder everywhere and Rachel really hoped she was able to get it all, but she had a feeling they might be coming across clumps of it for weeks.

Quinn went into the living room which looked to be the easiest to clean up. The toys just needed to be returned to their proper locations. Rachel entered the office and spent as much time as she thought she could get away with in making sure it was clean. Shelby wasn't a stickler, but Rachel and Beth mostly stayed out of there because it wasn't a room to be played in. After letting the vacuum work, Rachel ran her hand over the floor to see if she could feel any more loose staples. She didn't feel anything, but that didn't mean some weren't pushed farther down in the carpet. She stopped for a second and thought if the staples were something that should even go in a vacuum cleaner, but she didn't linger on it for long because that really didn't matter right now. Focus, Rachel. Mom would be home any second.

Rachel was wrapping the cord back into place around the vacuum cleaner when she saw her mother's car pull up in the driveway.

"She's here," Rachel shouted.

Quinn hurried her pace in the living room and Rachel practically shoved the vacuum back into the closet. She got Beth out of the stroller and held her and all the toys in one hand and folded the stroller with the second. She took a second to be proud of herself for developing that useful skill. She put the stroller next to the vacuum in the closest and then went into the living room where Quinn was putting the last of the blocks in the proper bin. The girls sat down on the couch with Beth in Rachel's lap just as Shelby opened the front door.

"Hey," Shelby called out. She had two bags of groceries with her and went into the kitchen.

"Hi," Rachel said.

There was a pause and then, "Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"Was Beth playing in the kitchen?"

Quinn and Rachel exchanged a look and all Rachel could say was, "Uhhh…"

Shelby came into the room holding the Elmo doll that had been sitting in one of the chairs at the table. "Were you playing in the kitchen, baby girl?" Her tone was light and all three girls on the couch just stared at her innocently. Beth didn't even reach for the doll in case doing so would somehow incriminate her.

"Hey, Quinn," Shelby said. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh. Yeah. Rachel called and-"

"Aren't you supposed to be working on a project?" Shelby asked with her hands on her hips, the Elmo doll hanging silently by her side.

"The project, yeah," Quinn said. "I just needed a break."

"Well, you'd probably better get home before your mom does," Shelby said with a wink at the girl. "She had one more stop to make before she was going home so you've got a good chance of not getting caught."

"I'll go right now," Quinn said. "Thanks, Shelby." She leaned over and kissed Beth's head before getting to her feet so she could head out.

"Thank you, Quinn," Rachel said.

"Of course," Quinn replied with a faint smile. "See you later."

Shelby took Quinn's spot on the couch when the girl was gone. She happily picked up Beth when the girl moved from Rachel over to her. Rachel finally started to breathe a little easier when she realized they hadn't been found out.

"Aren't you supposed to be napping?" Shelby asked Beth who was holding up one of her books for the woman to see.

"She only slept for a little while," Rachel answered. "She didn't want to lie down."

"Were you giving your sister a hard time?" Shelby laughed with Beth.

"Oh no," Rachel said quickly. "She was fine. Perfect."

"What's with the pajamas?" Shelby asked.

"Oh, she spilled some juice on her clothes and her blanket so I gave her a bath and thought she'd be comfortable in the pjs," Rachel said.

"That was a sweet thought," Shelby said. "Thank you for watching her."

"Anytime," Rachel replied with a smile.

"I better go get her clothes and start some laundry so the stain doesn't set in," Shelby said. She started to hand Beth back to Rachel, but Rachel quickly stood up and moved away.

"I'll get the laundry," Rachel said. "It's no problem."

She didn't even give Shelby a chance to respond because she had turned and raced up the stairs. Shelby turned back to look at Beth and brushed some hair back from her face.

"Were you a good girl?" Shelby asked.

"Up," Beth said. She could neither confirm nor deny and so she squirmed out of Shelby's lap and moved towards the stairs.

"Beth, no," Shelby said and she got up to follow.

The Tuesday after the babysitting fiasco, Rachel was sitting in the living room watching a movie while Shelby was putting Beth to bed. The baby didn't protest too much as she got settled in her crib. Shelby turned on some soft lullabies and left the room, switching on the nightlight as she did. Her phone started to ring as she pulled the door closed behind her. Shelby looked down at the display and was surprised to see the name Scott Berry.

"Hello?" Shelby answered her phone.

"Shelby, this is Scott," the man said.

"Hi, Scott. Rachel's downstairs. I can-"

"I actually wanted to talk to you," Scott said.

"Oh," Shelby was surprised. "Ok. What can I do for you? Is there something wrong?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Scott said.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you telling Rachel that she can't come and see me?" Scott asked. Accused was more like it.

"What? No," Shelby said. "Rachel hasn't mentioned anything. What's going on?"

"Rachel hasn't mentioned anything?" Scott asked. "But I talked to her a few weeks ago."

"Talked to her about what?" Shelby asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I called and asked her if she would like to spend this upcoming weekend with me at my house," Scott explained. "She said she didn't know what you guys had going on and that she would have to talk to you first. But then she never called me back. Each time I message her to ask about it, she says she's not sure and that she has to talk to you."

"Oh," Shelby said. "I didn't know about that."

"She probably just doesn't want to," Scott said. He genuinely sounded upset. "Tell her I said hello, please."

"Wait," Shelby said. She took a long breath before she continued on. She wasn't convinced that Rachel didn't want to go over there. She wished the girl would have brought it up to her. But she also didn't want to put words in Rachel's mouth for Scott. "I'll talk to her and find out what's going on. I promise that one of us will call you back."

"Ok," Scott said. "I don't want to force her or anything. I probably shouldn't have even asked. I just- I haven't seen her since she was sick."

Shelby nodded. She certainly knew that. "I understand. I'll go and talk to her."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Shelby hung up the phone and sighed. She tried to find some sympathy for the man who was just now figuring out that he missed his kid, but it was hard. Still, it was Rachel's feelings that really mattered and so she put aside her own resentment towards Scott and made her way down the stairs.

Rachel was sitting cross-legged on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her as she watched the movie. Shelby sat down next to her facing her daughter instead of the TV. Shelby reached out and played a little with Rachel's hair causing the girl to lean closer to her and smile. Shelby waited until the scene had ended before picking up the remote and pausing the movie. Rachel let out a small gasp of shock and turned and looked her mother.

"Why'd you pause it?" Rachel asked.

"I want to talk to you for a second," Shelby said.

"About what?" Rachel asked. "We can't do it after the movie?"

"No," Shelby said. "We need to talk now. I got an interesting phone call just now. It seems that your father asked if you wanted to spend the weekend with him and you are avoiding giving him an answer."

Rachel had looked away as soon as she realized what her mother was talking about. She hung her head and wrung her hands and only responded by saying, "Oh."

"Rach?" Shelby said gently. "Why didn't you tell me he had called and invited you over?"

Rachel still didn't look up and her and only shrugged.

"Do you want to go?" Shelby asked. "It's ok if you want to go. Honey, please talk to me."

"I'm scared to go," Rachel said.

Shelby sat back and nodded. "What are you afraid of?" Not that she didn't know.

"I think I would like to go, but what if I get there and it's just the same? What if he's too busy for me or if he has to go out and doesn't come back for a couple days?" Rachel asked. "I know I'd be fine on my own, but it would be like it was all over again."

"You wouldn't be on your own, sweetheart, you'd come back here," Shelby said. "No way would you be alone all weekend."

"What if he still doesn't like me or I get in trouble or he decides that he was just trying it out and he really doesn't want to see me again after this?" Rachel continued and her chin started to tremble over the idea of that type of rejection. "And this is just Daddy. I haven't talked to Dad is close to a month. Part of me wants to go so bad and another part thinks I shouldn't rock the boat. Isn't it better to talk to them every once in a while and not risk it getting worse?"

Shelby pulled Rachel to her and rubbed the girl's back to try and soothe her. Rachel leaned into her mother and shut her eyes. Was it always going to be this hard when her fathers were concerned?

"Rachel, if you feel like you don't want to or can't go over there then that's fine," Shelby said. "We can call your dad and explain to him that you're just not ready yet and perhaps another time would be better. But, honey, if there's a part of you that wants to go and see him and spend the weekend, maybe you should do it."

"But what if-"

"If that happens, we can deal with it," Shelby cut her off. "But if you don't go it's going to continue to eat at you because you won't know."

"I don't want to refuse and push him farther away," Rachel said. "And I don't want to say yes and get pushed away."

"Would you like to call Dr. Woodward and talk to her?" Shelby asked.

"No. I'll see her in a couple days anyway," Rachel said. "She'd probably say I should go. She says that it's not always about coping and hiding, but being able to move forward."

"Do you think you can do that yet?" Shelby asked and Rachel shrugged. "Would you like me to talk to your dad and explain why you've been reluctant to give him an answer?" Shelby would love the opportunity to threaten him into not letting this little girl down again.

"No," Rachel said quickly. "You can't do that. If I go over there I want it to be natural so that things play out like they really would. If you call him he'll act differently. I'd probably act differently too."

"Ok," Shelby said. "I won't call him. But you've got to let him know one way or the other. Pretending it's not happening isn't going to get you anywhere."

"Yeah," Rachel sighed as she leaned farther into her mother and got comfortable. She reached for the remote and pushed play so that the movie would resume. She just needed to think on it some more.

Rachel found Quinn at school the next day and the friends decided to eat out in the courtyard. Quinn left a message for Santana telling her where they'd be.

"I hate calculus," Quinn said with a weary sigh as she sat down.

"Quinn, can I ask you a question?" Rachel asked.

"As long as it has nothing to do with calculus," Quinn answered.

"What would you say if your dad called you up and asked you to spend the weekend with him?"

"What?" Quinn asked incredulously. "I'd say no. Not that he would ever do that. Why?"

"One of my dads called a few weeks ago and asked if I'd like to spend this upcoming weekend with him," Rachel explained. "I've been putting off giving him an answer, but he called Shelby last night to find out if I could come."

"What did she say?" Quinn asked.

"She wanted to know if I wanted to go," Rachel said.

"Do you?"

"Yeah, I do. But I'm worried it'll go badly and then everything will be worse," Rachel said. "I don't know what to do."

"Umm, well, if you want to go then you should," Quinn said. "Maybe he's trying to make some sort of amends or something. If it doesn't work out you'll just go back to the way things are now. You've got to start somewhere," Quinn shrugged.

"But you would say no," Rachel said.

"My dad's different, Rachel, and you know it," Quinn said.

"I know," Rachel said softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's whatever," Quinn said. "I was terrified to move back in with my mom. But I was also really relieved and even hopeful. And everything is so much better now. And it's not like by going to see your dad for a weekend you're losing Shelby or me or Beth. It's not like you'll walk back into that house and things will go right back to how they were before. If you get there and it's not working, get up and leave."

Rachel smiled, but it took a lot to get her to be that bold with her fathers. She'd only stood up to them a couple of times.

"You're different now," Quinn said. "And maybe so is he."

Rachel nodded. And maybe he wasn't. And she really wished he would have cared before she was different. But she understood what Quinn was saying. "Maybe I'll give it a try."

"I think you should," Quinn said.

Rachel smiled and tried to portray some new found confidence. She would go and it would be fine. She'd maybe even have a good time and she and her dad would form a better relationship. Yep, Rachel decided, she was going.

Rachel called Scott on her way home from school and told him she would be joining him for the weekend. They agreed that she would go over Friday after school time and then go back home to Shelby's Sunday afternoon. He sounded pleased that she was coming and Rachel allowed herself to let her guard down and be a little excited as well. Maybe it really would be fine.

"Mom," Rachel called out when she entered the house and dropped her bag by the front door.

"Hey," Shelby said as she stepped out of the kitchen to greet her daughter. "How was your day?"

"Fine," Rachel said. She followed her mom back to the kitchen and pulled out a snack and sat at the table. "So I decided that I wanted to go to my dad's this weekend. I already called and told him I would be coming over."

"Oh," Shelby tried to sound enthusiastic for her daughter. "I'm glad you finally made a decision one way or the other."

"Me too," Rachel said. "Quinn helped me."

"Wonderful," Shelby said. "How do you feel about it?"

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Rachel said. "Very cautiously. But maybe it'll be just fine. If it works out maybe I can talk to Dad and see if he wants to try the same thing."

"That'd be great," Shelby said tightly. She wasn't expecting the feelings of jealousy that came over her. She knew, of course, that her opinion of the Berry men was quite different from Rachel's and she supported her daughter in this. But they had hurt her so deeply and here she was excited to see them. Shelby didn't really want to acknowledge in this moment that she had hurt Rachel too and here they were now with a great relationship. What if Rachel got back over there and decided she wanted her dads back permanently? No, that wouldn't happen. Shelby brushed aside her jealousy and smiled for her daughter.

Rachel came home from school Friday afternoon and made quick work of packing a bag. She packed a few different types of outfits because she didn't know if they would be doing anything special. She also packed her quilt and made sure she had all of her toiletries before declaring that she was ready to go.

"Ok," Shelby said. "Let me know when you get over there."

"His house is like fifteen minutes away," Rachel said.

"Doesn't matter," Shelby said. "Send me a message."

"Ok," Rachel rolled her eyes.

"And have fun," Shelby said as she pulled Rachel into a hug. "And behave. And call me if you need anything or if you want to come home."

"I will, Mom."

"Try not to put any pressure on yourself, ok? You don't need to change yourself for your dad," Shelby said. "You don't need to impress him." If anything, Scott should be doing everything he could to impress Rachel, but Shelby didn't say that last part out loud.

"I think it'll be ok," Rachel said. She hoped, but she was trying not to let her mom know that she was still worried.

"Call me if you need to talk or if you would like me to talk to your dad about anything," Shelby said.

"Ok," Rachel said quietly. "I better get going."

Shelby kissed her head and then let her go. Rachel stepped into the kitchen and kissed Beth who was sitting in her high chair. Shelby watched the whole way as Rachel walked to her car and got in. She was still standing at the door when the girl drove off. It would be fine, Shelby said to herself.

Twenty minutes later, Rachel was sitting in her car in the driveway of the house she had lived in until she'd moved in with Shelby. She turned it off and got out and took her time gathering her bags. It would be fine, she told herself. It would be fine.

**A/N – Thank you so much for reading, everyone. I hope you liked this chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. Thanks! **


	89. Chapter 89

**A/N – Sorry about the delay, guys. And a big thank you to beaner008 for being my sounding board and helping me out through this chapter. Thank you! And thank you to all of you guys who have reviewed and sent messages and who continue to read and add favorites and alerts. I can't even begin to explain what it all means to me. Thanks so much for being positive and supporting me (even when I'm slow). **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Rachel took a deep breath and shouldered her bag before making her way up the walk to the front porch. She wondered if her dad already knew she was there. Had he seen her drive up and park? Was he inside waiting and just as nervous as she was right now? Had he made plans for them this weekend? Did he remember to buy vegan groceries? Maybe she should have bought some from her house. She wondered if she could have Quinn over at some point this weekend. Would that be against how this was supposed to go? She took another deep breath and tried to clear her head. She wouldn't know anything unless she knocked and went inside.

Rachel rang the doorbell and took a step back and stood up straighter. She was beginning to doubt that he heard the bell because no one was answering, but the door swung open just as she was reaching out to ring it again. She looked up when Scott opened the door and smiled at her and she returned it with one of her own. He held the door open so she could step in the house.

"Hey, Rach," Scott greeted. "Sorry it took me so long to get to the door. I was in the office with my headphones on and covered in paperwork when you rang."

"That's ok," Rachel said. She knew how busy he could be. "What are you working on?"

"A new project at work," he said. "But I'm finished for the day."

"Oh," she brightened a bit. "Thank you for having me over."

"I'm glad you agreed to come," he said.

The whole exchange bordered on being really awkward. This was not how father and daughter were supposed to talk. She thought she sounded like a business associate who had been invited over to work on the very important project. They both seemed to recognize it and he moved her farther into the house.

"Why don't you go and drop your bag off in your room and then come back down here," he suggested. "We can talk and I'll start some dinner."

"Ok," Rachel said.

Rachel climbed the stairs to her room and dropped the bag by the door. She'd been back here a couple times since she moved out, but she'd never really looked around and she wanted to see how things had changed. Or perhaps realize just how much they stayed the same. Rachel poked her head into her father's room and saw that the furniture was the same. There were pictures missing from the walls though. She found no trace of Henry anywhere in that room. She knew they were separated, but it still felt weird to see the room different, even subtly so, after so many years. She had never even been to Henry's new place and she found herself wondering if she'd ever to get to see it. Logically, probably. But when? And why?

Rachel backed out of the room and headed over to her old bedroom. It was exactly as she had left it when she moved to Shelby's. Everything was off the walls and desktops. Any hint of the personality was gone from the room. The only thing that remained was the furniture she'd used growing up.

Rachel set her bag down on the bed and sat down next to it. She thought about unpacking, but all that would really entail would be to take her toiletries out of her bag and put them in the bathroom and she could do that later. She was supposed to go back downstairs, but Rachel found herself unconsciously slipping into the role she knew so well in that house. Her dads were busy and she didn't want to be in their way. They would talk over dinner maybe. Or maybe when they said goodnight.

Rachel opened her bag and pulled out the toiletries and carried them to the bathroom and set them on the counter near the sink. Ok, that was done. She suddenly wished she had thought to bring her laptop. The ringing of her phone brought her out of her thoughts and she went to answer it.

"Hi, Mom," Rachel greeted with a smile.

"Hi, sweetheart," Shelby said. "I was just making sure you got there ok."

"Of course I did," Rachel said with a confused expression.

"Oh, I wouldn't know," Shelby said. "No one ever called to tell me."

"Well maybe you should make some phone calls and talk to the person who was supposed to let you know," Rachel teased back.

"I'll be sure to let that person know as soon as she gets back here," Shelby said. "Seriously though, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Rachel said with a sigh. "I'm up in my room putting my bag down. Daddy's making dinner."

"Ok," Shelby said. "I'll let you go then."

"What are you and Beth doing tonight?" Rachel asked, not letting her hang up.

"I don't know yet," Shelby shrugged. "Probably nothing."

"Oh," Rachel nodded. "Don't have too much fun without me."

"Never," Shelby laughed.

Beth started to cry in the background and Shelby started to tell Rachel to hang on, but Rachel stopped her.

"That's ok, Mom. I'll talk to you later. Go get Beth."

"Ok, sweetie. I love you. Call if you need anything."

Rachel ended the call and decided she should probably go back downstairs. It wouldn't take anyone this long to drop off a bag. She stood up and nodded confidently to herself and went back down to the kitchen.

"There you are," Scott said when Rachel made it back down to the kitchen.

"I was just putting some stuff away," Rachel said. She decided to leave out the phone call with her mother. "What are you making?"

"Stir fry," Scott answered. "Vegetable for you and steak for me."

"Sounds good," Rachel said. "Did you have any plans for this weekend?"

"No, not really," Scott answered over his shoulder because he was standing at the stove. "Just this. I thought we'd just hang out. A normal weekend."

"Sounds good," Rachel said again. She thought back on what a normal weekend for them had been like and she wasn't sure that's what she wanted. "Do you need any help?"

"No, it should be done soon," Scott told her. "Why don't you go into the living room and watch some TV."

Rachel only nodded her agreement and got up and moved into the other room. She turned the TV on, but wasn't really watching it. What did he mean by normal weekend? Was this it? And if so, was that enough for her? She wanted to feel grateful that he had even asked her to come over in the first place, but it just felt off for some reason. This is what she had wanted, right? This is what she had told them last year. She told them she wanted her fathers back. She wanted to have her parents around. She told them she didn't want to be alone anymore. So why did Scott's assurance that they would hang out and have a normal weekend make her feel alone? She told herself to be grateful that he was trying, but it all seemed nothing had changed to him.

Shelby and Beth ate a quiet dinner at the house. Beth liked to chatter constantly, but Shelby missed Rachel's presence. It was just a sleepover, but it felt so different than knowing that her daughter was at Judy's or the Lopez's. She wanted Rachel here with her tonight and the fact that she wasn't didn't settle right with Shelby.

"Mama, up," Beth said.

"No, baby," Shelby said. "Eat some more dinner."

"Mach," Beth said. It came out with the long vowel sound like whenever anyone said 'Rach.'

"Rachel's not here," Shelby said. Beth wasn't very close to mastering Rachel's name, but Shelby knew the R sound was hard. Rachel had been so pleased when they discovered that Mach meant her name. Sometimes she was El too. But Beth never put them together.

Beth picked up a piece of food and put it in her mouth and gave Shelby a contemplative look. Shelby had to smile at how hard Beth was concentrating. It was as if she wanted to ask the next logical question which was, 'well where was Mach,' but she just didn't know how to say it.

"She'll be home on Sunday," Shelby told her.

"No," Beth said.

"Sorry, honey," Shelby said.

Beth gave her plate a sour expression, but picked up a piece of chicken and ate it anyway. She didn't have any idea what Sunday meant, but she would like for Rachel to come home soon, thank you very much. Nobody cleared it with her that her sister wouldn't be home this weekend.

Rachel and Scott ate their dinner with what could be called polite conversation at best. It was strained and they both knew it, but he was content with ignoring that for the sake of appearances. Rachel was here and they were talking. He was stepping up. He did miss Rachel and was glad to see her, but he didn't know what to do beyond this. He couldn't be at every performance or school event. He wanted her to be happy and he liked that she seemed to be happy with Shelby. They had done that for her. And now, he could have her over for a weekend every once in a while. That was enough, right?

"We haven't finalized a set list for Nationals yet, but I hope I get another solo," Rachel said. "The one I sang at Regionals was really well received."

"What song did you sing?" Scott asked.

"It was an original song that I wrote with mo- Shel- with help," Rachel said and stopped herself from explaining further. She felt like she couldn't name Shelby in the conversation so she knew she couldn't tell her dad what the song was about.

"You wrote a song?" Scott said. "That's cool." He ignored her stumbling over the words. He was grateful for Shelby, but truth be told, he didn't really want to hear about her all weekend and so he was kind of glad that Rachel stopped herself. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Daddy," Rachel beamed at the praise.

Scott returned her smile and nodded to himself. Yep, they were bonding.

She started talking about Nationals again and about how excited the whole club was to be travelling to Washington D.C. for the competition. He followed along for the most part. He'd already told her he couldn't go and see the show, but that didn't deter her from telling him all about it.

Rachel was taking a last sip of water when his phone rang and he told her he needed to take it real quick. Scott asked her to start the dishes for him and promised to be right back.

"Oh, and the dishwasher is broken, sweetheart. I haven't had a chance to get it fixed yet," he said as he walked from the room.

"Figures," Rachel sighed as she got to her feet and started to clear the table.

The dishes were finished and the kitchen was cleaned by the time Scott stepped out of the office and looked for Rachel. She was curled up in a chair in the living room playing on her phone. She was fuming, but was keeping it to herself. Why did she think it would be different?

"Sorry, Rach," Scott said as he sat down on the couch. "I need to make sure that everyone is on the same page for the project at work. It's important."

"I know," Rachel said without looking up. She was convinced her dads had never done anything in their life that wasn't important. Every excuse they ever gave her came with the disclaimer that whatever it is they had to do instead was important. She knew all about how important their work was.

"Why don't I put on a movie?" Scott said.

"Go ahead," Rachel said curtly.

"Ok," Scott said he picked up the remote and gave Rachel a funny look. He couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten some sort of attitude with him. He thought back to before Rachel moved to Shelby's and she had always been calm and quiet. She'd grown out of the tantrum stage when she was younger, he thought. He'd seen her upset and whining at Shelby's when they visited after her surgery, but he knew she was tired and in pain so that hardly counted. "What do you want to watch?" he asked.

"I don't care," Rachel said. She was still focused on her phone and wouldn't look up.

Rachel had no interest in the action movie her father picked, but she finally put her phone down and looked at the TV. She leaned her had back in the chair and glanced over at her dad.

"This movie is stupid," Rachel muttered.

"What?" Scott asked.

"Nothing," Rachel said. She sighed and then sat up straighter. "Daddy, what are we doing this weekend?"

"What do you mean?" Scott asked. He looked over at her and then back at the screen.

"What are we doing?" Rachel asked again.

"This," Scott said. He turned the TV down some and turned his attention to Rachel. "We're hanging out together. Spending time with each other. Don't you and Shelby just hang out sometimes?"

"Yeah," Rachel answered. She couldn't articulate to him why it was different with Shelby. She didn't know how to make him understand.

Scott turned his attention back to the TV and she sulked down further into the chair. After another half an hour, Rachel tried to start another conversation.

"Do you want me to get you anything while I'm in D.C.?" Rachel asked.

"When are going to D.C.?" Scott asked as he turned to look at her.

Rachel just shook her head and got to her feet. She'd told him all about Nationals during dinner and he couldn't remember? "I'm going upstairs. This movie is stupid."

"That's a good idea," Scott said. "It's time you went to bed."

Rachel stopped and gave him an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me? It's only 10:15 on a Friday night?" Shelby 'Stickler for Bedtime' Corcoran didn't make her go to bed early on the weekend.

Scott paused the movie and gave his daughter a look. He didn't like her new-found attitude. "Rachel," he warned.

She huffed, but didn't argue with that tone. It was an old habit, but not one she could break that evening. She spun on her heel and headed for the stairs. She did as she was told and got changed and into bed, but played on her phone for another hour or so. Not that her father would have known because he never checked on her. She and Shelby exchanged goodnights over texts, but Rachel didn't give her much information about how her evening had gone. They still had all day tomorrow, right?

By Saturday afternoon, Rachel was beyond annoyed. Scott spent a lot of his time playing on his laptop or watching TV with Rachel. He didn't want to go anywhere or do anything. He just kept telling her that they were spending their time together. Every time Rachel heard it, the less meaning it had. She worried so much about being rejected by him that she had a hard time speaking up and saying what she wanted. But she was really angry right now and she didn't think it was fair that he made her feel this way.

After lunch, Rachel had finally had enough. "Daddy, can I call some friends and have them over?"

"Umm, sure, Rach," Scott said. "Are you sure? We can watch another movie."

"I'm sure," Rachel said.

She disappeared upstairs and sent out a joint message to Santana and Quinn telling them she needed them. They arrived together about half an hour later. Rachel answered the door before the bell even had a chance to finish chiming. She barely introduced them to Scott as she dragged them up the stairs.

"This whole thing is so infuriating," Rachel said to her friends as she paced her old bedroom. Santana and Quinn were sitting on the bed watching her. "We're not doing anything. He still is always on the computer or the phone and we've barely been talking. I thought maybe he asked me over here so we could start to work things out, but he's acting as if nothing is the matter and like nothing has changed. I may as well have just spent the night at a friend's house and not the past eight months with my mother because he and my dad decided I wasn't important enough."

Rachel was yelling, but they could both see how hurt she was. Quinn stood up from the bed and tried to get Rachel to stop her pacing.

"Rach-"

"I don't know why I bothered to get my hopes up," Rachel cut her off. "Why did I think this would be any different? He hasn't walked out, but he may as well not be here." Rachel stopped pacing and her anger seemed to dissipate for a second as her eyes filled with tears. "I thought they cared when they came to see me when I was sick and now it feels like they forgot that. Or at least that Daddy did. Who knows about my dad."

Quinn stepped up to Rachel and wrapped her arms around her friend's neck and held her tightly. "Don't cry, Rach. It'll be fine."

"That's the thing, Quinn," Rachel said sadly, "it's not going to be fine. It's never going to be fine with them again." Rachel's eyes filled with more tears as she let herself come to the conclusion she'd been avoiding for so long. And even though she was crying, Rachel could feel the anger welling inside of her.

"Ok, that's it," Santana said as she got up from the bed. She hadn't been around when Quinn found out about Rachel's dads and she'd never met either of them before today, but she was done with this bullshit. No way should Rachel be over here at her dad's house crying because he couldn't bother to pay attention to her.

"Santana?" Rachel questioned as her friend marched out of the room and down the stairs. Quinn and Rachel hurried after her.

Santana found Scott sitting on the couch in the living room reading over something on his phone. "Excuse me," Santana said forcefully.

Scott looked up at her and then at Rachel and Quinn in the background. "Yes?"

"Do you have any idea what a terrible parent you are?" Santana asked plainly and clearly.

"Santana," Rachel gasped out.

"What did you say?" Scott asked. He dropped his phone to the coffee table and stood up.

"You heard me," Santana said as she crossed her arms and gave him a once over. She wasn't intimidated by his height advantage. "You are a terrible parent. Rachel deserves so much better than you and thank god she has it now."

"You need to leave my house right now," Scott said angrily. "Rachel, is this the kind of person your mother lets you hang out with?"

"Yes, I am," Santana answered. "And you want to know why? Because I'm Rachel's friend and Shelby knows that I will always look out for her and be there for her." Rachel smiled and tears filled her eyes again. "What she doesn't deserve is someone like you. Do you have any idea how you make her feel? She's your daughter, not some intern at work or a long lost niece. She wants a relationship with her father."

"She has one," Scott yelled. "We were having a nice weekend until you and your friend showed up."

"A nice weekend?" Santana asked sarcastically. "Rachel, were you having a nice weekend? How much have you guys talked while she's been here?" she looked back at Scott. "Have you learned anything about her? Did you just ask her over here to remind her of how shitty her life was until she got to go and live with her mom?"

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Scott shouted. "This is my house and that is my daughter and I will not have you in here talking this way. I want you out. Right now."

"No," Santana said. Scott took a step forward, but Santana stopped him. "Touch me and I'll have you arrested. I know people that you don't see in your nightmares. Go on, try me. I will go all Lima Heights and you won't know what happened."

"Rachel!" Scott bellowed. "If this girl does not leave right now…"

Santana started to yell at him in Spanish and was wildly gesturing with her arms when Rachel stepped forward to get in the middle of them. Quinn grabbed Santana around the waist and pulled her back.

"Stop it! Stop!" Rachel yelled and the room fell silent.

"Rachel, I mean it, get them out of here," Scott said.

Rachel shook her head and looked up at her dad before looking back at her friends. "No," she said. "No."

The shock on Scott's face was easy to read and he stepped closer to Rachel. "Excuse me?"

"They're my friends and I want them here," Rachel said. "And if they leave, I'm leaving with them."

"I am your father and you will listen to me," Scott said.

"No," Rachel said again. She let out a tiny laugh at how freeing it was. "You don't get to want to be my dad right now. Why did you even ask me over here? I thought we were going to try and make our relationship better."

"We were," Scott said. "Everything was going fine."

"No, it wasn't," Rachel said. "Nothing was going fine. You still worked on your computer all the time and you didn't even really listen to me when I was talking during dinner. You wanted to watch movies that I hate."

"You said you wanted to spend time together," Scott said. "I wanted to see you again. I do miss you, Rachel. And we were spending time together."

"Spending time together doesn't mean just being in the same house at the same time," Rachel said.

"Then what do you want?" Scott asked. He sounded so exasperated.

"I want to have my Daddy," Rachel yelled, but there were tears in her voice. "I can't even talk to you about my life without censoring myself. I'm too afraid to say Shelby's name or call her mom because I don't want to hurt your feelings and I'm too scare of your reaction. You never seem to care about me except when it's convenient for you. I haven't seen you since I got out of the hospital after surgery. Have you just been too busy since then? Can you only be bothered to check up on me if I'm hurt? Did you even care when you saw me or did you show up because you thought you should?"

"Rachel, you know my schedule-"

"I don't care about your schedule!" Rachel shouted. Santana had opened the door to allow Rachel to get her feelings out. "I spend so much time trying to figure out what I did wrong that made you and Dad leave. I have nightmares about being left all alone. I worry every time Shelby is mad at me. I fight with my friends because a little argument for them seems life changing for me. I know what it feels like to lose everything. You want to know what song I sang at Regionals? I sang a song called Get It Right because I can't ever seem to do anything right. You want to know why I never called you back about staying over here? Because I'm scared to death you're going to decide that you don't want me again."

Quinn and Santana stood together in the background with tears in their eyes as they watched their friend finally let the flood gates open.

"I never said that," Scott told her. He was shocked by her outburst.

"Yes you did," Rachel said. "You say it all the time. You say it when you don't talk to me. Or when you tell me to wait while you spend hours in your office working on something that is always more important than me."

"Rachel, we never meant to hurt you," Scott said.

"It didn't matter if you meant to or not," Rachel said. "You did hurt me. And I am so angry and sad and scared all the time. But I'm also happy because my mom makes me happy. But I can't ever get you or Dad or the way you treated me out of the back of my mind and you have ruined so much. You still take the joy out of things for me and you're not even around to realize you're doing it. Hell, you've never realized you've done it."

"Rachel, stop," Scott said. "Let's sit down and talk about this calmly."

"No," Rachel said again. "I'm not talking this time. This time I'm going to be the one that walks out. I'm not going to wait around to be hurt or feel sad anymore this weekend. Give me two months and maybe I'll call and see how you're doing. If I'm not too busy."

Rachel turned and stormed back up the stairs and Santana shot Scott a smirk before she followed after her. Quinn didn't say anything, but she too went up the stairs. It only took Rachel a few minutes to get all of her things together and back in her bag. Scott gave a half-hearted attempt to stop her on the way out, but Rachel didn't listen.

"Where are we going?" Santana asked when she pulled out of the driveway and got onto the road. "Do you want to go home?"

"No," Rachel sighed. "I'm too angry and my mom will just get upset that I'm upset. I want to go somewhere that I don't have to think about it yet."

"Let's go to my house," Santana said. "We can do whatever we want there and not have to worry about being bothered by anyone."

The ride didn't take very long and the car soon turned into the affluent neighborhood of Lima Heights Adjacent. The original Lima Heights neighborhood was down the street. Rachel left her bag in the car when they went in and the girls happily flopped down in Santana's room after stopping to grab some snacks.

They spent a few hours playing on the internet and listening to music. It was a nice reprieve for Rachel from the stress and anger she'd been feeling earlier in the day. They were already making plans to go out for dinner when Mrs. Lopez knocked on the bedroom door and then entered.

"Santana," she said. "Oh, hello girls." They offered her soft greetings in return. "Santana, you didn't finish cleaning up earlier."

Santana eyed her friends and then looked back at her mom and spoke with a cool bravado, "I'll do it later."

"You'll do it now," Mrs. Lopez said as she stepped all the way into the room. "It's not my fault you decided to leave before you were finished."

"Mom," Santana pleaded with her eyes. "I've got company."

"They can help you," Mrs. Lopez said easily. She'd known Quinn since the girls were in elementary school and she certainly wasn't above putting her to work. Rachel was a new addition to Santana's group of friends, but the woman had liked her instantly. And she'd liked Shelby quite a bit too. So she didn't feel bad about putting Rachel to work either.

"Mom," Santana started to whine but was cut off when Mrs. Lopez spoke to her in Spanish.

Quinn and Rachel exchanged a look. They didn't know what had been said in that short sentence, but they both knew that they weren't going to argue with it. The girls followed Santana down to the kitchen and out into the garage. Earlier in the day, Santana had been tasked with cleaning up some of the clutter. The garage was used a lot and it was only natural that things ended up out of place. Mrs. Lopez directed them all about what needed to be done and then left them to it.

"What happened to getting to do whatever we want and not being bothered by anyone?" Rachel teased.

"I wanted to clean the garage," Santana retorted.

"Sure you did," Rachel said with a smile.

"And now I have help, so I win," Santana sassed.

The girls worked in silence for a while until Rachel's phone chimed to indicate she had a text message. She put down a box and sat on the step and decided that now was a good time for a break.

"Who's it from?" Quinn asked when she saw Rachel typing out a reply.

"My mom," Rachel answered. "She wants to know how my evening is going. I thought maybe my dad would have called her to tell her I left. Apparently not."

"Did you tell her?" Santana asked. The other two girls had joined in her sitting down and resting.

"No," Rachel answered. "She'll want me to come home and I don't want to worry her or anything. I'll talk to her later when I go home."

"You could stay the night here," Santana offered. "You too, Quinn. Britt's out of town."

"I don't know," Rachel said. She didn't say so out loud, but she knew herself and Rachel was certain that she was going to want to go home to her own bed and her mom by the end of the night.

"I can't," Quinn said. "My mom made plans for me tomorrow. Some church thing, but I promised I would be there. I'm going to try and get her to let me stay out later though. I was going to suggest that we go to The Place tonight."

"That sounds like fun," Rachel said. "As long as we don't end up in a fight, I'm all for it."

"Just don't call any of the stupid boys," Santana said.

"Maybe Mercedes and Tina will want to come along," Quinn said.

"A girls' night would be fun," Rachel smiled.

The chiming of her phone grabbed her attention again and Rachel read the message from her mom telling her she missed her but that she hoped Rachel was enjoying her visit.

"Are you sure you're ok, Rach?" Quinn asked when her friend started to type another response.

"Yeah," Rachel sighed. "I actually feel kind of better to have gotten some of that off my chest. I just wish I understood what was going on."

"What do you mean?" Santana asked.

"I don't know. He called and talked to my mom when I didn't call him back," Rachel said. "She said he really wanted me to come over. But then I get there and he acts like nothing has changed. I barely know him or my dad anymore. And maybe I shouldn't have yelled, but I feel strangely relieved by it."

"I'm glad you yelled," Santana said. "You deserve to be able to tell him what you're thinking and how you feel. He hurt you and he should know that. Why does he get to pretend nothing is wrong?"

"I don't think I would have done it if it wasn't for you," Rachel said. "I can't believe you did that."

Rachel started to laugh and Quinn and Santana joined her.

"His face was priceless," Quinn said.

"And you did the perfect storm out," Santana said to Rachel. "It was one of your best."

"Thanks," Rachel laughed. "I just hope I didn't forget anything over there. Trust me, the storm out loses all its effectiveness if you have to go back for something you forgot."

The girls delved into another fit of laughter as they started talking about some of Rachel's notable storm outs from glee rehearsals. They were still giggling when the door opened and Santana's father peered in at them.

"Hey, girls," he said with a smile as he walked over to stand by them. "What's so funny?"

He put his arm around Santana and waited to be let in on the joke and was disappointed when all he got was a, "nothing, Dad" from Santana. One day these girls would realize that their parents really did understand some things.

"How are you today, Dr. Lopez?" Rachel asked politely.

"Very well, thank you," he said. "I wanted to see what you guys were planning to do for dinner. We'd love to have you stay if you'd like."

"We were actually thinking of heading to The Place tonight, Dad," Santana said. "Make it a girls' night with some more friends from glee."

"That sounds like fun," he said.

"Yeah. And it would be awesome if you could get us out of having to do the rest of this so we could get ready and go," Santana said.

Dr. Lopez looked around and then back at the girls and winked. "I'd say that this place looks good enough for-"

"Don't you dare," the voice of Maribel Lopez cut him off. It seemed to echo around the room and no one was sure where it came from. "Santana, I want that place cleaned up properly before any of you can go anywhere."

Santana closed her eyes in defeat. She had never figured out her mother's all-knowing presence. "Yes, Mom," Santana said.

"Back to work," Maribel said.

"Sorry, darling, I tried," Dr. Lopez said with sparkling eyes and an exaggerated shrug.

"I know," Santana said with a smile.

It was clearly like a game between the two of them; one of these days they were going to get one past Maribel Lopez. Rachel and Quinn watched wistfully as the man leaned over and kissed his daughter's head. He then headed back into the house and told them he'd work on the warden so they could get out of there.

They left the house an hour and a half later after cleaning up and grabbing quick showers. Mercedes and Tina were happy to meet them for dinner and karaoke and the girls spent the evening singing and laughing and talking about everything but Rachel's visit with her dad. And that was fine with the girl. She had been worried how she would feel if something like that happened, but for now she felt ok. It helped that she'd been able to speak her mind instead of just being hurt and angry and letting it brew within her. And her friends had shown up and taken her away when she needed them. She hadn't ended up alone like she worried she would and that made her smile.

They left the place a little before midnight and drove to Quinn's so she would be home in time for her curfew. She too had invited Rachel to stay there, but the Rachel was tried and the day had started to wear on her. She wanted the comfort and safety of her own house and bed tonight. She still had never told Shelby that she wasn't with her dad, but Rachel figured she could fill her in tomorrow. She also knew that her mother would be asleep this time of night and so she thought it would be a nice surprise for Shelby to find Rachel home in the morning.

Shelby woke up enough to register the fact that there was a car idling outside. The sound of the car door didn't bother her and she rolled over and started to drift off again. However, the sound of someone trying to get in the front door woke her up completely. She laid as silently as possible so she could hear the noise again.

Rachel cursed under her breath as she dropped her keys and had to reach down for them. Why hadn't anyone left the porch light on?

Shelby heard the front door opening and she quickly threw her blankets back and crept out of bed. She walked as lightly as she could to the nursery and peeked in at the sleeping Beth. There was another noise from downstairs and Shelby felt her heart start to race as her adrenaline kicked in. She shut Beth's bedroom door and moved out into the hallway and towards the stairs. Another noise. It sounded like someone was in the kitchen. Or was that the living room? She tried to control her panicked breathing as she started down the stairs. She was finding it hard to keep calm with the knowledge that someone was in her house.

**A/N – I hope you all liked this chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know. I really appreciate all of your feedback.**

**And I don't speak a lick of Spanish so that's why I didn't include any with Santana and her family. I wouldn't want to butcher the language. **


	90. Chapter 90

**A/N – Hey, everyone! Here's the next chapter! Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews and feedback. You guys astound me and I love you. Thanks.**

**And I wanted to say a little something about Marvin Hamlisch. I've loved him since I was little and I realized he wrote The Way We Were. And then I learned he wrote A Chorus Line and I've been hooked ever since. He was a musical genius. And more importantly, he was a beautiful human being. I saw him lead orchestras twice and I saw him with Idina Menzel. I've got an autographed picture of him on my wall here at my house (close to my Idina ones as a matter of fact). I was heartbroken to hear of his death so I can't imagine what those who knew him are feeling. He leaves behind an incredible legacy of songs that will continue to play throughout my life for the rest of my life. Most ten-year-olds aren't looking up composers, but I was fascinated by him and I'm so glad I was. I'm going to see Barbra Streisand in concert later this year and I already know I'll be a crying mess(I cried when I bought the ticket because I'm so excited), but it's going to make hearing The Way We Were from her that much more poignant. RIP, Marvin. I love you, from a little girl in the very early 90's rewinding her Barbra tape over and over again just to hear your song. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Shelby made it to the bottom of the stairs and crouched down next to the banister so she could hide. She thought about turning on the light and surprising her intruder, but the more she thought about it, the more that sounded like a terrible idea. Rachel walked out of the kitchen into the living room carrying a glass of water. She wasn't exactly ready to go to sleep yet and she never got the house to herself this time of night. It was kind of nice. So she kicked off her shoes and headed towards the couch so she could sit down in the dark with her thoughts.

From her hiding spot, Shelby could tell that someone had come into the living room. From now on she was going to leave a light on down here.

Rachel only got five steps into the room when her socked foot came in contact with one of Beth's stray blocks.

"Ow!" Rachel hissed under her breath so she wouldn't wake anyone else up. She stumbled back a bit and that's when Shelby decided to make her move.

Shelby knew she wouldn't get another chance to take this person down and so she lunged forward at the figure. Her heart was racing, but she didn't let up. It was now or never.

Rachel gasped when she felt someone grab her around the waist and tackle her to the floor. She dropped her glass and water went everywhere. She didn't have very much time to react, but panic started to set in because clearly there was an intruder in the house.

Shelby pinned the person down with a knee to the center of their back. She pulled their arms back and held on tightly. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know what to do now that she had the person.

"Ow, stop!" Rachel cried as her arms were pulled tighter and a knee dug into her back. She needed help and she needed it fast. Part of her wanted to keep quiet so as not to put anyone else in danger, but the part that wanted her mom won out. "Help!" she shouted loudly. "Mom, help me!"

"Rachel?" Shelby let go immediately and moved on her knees to turn on the lamp on the small table near the couch.

"Mom?" Rachel squinted when the light was turned on and she moved her arms back to a more comfortable position. She looked over her shoulder at the woman who had en equally stunned expression on her face.

Shelby's eyes adjusted to the light and she looked down at her daughter lying on her stomach on the living room floor. "Rachel," she breathed out a sigh of relief and quickly moved back to her daughter.

Rachel was in the process of rolling over to get up when Shelby helped her along by practically picking her up and pulling her into a tight hug though they were still on their knees. Rachel clung to her as well.

"You scared the hell out of me," Shelby admonished. She popped Rachel on her bottom for good measure.

"I scared you?" Rachel was incredulous. "What do you think you did to me? I thought you were trying to pull my arms off."

"I thought you were someone who broke into the house," Shelby said. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to come home," Rachel said as they got to their feet. "I need to get a towel to clean up the water that you made me drop."

"What do you mean you just wanted to come home?" Shelby asked as Rachel went into the kitchen. She went over and picked up the glass Rachel had been using.

"I just wanted to come home," Rachel repeated when she came back into the room with a hand towel and gave it to her mom.

"Rachel," Shelby gave her a look that she wasn't buying it as she crouched down and started to clean up the spill. Wait a second, how did she end up as the one doing this?

Rachel sighed and flopped down on the couch. "I didn't really have a good time so I left early."

"Leaving at midnight is leaving early?" Shelby asked as she finished up. "Does your dad even know you're gone?" It clicked with Shelby as she moved to sit next to Rachel and she narrowed her eyes at the girl. "When did you leave your dad's house?"

Rachel shrugged and played with the edge of her shirt.

"Rachel," Shelby warned.

"About one this afternoon," Rachel answered.

"What?" Shelby asked. "Where have you been all day? How come I didn't know where you were? Your dad never called to say you weren't there anymore."

"Shocking," Rachel muttered.

"Rachel, I'm serious," Shelby said. "I don't like that I didn't know where you were. Or why you're coming home after midnight. If you didn't want to stay at your dad's, that's fine, but you should have told me where you were going."

"I'm not a little kid, Mom," Rachel said petulantly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I don't need to be babysat." She wasn't quite sure where the attitude was coming from, but maybe the entire day was just finally coming down on her. She wanted comfort from her mother; not to be attacked and interrogated.

Shelby sighed as she took in Rachel's childish posture and she brought her hand up and moved some of Rachel's hair back from her shoulder so that she had a clear view of her face.

"Look at me," Shelby said gently. She waited until Rachel turned her head slightly to look at her before she continued. "I know you are not a little kid and that you don't need to be babysat, but you can't disappear either."

"But how can you say that I disappeared if you didn't even know I was gone?" Rachel challenged.

Shelby pursed her lips in frustration and nodded her head. "How about you go upstairs and get some sleep? We can finish this conversation tomorrow when you're in a better mood. We'll have all day to talk because you can go ahead and consider yourself grounded."

"What? No. Mom," Rachel whined and then finally relented and stopped arguing. "I'm sorry. I didn't disappear; I was with Quinn and Santana. Please don't ground me."

"Ok," Shelby said, "then let's start again. What happened? Why did you leave your dad's house early and why didn't you tell me where you were going?"

"I didn't have a very good time at my dad's," Rachel said. "It was all just the same as it always was. He was busy or not interested. He only seemed to care that I was there in the house, but not anything else. I was hoping it was going to be different and that we would talk and he would really care about me. I asked what I was even doing there and all he said was that we were hanging out. But we don't know how to hang out."

"Oh, Rach," Shelby sympathized with her daughter.

"I don't even really know how to explain what I want," Rachel said. "I want him to be interested in my life. I want him to know that I don't care about action movies and that I do mind if he stays in his office for hours to work on something."

Shelby didn't want to interrupt because she didn't want to possibly step on something Rachel might say. Rachel needed to get all of this out. She opted to put her arm around Rachel's shoulders and pull her close and tight as they sat side-by-side on the couch.

"But he doesn't know that," Rachel continued. "He let me have Santana and Quinn over and I was complaining to them about how he was acting. Santana wasn't very happy about it and she went down and told him he was a terrible parent."

"She didn't?"

"She did," Rachel confirmed. "She told him that he was horrible to me and that she was glad that I have a real parent now. He was really angry, but I don't know, something in Santana starting it first helped me to speak up too. I was so mad and annoyed that I yelled at him too."

"What did you say?" Shelby asked.

"That he's not trying," Rachel said. "And I don't even know if he really wants to. It felt like I was there because of some obligation he felt he needed to fulfill and not because he really wanted me there. But I told him that I was leaving because I wasn't going to give him the chance to walk out on me and that this time I was going to be the one to walk away first. Quinn and I went to Santana's house."

"Why didn't you call me?" Shelby asked.

"I don't know," Rachel shrugged. "I didn't want you to be upset and I didn't want to have to focus on it or think about it at the time."

"Honey, I wouldn't have been mad," Shelby said.

"No, I mean upset because I was upset," Rachel said. "No need to ruin your day too."

"Rachel, I want you to talk to me when things like that happen," Shelby said.

"It wouldn't have changed anything," Rachel said. "I figured we'd talk tomorrow- today now, I guess. We went to Santana's and just hung out until her mom made us clean the garage."

"Clean the garage?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah, apparently Santana was supposed to finish it before she left that day, but she didn't when she came to Daddy's with Quinn," Rachel explained. "So Mrs. Lopez put us all to work."

Shelby smiled as Rachel shut her eyes for a second and rested her head on her mom's shoulder to get comfortable. "It took you all night to clean the garage?"

"No," Rachel yawned. "We met up with Tina and Mercedes at The Place for dinner and karaoke. Santana offered for me to stay the night at her house."

"You thought about staying the night at someone else's house without telling me?" Shelby asked incredulously which caused Rachel to sit up and look at her.

"No?" Rachel answered, though her tone betrayed her.

"You can't do that, Rachel," Shelby said. "I need to know where you are."

"But I didn't want to stay the night," Rachel said. "I wanted to come home and I was going to surprise you in the morning. I didn't think that I would wake you up. Surprise," she added dryly.

"That's beside the point," Shelby pressed on. She was determined not to let Rachel make her smile. "As soon as you left your father's house and decided to stay out late, I should have known about it. I wouldn't have made you come back here, but I also need to know where you are. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mommy," Rachel lowered her eyes and pouted for her mother.

Shelby shook her head and smiled slightly at the obvious manipulation.

"I love you, Mama," Rachel added. She scooted closer to Shelby and moved so she could sit in her lap. She wrapped her arms around Shelby's neck and rested her head on the back of the couch.

"Are you ok, sweetheart?" Shelby asked. "About your dad?"

"I guess," Rachel shrugged. She was glad she had successfully steered the conversation away from her mother's clear desire to have her micro-chipped.

"Honey, I don't want you to keep all of your emotions pent up inside," Shelby said.

"I yelled at him," Rachel said. "I mean really yelled. But then I felt better. I didn't even let him get a word in when I left. He tried to stop me," Rachel admitted.

"He should have called me," Shelby said.

"He should have done a lot of things," Rachel said more to herself than to her mom.

"I will call him tomorrow and let him know that you made it home safely," Shelby said. Was he not worried about her at all?

"You really don't have to do that," Rachel yawned again.

Oh, but Shelby wanted to. "Don't even worry about it, sweetheart."

"Mama, I'm not really grounded, am I?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know…" Shelby pretended to be deep in thought. "You did come home well after your normal curfew and you scared me half to death."

"But I've probably got a huge bruise on my back where you sat on me with your knee," Rachel said. "And you scared me too. I thought I was being kidnapped or about to be murdered by someone in the house."

"I guess that is true," Shelby said. "How about we're both grounded tomorrow."

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Yep," Shelby confirmed. "No phone, computers, or TV for either of us for at least half the day tomorrow. You, me, and Beth will just have to keep each other company."

"Seriously?" Rachel asked.

"I'm afraid so," Shelby nodded. "You're stuck with your sister and me tomorrow."

"Ok," Rachel said. She didn't get what her mother was doing, but she knew it was definitely the weirdest grounding she'd ever received.

"Ok then," Shelby said. "Let's get to bed."

The pair made their way to the top of the stairs and Shelby kissed Rachel goodnight.

"Leave your phone out here on the table," Shelby said as she indicated a small table in the hallway that held a lamp.

"But it needs to charge," Rachel said. "And what about your phone?"

"Plug it in right here," Shelby said. "And I will put my phone there too."

Rachel went into her room to retrieve the cord and came out and placed her phone where her mother instructed her to. She then waited for Shelby to return and, as promised, the mother left her phone there as well.

"No computer or iPod in the morning when you think you're the only one awake," Shelby said seriously. Rachel was too tired to miss the glint in her eye.

"Mom," Rachel whined and even stamped her foot slightly.

"No whining," Shelby said. "Go to bed now."

Shelby watched as Rachel walked off to her room with her head down and a pout on her lips. Who was playing who now, Miss Berry?

Shelby was awake before both her girls and she showered and got ready for her day. By the time she was done, Beth was up and greeted her with a smile when Shelby went into the nursery to get her. Once Beth was changed, Shelby poked her head in to look at Rachel and found that the girl was still fast asleep. She then headed downstairs, but not before stopping to pick up hers and Rachel's phones and taking them with her.

Shelby secured Beth in her high chair and then picked up her phone so she could make a call.

"Don't tell Rachel," Shelby said to Beth as she listened to the other line ring.

Beth laughed and shook her head and Shelby couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Hey, Mom," Shelby said when Rebecca answered the phone.

"Hi, Shelby," Rebecca greeted. "How are all my girls?"

"We're fine," Shelby said. "I just wanted to call really quick and give you head's up that I won't have my phone on me for most of the day. If you need anything you'll have to call the house phone."

"Oh? Why's that?" Rebecca asked as she found the turn she was looking for in her car. She came to a stop in front of a house a few seconds later.

Shelby explained a bit about Rachel's weekend and her self-imposed grounding. Her plan was to spend all day with Rachel and really be there for her. "I want to give her a day where we just hang out. But not like at her dad's," Shelby said. "We'll talk or play games or whatever. But I think she needs this."

"That sounds like a great plan," Rebecca said. "It'll be nice without the distraction of the phones or computers. You don't think she'll be too grumpy because she thinks she's really grounded, do you?"

"I hope not," Shelby said. "And if she is, I'll just explain it to her."

"Well, it sounds like you've got a wonderful day planned out," Rebecca said. There was a pause. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"What?" Shelby asked. There was a knocking at the front door and Shelby said, "Hang on, Mom, someone's at the door."

Shelby opened the front door to find her mother on the other side with the phone still to her ear.

"Surprise," Rebecca said.

"What are you doing here?" Shelby asked with a smile as she stepped back to let her mother in.

"Your dad left really early this morning to go finishing with Jake and Larry and I thought that it might be nice to spend the day here with you so I thought I'd surprise you," Rebecca said. "I was hoping you didn't have other plans or anything like that. If you want it to be just and Rachel and Beth today-"

"Nonsense," Shelby cut her off. "It's wonderful that you're here. Rachel will be thrilled to see you."

Rachel woke up an hour later and came down the stairs in her pajamas to find out who her mother was talking to. She smiled when she saw her grandmother sitting on the couch with her mom while Beth played on the floor.

"Nana!" Rachel said when she got into the room. "I didn't know you were coming over today."

"Hello, sweetheart," Rebecca greeted Rachel with a hug. "I didn't even really know myself until this morning. Your mom has been telling about your adventure last night."

Rachel eyed her mother before sitting on Shelby's lap and reaching for her mug that was on coffee table. "Did she tell you how she assaulted me because she thought I was trying to break in? My back is sore and I bet there's a bruise on it from where she held me down with her knee." Rachel was going to muster up as much sympathy as possible.

"Oh there is not," Shelby retorted, but she lifted Rachel's t-shirt just a bit in the back so she could check. Ok, so maybe there was a small bruise. She lowered the shirt and then ran her hand over it in a show of comfort.

"And then she grounded me, Nana," Rachel complained. "It's not fair."

"From what I understand, she's grounded too," Rebecca said.

"It probably won't be the same," Rachel gave a half-hearted sulk.

"Yes it will," Rebecca said with certainty. "I'm here and I'll be sure she follows the rules."

Rachel looked over her shoulder and smirked at her mother. Shelby groaned for Rachel's sake, but when she looked over at her mother, Rebecca winked at her.

The day went off just as Shelby had hoped and the addition of her mother only helped to make it that much better. They ate a large breakfast together that turned into sitting around the table and talking for two hours about any and everything. Rachel talked about the upcoming trip for Nationals and how she wished Rebecca and Paul could be there though she understood why they couldn't. She was please, as always, that Shelby would be making the trip even though she tried to downplay it. It was different, of course, when your mom was just a member of the audience instead of an official chaperone, but still. She wanted Shelby there more than anything.

After lunch they sat down for a game of monopoly while Beth napped. It would be easier this way because Beth liked to try and eat the game pieces. Shelby accused her mother and daughter of cheating about halfway through the game when she was down to one lonely railroad and $22. Rebecca shushed her and then proceeded to wipe Rachel out as well.

Rachel didn't even realize hers and her mother's phones were put away in the office until they were preparing dinner in the early evening.

"Do you want it back?" Shelby asked.

"Nah," Rachel said as she got up to leave the kitchen so she wouldn't be in the way while Nana cooked.

Rachel wondered through the living room and out the back door and took a seat on the steps of the back porch and looked out into her huge backyard. Her emotions hit her so suddenly that she didn't even realize she had started to cry until she felt a tear fall on her hand. She juxtaposed the day she had spent with her dad and the day she had just had with her mother and grandma and her tears came even faster. The loss of her fathers carried an ache she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to get rid of. But she found it to be lessening because it was replaced by the light that was her mother. And everything that came with being a part of her mother's family. The Corcorans wanted her and she would never be more grateful for anything else in her life.

Her mind flashed to the future and she could see her name in lights on a marquis about a theater. That longing and that dream was as real to her as the sun that was slowly making its way west in the sky. And it seemed even more real with her mother in her life. She would make it there. She would be on Broadway. Rachel shut her eyes and imagined her name and the lights and the sounds and the joy. She had done this countless times before, but this time it was different somehow. It looked better this time and she knew the exact reason why. Though her tears were still falling, a contented smile played on her lips as she saw her dream more clearly than she ever had before.

"Rachel?" Shelby said as she opened the door. She'd been looking for her inside. "Honey, what's wrong?" she asked when she realized Rachel was crying. She quickly sat down next to her and pulled the girl into her arms.

"Nothing," Rachel said with a laugh as she buried her head in her mom's shoulder. "Everything is perfect."

"Then what's with the tears?" Shelby asked.

"I love you," Rachel said.

"I love you too, sweetheart." She had Rachel sit up so she could try and read her eyes as she wiped some tears from her cheeks.

"Thank you for grounding me," Rachel said with a wry smile.

"You're on to me, huh?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah, I figured it out at lunchtime," Rachel said. "Thank you."

"I don't need a set up to want to spend all day with you, you know that, right?" Shelby asked. "Nothing is as important as you and Beth."

"I know," Rachel said. And in this moment, she really did.

"But just because this was a fake grounding doesn't mean I'm not serious about knowing where you are and who you're with at all times," Shelby said and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"I know, Mom," Rachel said with teenage annoyance.

They sat together in companionable silence until they heard Rebecca calling that dinner was almost ready.

"Do you know what we need back here?" Rachel asked. She clearly had been thinking over this for a while.

"What's that?"

"An in-ground pool," Rachel said. "You've already got a privacy fence up and we could put another smaller fence around it so Beth couldn't get in. And over there," she pointed to the side of the yard, "you could put up a swing set and play area for Beth. Summer's coming up and it would be awesome to have a pool. And I know Michael and Jack would love it when they're here."

Shelby was looking at Rachel like she was crazy. Did that girl even know how much it cost to put a pull in much less maintain one?

"What?" Rachel asked. "It's a good idea."

"There you are," Rebecca said when she opened the door and found them. "I have been calling for you. Dinner's ready. Go inside and get washed up."

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said easily and then turned back to her mother. "Think about it."

Shelby turned back and looked at her yard after Rachel had gotten up and gone inside. A pool, huh?

Monday afternoon arrived and Rachel was glad the school day was done. She was anxious to get to glee and continue working on their Nationals set list, but there was something she needed to check out first. She had fifteen minutes before glee rehearsal started and so she decided to take advantage of it. Rachel sent a quick message to Quinn telling her where she'd be as she went into the library and found an open computer and brought up Google.

"Hey," Quinn whispered when she found her there ten minutes later. "What are you doing?"

"Just something," Rachel said.

"What is it?" Quinn asked. She looked over at the screen and her eyes widened when she saw the site Rachel was looking at it. Her friend quickly closed it. "What are you looking at that for?"

"No reason," Rachel said. She then let out a sigh when she turned and saw Quinn's confused and hurt face. "I'm just not ready to talk about it yet," Rachel said softly. "I'll tell you, but I need to figure some things out first. I promise, Quinn."

"Ok," Quinn said skeptically and turned to get up.

"Quinn, please," Rachel said. "I'm just not ready yet."

"Ok," Quinn said again, but softer this time and with understanding. "Let me know what you need from me." She didn't know what her friend was thinking, but from what she saw, it could be any number of things and if Quinn was being honest with herself, she was wary.

"Come on," Rachel said. "Let's get to glee."

**A/N – I hope you all like this chapter. Please leave me a review if you can and let me know what you thought. Thanks, guys!**

**Up next, we're starting to get to Nationals. **


	91. Chapter 91

**A/N – Hey, everyone. Here's the next chapter. I hope you all like this one. Thank you so much for all of your reviews and messages. It means so much to me. I think you're all so wonderful.**

**And listen, I promised I would give everyone a head's up, so here it is. I have figured out an end point for this story. I don't want to give a specific chapter number yet because things change and I may find stuff I want to add and I need to map it out a little bit better, but it's coming. I will say this though. I'm determined to get to at least 100 chapters before this ends. So take from that what you will. Once I know for sure, I'll give you a specific chapter number. But you all know how slow I can be so we've got some time left still. But I wanted you all to be aware. **

**I have a really big request. I'm reading a story called **_**Surviving**_** and it is phenomenal. Santana is a teenager and Rachel is her 8-year-old sister and Quinn is Santana's best friend. Shelby is Santana's and Rachel's mother. I hope you all will check it out. The author's name is ****Born2Be. Here is the summary: **_**My head is a mess. My life is a mess. My name is Santana and I am a "victim", a "survivor", I was some crazy man's prey. I'm not just me anymore, not since that night. I am constantly looking over my shoulder waiting for him to follow through with his promise: If I tell anyone; I die. AU: Santana, Shelby and Rachel as a family unit.**_

**Trust me on that one, guys. Please. Go and read it. You won't be disappointed. **** s/8305007/14/ - That's the story ID. The full link won't work. Please check it out.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

"Mom!" Rachel shouted from her bedroom. "Mom, I can't find my shoes. The black flats I like so much are missing. Mom!" Rachel sighed in frustration when she didn't get a response. "Mom!"

Rachel huffed in annoyance when she still didn't get a reply from her mother and went back into her closet to continue her search. She'd already torn apart her bedroom looking for the shoes because she was trying to pack for their trip to Nationals. There were clothes and books and everything else scattered everywhere. The only thing missing was her shoes. Everything was at a standstill because she couldn't find the shoes and she needed them because they were the shoes she wanted to wear on the plane. And her mother was just no help at all. Rachel simply had to have those flats for the flight and she was convinced that no other pair would do.

Rachel was moving some of the clothes that were scattered on her closet floor when she paused to try and remember the last place she had seen that pair of shoes. She didn't know. Whatever, that didn't matter now anyway. What mattered was that she needed them and they were nowhere to be found. She'd thought about them in school that day and had been looking ever since she got home. She had only spared enough time to change out of her skirt and blouse and into a comfortable pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

"Mom!" Rachel yelled again.

Shelby narrowed her eyes in annoyance as she walked into Rachel's room just as the girl was yelling for her again. She had the shoes Rachel wanted in her hand, though she kept them hidden behind her back.

"Rachel, stop yelling or I will give you something to yell about," Shelby said when she reached the doorway of the closet and looked in at her daughter. The girl was just adding to the mess all around her.

"Really, Mom? That's the cliché you're going to go with?" Rachel sassed as she turned around to face her mother. "My shoes are missing and I need them," she said in response to Shelby's raised eyebrow.

Shelby waited until Rachel had turned back around and bent over to keep looking. She then used the flat bottom of one of the shoes Rachel was looking for to place a solid swat on her daughter's backside. Rachel let out a loud yelp as she straightened and spun around with her hands on her bottom for protection or to rub the sting out; she wasn't sure which yet.

"Mom!" Rachel was indignant. "What was that for?"

"Are these the shoes you're looking for?" Shelby asked as she held them up.

"Yes!" Rachel said. "Where did you find them?" She reached for them, but Shelby held them out of her grasp.

"They were in my closet," Shelby answered. "They've been there for the last two weeks."

"Why?"

"Well, my dear, I got tired of tripping over them downstairs after I had repeatedly asked you to put them away," Shelby said. "When I was the one who had to pick them up I figured you didn't want them anymore so I put them in my closet."

"Can I have them back now?" Rachel asked, still reaching. "I'll put them away the next time."

Shelby didn't react.

"Mom," Rachel whined. "I promise."

"You can have them back after this mess is picked up," Shelby said. She moved away from the closet door so Rachel could get out and back into the room.

"But I'm packing to go to D.C.; I can't help that there's a mess," Rachel reasoned. "You should start packing too. It always takes you forever because you're so slow.

"It does not take me forever," Shelby said with an offended tone and her hands on her hips. The shoes hung loosely at her side. "I am not slow."

"Yes you are," Rachel said as sprang forward and grabbed her shoes from her mother's hand and ran from the room.

Shelby stood in shock for a second and then took off after her daughter and smiled at Rachel's delighted laughter. Rachel quickly stepped over the baby gate in the doorway of Beth's room and hid off to the side so she couldn't be seen from the hall. Beth looked up from her toys and gave Rachel a smile.

"Mach," Beth said as she got to her feet.

"Beth, shhh," Rachel said as she sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall.

Beth clapped her hands and walked over to Rachel who was still trying to shush her. Shelby watched from the doorway as Beth sat down on the floor next to Rachel and scooted close so she could lean against the wall just like her. Beth grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled it onto her own lap and rested her own tinier hands on top of it. Rachel kept a tight hold on her shoes with her free hand because she saw her mother watching them. Shelby stepped over the gate and into the room and Rachel knew she was trapped.

"Hi, Mama," Rachel said sweetly.

Beth looked up looked up from her game with Rachel's hand and grinned for Shelby. "Mama."

"Hi, sweetheart," Shelby said though she didn't make it clear which child she was talking to.

Beth got up from Rachel's side and put a steadying hand on Shelby's leg as she walked past her so she could get back to her toys. Rachel just looked up at her innocently as if she had no idea what was going on. Shelby held a hand out and Rachel moved the shoes further out of reach as she used her free hand to clasp her mother's. Shelby pulled her to her feet and held her hand out for the shoes. The girl pouted and pleaded with her eyes, but finally relented and handed them over.

"You can have them back after you clean your room," Shelby said. "Packing does not need to be accompanied by the hurricane that has gone through your bedroom."

"It's only because I couldn't find the shoes," Rachel said.

"And now that you've found them, you can pick up," Shelby told her.

"Fine," Rachel mumbled.

Shelby turned to leave the room and Rachel looked down at her sister and decided that she would be more fun than cleaning. She started to sit down on the floor, but Shelby stopped her without even having to look back.

"No. No playing," Shelby said. "Go clean your room."

"No!" Beth said forcefully.

Rachel's mouth fell open and Shelby stopped cold and swung back around to face the girl, her eyes far less playful than they had just been. Rachel immediately pointed at Beth as her mother stared her down.

"I didn't," Rachel said. "Beth said it. Mom, I didn't."

"No," Beth said again.

They looked down at the little girl who was enamored with her toys once again.

"You better be careful," Shelby said to Rachel. "She's trying to get you in trouble."

"That's not very nice, Beth," Rachel said.

Beth looked back up at the two of them like she was surprised her mom and sister were still in the room. She could have sworn they were leaving.

"Just remember that one day I'm going to be the one you turn to to try and get you out of trouble," Rachel continued.

If Beth knew how to scoff, she surely would have in that moment. Like she was ever going to be in trouble.

"And then you're going to tell me about it, right?" Shelby asked of Rachel.

"I make no promises," Rachel said.

"I do not need the two of you working against me," Shelby said with a chuckle. She was already anticipating the handful that Beth would be. She thought for a moment about how Rachel would be going to college in a couple years and that she was going to miss a lot of time with Beth. The whole idea of it made Shelby sad.

"It's inevitable, Mom," Rachel said with an evil smile, bringing Shelby back to the present. "I'll take good care of Beth."

"And then I'll take good care of you," Shelby said in a mock warning as she ushered Rachel from the nursery so would clean her room.

An hour and a half later Rachel was lying on the floor in her now clean room. She had her socked feet propped up on the wall and she was talking on the phone with Quinn.

"I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day," Quinn said. She was also in the midst of trying to pack.

"It should be a lot of fun though," Rachel said. "My mom talked Mr. Schue into getting the school to say we don't have to go to our afternoon classes so we can rehearse."

"She's going to try and kill us like the last couple of rehearsals before competitions," Quinn said.

"Yeah, but least tomorrow is Friday and we're leaving on Saturday," Rachel said. "And the flight isn't that early so we can sleep in a little bit after the rehearsal."

"The flight's at nine in the morning, Rachel," Quinn said. "Which means we have to get to Columbus by seven which means we need to leave here before six."

"See, that's not early," Rachel said.

Quinn rolled her eyes as her heard Judy calling her for dinner. "Whatever you say, Rachel. I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Rachel said.

Rachel ended the call and set the phone down on the floor next to her and closed her eyes. She hated having to clean her room. She liked keeping it neat in the first place because then she didn't have to go through this. But how was she to know that her mother had been holding her shoes hostage? Plus now she was going to have to take it all back out so she could finish packing. Why didn't parents understand these things?

"Mach," Beth said from the doorway of Rachel's room.

Rachel turned her head to look at her and smiled widely at the sight of her baby sister doing her best to walk towards her. Beth was wearing the shoes Rachel had been so desperately looking for earlier. Shelby was leaning against the doorframe watching.

Beth felt quite grown up as she shuffled along towards her sister. She knew one thing for sure; she looked fabulous in these shoes.

"Mach, up," Beth said. She held her arms out and collapsed on top of Rachel and the older girl happily pulled her in for a hug. Beth laid contently against Rachel's chest and didn't even protest when she felt her sister removing the shoes from her feet. Rachel tossed them off to the side away from her mother.

"Yes, Mach, up," Shelby said with a smile. "It's time for dinner. And I'd put those shoes away properly before you come downstairs. You don't want to lose them again for just throwing them in your room." Shelby gave her an overly sweet smile; she was enjoying this.

Rachel gave her mother a glare as she lifted Beth up and put the little girl on her feet. "Beth, go get Mama," Rachel instructed.

Beth looked back and forth between her mother and sister for a moment as she weighed what she should do. "Go on," Rachel encouraged. That was all Beth needed.

"Mama!" Beth ran towards her and laughed when Shelby took off down the hall in an effort to 'escape' from the little girl. Beth followed her out of the room.

Rachel got to her feet and headed for the door, but stopped and went back so she could pick up the shoes. She returned them to their proper spot in the closet because she didn't want to risk them being taken again. Stupid shoes. She wasn't even sure if they were the ones she wanted to wear for the flight anymore.

Rachel got up early Friday morning to get ready for the day. She couldn't wait for the school year to be over. They were so close to being done with it and then she'd get to have all summer off. She didn't normally look forward to summers all that much because she preferred to see people regularly in school. But this summer was going to be so different now that she had her mom and Beth and Quinn and everyone else. She couldn't wait for it. She had no idea what her mother had planned, or even if she had plans, but Rachel was excited. And that reminded her, she was serious about her suggestion the other day.

Rachel got a bowl of oatmeal and took into her mother's office so she could use the computer and printer. She needed to leave some hints around. Rachel did a quick search and then printed off about ten different advertisements. In a case like this, there was really no sense in being subtle.

After the printing was done, Rachel opened the email before forgetting that it would be Shelby who was logged in. She had two new messages, one of which was from Dr. Woodward. Rachel stared at the blank subject line for what seemed like forever as she fought with herself about whether or not to open it. She looked farther down the page and saw that there were other emails from her doctor. She knew her mom and Dr. Woodward talked about her, but she didn't know it extended to emails, and what seemed to be pretty regular ones at that. Rachel frowned as she looked at them. What could they possibly have to say in all these emails? She shared private things with Dr. Woodward and they were supposed to stay between the two of them. So why was she emailing her mother? She really wanted to know what was being said and felt she had a right to know, but she couldn't bring herself to open any of the emails. She did her best to shake it off and not think about it. She convinced herself they were nothing and she patted herself on the back for not giving in and opening them. The emails were private and she wouldn't do that.

Rachel logged Shelby out and then opened her own account. She also had emails from Dr. Woodward, but Rachel was told that was normal. They weren't as regular as the ones her mother seemed to be receiving, but Rachel only emailed her when she had a problem or a question. Dr. Woodward let her initiate all of the contact and Rachel liked that. Despite the perceived slight and the questions that were now lingering in her mind, Rachel needed to email the doctor with a question of her own.

She opened a new email and typed out her question to the doctor. She wanted her opinion on and advice about what she'd been researching when Quinn caught her the other day. She was planning to talk to the woman about it in their next session, but she thought it polite to give her a head's up. And Rachel knew the woman would be able to provide her with more information if she told her early.

After typing her question, Rachel stared at the screen for a few minutes. Should she just ask what the emails are about? Should she ask her mother and not Dr. Woodward? Would Shelby be mad that Rachel had opened her email account? It was nothing, she told her. The emails were nothing. Unless they were something...

She needed to know. No, that wasn't fair. She really hoped she didn't think about this all day. She made her up mind right then that if she was still thinking about it that night, she would ask Shelby. That seemed logical. Rachel ended the email by writing, "I know you're not supposed to, but please don't talk to my mother about this. I don't want her to know." She wanted Shelby to be the last person to know about what she was researching, if she even told her at all. She just wasn't ready yet.

Shelby looked down at her phone after she got out of the shower and saw that Rachel had sent her a message telling her that she was leaving for school early. Yes, she had eaten breakfast, Rachel made sure to say. When Shelby got downstairs with Beth she picked up something from the kitchen table and shook her head when she realized it was an advertisement for a company to put a pool in her backyard.

"Your sister was serious, wasn't she?" Shelby asked.

Beth nodded and took the paper from her mom. Could she color on this? Beth totally wanted to color. Purple was her favorite color to eat. She never did understand why her mom always took the crayons away when she put them in her mouth. What else was she supposed to do with them?

Shelby found nine more flyers littered throughout the house. Everyone was having a sale right now because summer was coming up. She eventually broke down at the eighth flyer and called one of the companies. She was just getting some information, she told herself. There was no harm in getting some information.

Shelby arrived at the school a little before noon so she could help Will set up for their rehearsal. He had coolers of water and Gatorade and she had brought a ton of snacks like fruit and other equally boring things that most of the kids wouldn't want. She had also arranged for a meal to be delivered to them later on so they wouldn't have to leave to go anywhere to have dinner. This was an extremely important rehearsal before Nationals.

Rachel checked her phone as she sat at a computer in the library. Why hadn't Dr. Woodward emailed her back yet? Granted, this length or a wait was pretty common because the woman was busy, but Rachel was focused right now and she'd really love to hear from the woman. The more she had thought about it all day, the more she worried about what the doctor and Shelby were emailing about. At some point in the day she'd also come to the conclusion that maybe her mom and Dr. Woodward wouldn't tell her what they were about even if she wanted to know and Rachel hadn't really decided yet if she thought that was fair. They had to be talking about her so she should get to know what was being said. But she couldn't quite work herself up to be angry about it either and she wasn't sure why. But she reserved the right to change that when she got a solid answer either way. Right now she was much more interested in hearing what the doctor had to say about her questions.

The practice that afternoon and evening had been a long and hard one just as everyone had expected. Rachel dragged herself to bed after a quick shower to wash the gross off. In the few fleeting moments before sleep really took her, Rachel remembered that she had forgotten to ask her mother about the emails. Oh well, she'd do it later.

The bus carrying the New Directions plus Shelby and Will pulled up the airport in Columbus bright and early Saturday morning. All off the kids were still asleep except for Rachel who had been up for the entire drive. She was too excited to sleep. Her mother's practice did not disappoint yesterday and the kids were exhausted. Just like the previous times, Rachel had fallen asleep in the car on the way home the night before. She'd probably be the first of these kids to crash that night. They had a preliminary round this evening which was why the flight had to be so early. The competition for the championship was Sunday night and then they would travel home on Monday.

It took them a few minutes to get everyone up and listening, but the kids were finally paying attention when Will started to speak.

"Please stay together in the airport," Will said. "We need to get through security first and then to our gate and then you can look around for a little bit. But you have to stay by the gate and you have to have a buddy with you at all times. Everyone understand?"

There was a groan of yesses. Geez, they weren't children.

"Good," Will said. "Alright, let's go."

They made it through security with no problems and found the gate and the kids immediately dispersed so they could look around. Will and Shelby didn't get it; it was an airport in Columbus, Ohio. It wasn't very exciting, but they didn't care as long as everyone was back by the time they had to board the plane.

Rachel walked with Quinn, Santana, and Brittany around the terminal in an effort to kill some time before they had to board.

"Do your parents ever talk about you to other people?" Rachel asked her friends.

"All the time," Santana said.

"Yeah, of course," Quinn shrugged.

"Does it bother you?" Rachel asked. "Is it normal?"

"I guess it depends on what's being said?" Quinn answered. "What is Shelby saying about you?"

"I don't know," Rachel said. "I don't know if it's important or not and so I don't know whether to be worried or not."

"So you're worried over whether you should be worried?" Santana asked.

"I'm not worried," Rachel defended herself. "I'm… curious. If they're talking about me, don't I have a right to know?"

"Who is she talking to?" Quinn asked.

"Apparently she and Dr. Woodward email each other," Rachel said.

"Oh," was the reply from her three friends.

"See, that makes it different, right?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, I would think so," Santana said.

"What if she's telling my mom confidential stuff?" Rachel asked.

"I don't think they can do that," Quinn said.

"Why don't you just ask your mom?" Brittany asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "I feel bad for having looked at her email account because I'd be really angry is she looked at mine. But I feel like they don't care about my privacy by emailing about me. They should just be able to tell me what's being said."

The girls all nodded and agreed that Rachel was in a tough spot. But she promised them that she wouldn't let it weigh her down during their trip. She was going to push it to the side until they got home so that she wouldn't be distracted by anything. Rachel even vowed to not let the fact that Dr. Woodward still hadn't replied to the email bother her. The woman seemed to have no problem emailing her mother back… No! Don't do that, Rachel shook it out of her head. She was here for Nationals and everything else could wait.

The flight went off without a hitch and the kids, Rachel included this time, all had to be woken up again when they landed. There was a bus waiting to take them to the hotel and then they had to go straight to the venue to prepare for that evening's competition. The one for the championship the following night was going to be at the Kennedy Center. Rachel beyond excited about getting to perform there.

"But you have to make it through tonight's round," Shelby reminded all the girls as they found their rooms in the hotel.

"We will," Mercedes said confidently.

"Yeah, we've got this one," Tina added.

It was probably true, but Shelby didn't want them to lose sight of working hard and doing their best tonight. Confidence was good, over cockiness was not.

"My advice would be to not even think about the competition tomorrow night," Shelby said. "Because it doesn't exist without tonight. You need to pour everything you have into giving a flawless performance this evening."

"We will, Mom," Rachel assured her.

Rachel had successfully pushed all thoughts of unanswered emails and everything else out of her head for the first round of the competition. True to their words, New Directions had sailed through the competition that night and were set to perform for the championship the next day. The kids were all ecstatic and ready to celebrate. The twelve of them sat huddled at the back of the bus talking quietly while Shelby and Will sat at the front.

"No good can come from that," Shelby said sagely as they both looked back at the group of kids. Will nodded wearily in agreement.

**A/N – I hope you like this chapter. Please leave me a review if you can. And please, please go and check out the story I mentioned in the author's note at the beginning. You will love it and the author of that story deserves all the praise in the world. Thanks guys! **


	92. Chapter 92

**A/N – I'm really sorry about the delay with getting this chapter up. I've been really busy for the last few weeks and I've been having to bring work home and finish things here and I've just been exhausted. I'm hoping it'll calm down soon and work won't be as busy. I much prefer to leave the work at my office. **

**Anyway, thank you all very much for your reviews and your continued support of this story. You guys all mean so much to me to and I appreciate you more than you could know. Thank you. **

**And I wanted to say thanks to sillystarshine for helping me out and letting me talk through some ideas with her. You should definitely go and read her stories.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

The bus arrived back at the hotel and the kids all stood immediately and were ready to get off and inside. But Will help his hands up to stop them and waited for them all to find a seat again. Shelby shook her head as she watched them all start to tune their teacher out before he could even start to speak. Teenagers.

"Listen up, guys," Will said. "There are so rules I want to go over with all of you. You have a couple hours of free time now, but there is a curfew you all must follow. Everyone is to be back in their rooms by 10:30. And I'd like for lights out to be by 11:00. You all need to get a good amount of sleep because we're going sightseeing tomorrow and then we have the competition. We all have to meet in the lobby at seven tomorrow morning for breakfast and then we're headed out. We'll be back here by 4:30 for a mandatory rest period and so that we can eat before we have to be at the theater by 7:00 for a show time of 8:00. Does everyone understand that?"

"We're not children, Mr. Schue," Santana said. "We're not going to need naps tomorrow afternoon."

"No one said you had to take a nap," Will deflected her. "Any other questions? No? Ok, let's go in."

The kids filed inside and separated as they headed towards their respective rooms. The boys and Will were on the third floor while Shelby and the girls were on the second.

"What are you guys planning on doing this evening?" Shelby asked casually as the girls headed towards their rooms.

"Nothing," Quinn shrugged. "We might go swimming since it's so nice out or maybe sit around and watch a movie or two. What are you going to do?"

Shelby eyed them suspiciously before answering. "I'm going to be around different places making sure everything is in order." It was a warning; a way of saying she had her eye on them.

"Sounds boring," Santana said and the girls nodded.

"Remember, be back in the rooms by 10:30," Shelby said. "I'll be coming around to check."

"Ok, Mom," Rachel said. "See you later."

Shelby watched as the three sets of girls all disappeared into their respective rooms and then she finally did the same. She sincerely hoped they didn't get into too much mischief that night.

Quinn and Rachel settled into their room as each kicked off their shoes and sat on the beds. They had some time to spare before everyone was meeting up. The group had discussed what they wanted to do that evening and the decision had been unanimous. Despite their limited time (a curfew, seriously?) they were determined to have a good time. They'd earned it, after all.

"Have you given any more thought to asking your mom about what's going on with the emails between her and your doctor?" Quinn asked as she leaned back on her bed and relaxed.

"Not really," Rachel sighed and she copied her friend's actions. "I'm not even sure what to ask."

"Are you upset about it?" Quinn asked.

"I guess," Rachel shrugged. "But not really. I'm more curious than anything. But it's eating at me. Why can't they talk about what's in the emails with me? Because they have to be about me. There's no other reason they would be emailing. It's just annoying."

"Try not to let it bother you for now," Quinn said. "We're going to have fun tonight and tomorrow we're going to win Nationals."

"I know," Rachel said. "I'm doing my best to push it out of my mind."

"Good," Quinn said.

They were interrupted by Rachel's phone ringing and the girl smiled when she answered it. "Hey, Jesse." Quinn just playfully rolled her eyes and reached for the remote to turn on the TV.

"Hey," Jesse said. "I wanted to wish you good luck tomorrow. But I know you guys will do great."

"Thanks," Rachel said. "It's amazing being here at Nationals! I know you've done it lots of times, but we're all having a blast. We're going to have a little party later to celebrate making it through to the final competition."

"That sounds awesome," Jesse said. "Don't let Shelby catch you and everything will be fine."

"Why do you say that?" Rachel asked.

"She's a stickler for following the rules on the out-of-town trips," Jesse said.

"But she's not technically the coach," Rachel said and Jesse laughed.

"Like that'll matter," Jesse said. "Don't let her catch you guys with alcohol at your party; she'll have you up half the night practicing. I threw up at four in the morning at Nationals my freshman year and I hadn't even been drinking." Rachel scrunched her nose up.

"I don't think we'd planned on having any alcohol," Rachel said and she looked at Quinn who shook her head. They knew better. Even Puck had agreed that this was not the time or the place to get caught drinking. They were too close to winning Nationals to screw it up now.

"Yeah, save that for when you get home," Jesse said. "I'm pulling for you guys."

"Thanks, Jesse," Rachel smiled. "When will you be home for the summer?"

"In a couple weeks," Jesse said. "And I'm not returning to UCLA."

"What?" Rachel sat up straighter. "Are you serious? Are you dropping out?" Quinn looked on because that had caught her attention.

"I'm not dropping out," Jesse assured her. "I'm transferring to NYU. I got into Tisch and my scholarship transferred."

"Oh Jesse, that's awesome," Rachel said. "I always thought New York City was the place for you anyway."

"It's my dream, but UCLA was too good an opportunity to pass up," Jesse said. "Just like Tisch is too good to pass up now."

"That's where I want to go," Rachel said. "I've been checking the acceptance requirements for years now."

"I believe it," Jesse said. "There's no way you wouldn't get in."

"I hope so," Rachel said. "But I'm going to apply to every school in New York City just to be safe. And if I don't get into any of them I'm going to move there and wait tables and audition every day."

"You're going to make it," Jesse said. "It's an inevitability."

Rachel smiled and quietly said thank you just as someone knocked on their door. Quinn got up and let Santana in and she gave them an annoyed look because they weren't ready.

"I gotta go, Jesse," Rachel said and Santana rolled her eyes. "Thank you."

"Break a leg tomorrow, Rachel," Jesse said. "I'm going to watch the webcast."

"Really?"

"Of course," Jesse said. "Talk to you later, Rachel."

"Bye."

"Come on, we're all headed over there," Santana said. "Puck and Sam left about thirty minutes ago to get the food so he should be back soon."

"We're coming," Quinn said as she reached down to put her shoes on.

An hour later the party was in full swing in Puck and Finn's room. They had an adjoining room with Mike and Artie and the connecting door was open as well and the kids were wandering back and forth between the two. Puck and Sam had picked up pizzas and chips and sodas and other snacks that everyone would like. There was even a small vegetable tray for Rachel and a small vegan pizza.

They were conscious of the music not being too loud because they didn't want people to complain, but it was sufficient enough for the ongoing dance party that was happening. Rachel was jumping on a bed with Kurt and they were slinging pillows at each other. Santana and Brittany were dancing in the corner and Sam and Puck had pulled out their guitars and were playing.

Shelby checked her watch and noticed that it was about half an hour until the kids were supposed to be in their rooms. She hadn't heard anything from any of the kids (or the staff thankfully) and so she called Will to check in and see what was going on.

"I haven't seen any of them," Will said. "I walked around for a while and no one was at the pool or any of the restaurants. I'm down in the lobby right now."

"I'll send Rachel a text and see what she's doing," Shelby said.

"Sounds good," Will told her. "My room is a little farther down the hall from the rest of the guys than I would have liked. I asked about getting moved closer, but they said it wasn't possible."

"I'll let you know what I find out," Shelby said.

Rachel stopped jumping which earned her a whack to the head with a pillow wielded by Mike when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out so she could read the text.

"My mom wants to know what I'm doing," Rachel told the room. They all knew that the adults were going to start looking for them soon.

"Tell her we're all up here watching a movie," Santana said.

"Are you crazy?" Finn asked.

"No," Santana replied. "It's not like it's going to be hard to find us all. Just tell her we're watching a movie and they'll come and check and remind us to go to bed on time and we can continue the party. Everyone else start to hide the food and cups and stuff."

"Ok," Rachel said. She turned to her phone as everyone started to move all of the discriminating evidence to the other room. She told Shelby they were all in Finn and Puck's room watching a movie.

Shelby was somewhat surprised when she got the reply. They had all looked like they were up to no good when they were talking on the bus. She sent off a text to Will and agreed to meet him on the third floor to check up on the kids.

Finn answered the door a few minutes later when they heard the knock. Shelby and Will walked in and were met with quiet children and a clean room. Apollo 13 was playing on the TV and everyone looked over at them expectantly.

"Don't forget about getting to bed on time," Will said. "We want to be at our best tomorrow."

"We will be," Puck said. "We're all ready for this."

The kids let out an affirmative cheer and the adults smiled. They really had misjudged them on the bus.

"Thanks, guys," Will said. "I don't know about Ms. Corcoran, but I'm going to head to my room and settle in for the night."

"I am too," Shelby said.

There was a chorus of goodnights as the adults left. The kids waited five more minutes to be safe and then started the party again.

Shelby sent another text message to Rachel at eleven reminding her that they needed to go to sleep. Rachel wrote back fairly quickly saying that she knew. Shelby had decided to check on all of the girls one last time, but she was stopped when her phone started to ring. It was her mother and soon Shelby was caught up in hearing about Beth's day and she kicked off her shoes and settled on the bed. By the time the call was over, Shelby didn't want to wake anyone up and so she decided against checking in.

The following morning Shelby got herself up and ready and knocked on Quinn and Rachel's door at five minutes until seven to see if the girls wanted to walk down to the lobby together so they could get breakfast. After a few tries with no answer, Shelby sent a text, but didn't receive a reply. She went to her last resort and pulled out the master keycard the front desk had given her. She had one to open all the girls' rooms and Will had one for the boys.

Shelby sighed when she stepped into the empty room and realized that neither of the girls had been there all night. She went over to the next room and found no sign of Tina or Mercedes and got the same results in Santana and Brittany's room.

Will was waiting in the lobby alone when his phone rang. "Good morning, Shelby."

"Please tell me all the kids are down there with you," Shelby said.

"No, none of the kids are down here with me," Will said. "Why?"

"I just checked all of the girls' rooms and they're empty and it's pretty clear they have been all night."

"Crap," Will said as he stood up and headed for the elevators. "I'll go check the boys' rooms. Meet me up there because I can't go in alone in case the girls are in there. They could be in pajamas or…"

"I'll meet you there," Shelby said quickly.

Will unlocked the door to Puck and Finn's room and peeked his head in with his eyes closed. "Hello?"

He didn't get a response so he and Shelby went in together. They stood in shock together at the sight before them. The kids were sleeping everywhere between the two rooms. Shelby spotted Santana, Kurt, and Rachel together on one bed. Quinn was in a chair while Tina and Mercedes occupied the other bed. Puck was on the floor. There were pizza boxes and food and soda bottles and trash everywhere. Shelby couldn't help but smile at all of the sleeping kids, but she and Will both said a silent thank you that everyone was still fully clothed.

"I wish I had my camera," Shelby whispered. Will rolled his eyes as she took out her phone and snapped some pictures.

"And they say you're the mean one," Will whispered back.

"I can be mean when they're awake," Shelby said. "Right now it's so cute."

"Come on, you old softy, let's wake them up," Will said. "We're going to be behind schedule as it is and now on top of getting ready, they've got a mess to clean up."

"Ok," Shelby said. She pulled up an app on her phone that she'd found handy in the past and looked at Will. "You ready?" He nodded and she pressed the button.

A loud, high-pitched whistle sounded from her phone and the adults watched as the kids started to jump and wake up.

Rachel sat straight up in bed looked around wildly. Santana let a slew of Spanish that no one understood and she grabbed Kurt's pillow to try and cover her ears. Quinn nearly fell out of the chair when she jumped and tried to locate the source of the noise. All of the kids' eyes eventually landed on Will and Shelby and she let the whistle sound until all of the kids from the next room had joined them.

"Good morning," Will said when she finally turned it off. "You didn't tell us you were having a slumber party."

"Puck, you were supposed to set the alarm," Quinn chastised.

"I did," Puck defended himself.

"It's set for P.M.," Kurt said. He had picked it up to investigate as soon as he'd figured out what was going on.

"Good job," Santana said.

"Shut up," Puck muttered.

"Ok, everyone, get up and get the room cleaned up," Will instructed. "And let's hurry, please. We still need to get ready and have breakfast so we can get out there and do some sightseeing."

There were some groans at his enthusiasm and because they were woken up so abruptly, but they were mostly good-natured. Shelby kept a serious expression, but her eyes were shining at the sight of the kids with bed-head and big yawns. She had a good feeling about today and she knew the performance this evening was going to go well.

An hour and a half later, the bus was navigating the Washington D.C. traffic in order to drop them off on the Mall near three of the Smithsonian museums. Will had already told them they could split up and had given out their time to meet back several times. He wanted the kids to stay close and not spend all day walking in the heat because he needed them to have enough energy to perform that night. But they weren't going to miss out on seeing things like the Smithsonian and the Lincoln Memorial and the White House.

Most of the kids decided to sort of stay as a group and they went into the American History museum and factions split off from there depending on what they were interested in seeing. Shelby and the girls headed straight for the First Ladies gowns.

"Geez, some of these women were really short," Santana said. "Probably still taller than Rachel though."

Rachel rolled her eyes and lightly shoved her friend.

"These gowns are so elegant," Mercedes said. "I'd love to get to go an Inaugural Ball one day."

"Let us know when you're running for president," Shelby said. "Then they can put your husband's tux up in here next to all the gowns."

The girls talked about what it would be like to live in the White House as they continued on. Rachel's phone buzzed as they reached Jackie Kennedy's gown and she checked it and saw that she had an email from Dr. Woodward. She smiled as she read the reply to the question she'd sent. The doctor was willing to help, but wanted to talk with her about it in their upcoming appointment.

As Rachel was putting her phone away, she looked over at Shelby and smiled fondly. It started to fade, however, when her mother's phone also chimed and Shelby looked at it at length. The only reason anyone looked at their phone that long was if they were reading an email. Rachel watched as Shelby smiled and then looked up at her. She gave a slight wave and Rachel returned it with a small smile she didn't mean. Had Shelby just gotten an email from Dr. Woodward too? Was the doctor telling her mother about what they talked about? Rachel hated the timing of it and frowned when her mother looked away. Shelby wasn't supposed to know yet. No one was. She was sharing private information and it shouldn't be passed along. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. There was a rational voice calling out from somewhere deep in her mind that it could be anything, but Rachel was ignoring it and choosing to sulk instead.

Shelby walked up to Rachel and linked their arms as they continued on through the rest of the gowns. Rachel pushed her feelings down and put on a happy face. She had to stay focused for tonight. In that moment she'd made up her mind not to bring it up to her mother at all. She'd ask Dr. Woodward about it at her next appointment and that way if it turned out to be nothing, her mother would never have to know she'd seen her email.

"Where to next?" Shelby asked.

"The ruby slippers," Rachel said. "I have to see the ruby slippers while we're here."

The famous ruby slippers were up a floor from the First Lady ball gowns and all of the girls crowded around the display when they saw it.

"Wow…" Rachel said. "They're beautiful."

"They're old," Tina said.

"They're wonderful," Rachel countered.

Rachel looked for a little while longer as everyone moved ahead. Would a prop or a costume from one of her plays or movies end up in a museum like this someday? Would she be a part of something so profound and ingrained in everyday culture that it held the world's fascination seventy years later? She was counting on it.

The rest of the day went well. The kids played down their excitement when they got to the White House, but they all stood and posed for a ton of pictures in front of it. Rachel was having a good time because she had successfully pushed the emails away. Truth be told, she was quite proud of herself for being calm and not jumping to conclusions… yet. Though she couldn't explain to herself why the calm had settled in now. Even just a few months ago, Rachel would have obsessed over it until it had eaten at her completely, probably leading to a blow up and fight between mother and daughter. Instead Rachel stood next to her mother and smiled so they could have their picture taken in front of the White House.

When they got back to the hotel the kids dispersed to their rooms to relax. They would be meeting up for dinner in a little while. Santana and Brittany joined Quinn and Rachel in their room as they surfed through the limited number of TV channels the hotel had.

"I got an email from Dr. Woodward today," Rachel said though she didn't go into detail over what it was about. "And as soon as I got an email, my mom got one too."

"From your doctor?" Quinn asked.

"I don't know," Rachel shrugged. "But if she was sending one to me she could have written up something to my mom too."

"How do you even know it was an email?" Santana asked.

"Because she stood there and read something," Rachel answered. "What else could it be?"

"But it could be from anyone," Quinn said. "The timing could just be coincidental."

"I know," Rachel said. "I just… I don't know. I don't know how to feel."

"I wouldn't worry until you know something," Santana said.

"I'm not worried, I'm just…"

"Worried," Quinn said. She knew how Rachel was. She'd seen some melt downs over miscommunications before. "You should talk to her after the competition."

"I don't know," Rachel said. "I'm going to wait and talk to Dr. Woodward, I think."

"Are you going to be paranoid every time your mom checks her phone from now until then?" Santana asked.

"Probably," Rachel conceded with a slight laugh.

Rachel in competition mode kicked in after dinner and she was doing her best to hurry everyone along so that they could get there on time. They had over an hour before they had to be at the Kennedy Center and it was only a ten minute drive away, but Rachel wasn't taking any chances.

"I'm going to wait in the lobby," Rachel said after she deemed that Quinn was taking too long.

"Good," Quinn said. "Go bother other people."

Rachel huffed and picked up her bag and Quinn just rolled her eyes and shooed her from the room. Rachel slung the small duffle that contained clothes and shoes and other accessories over her shoulder as she stepped off of the elevator and saw that she was the first member of New Directions down there. Figures. If they were late, they would have no one but themselves to blame.

"Miss."

Rachel looked around for the voice and realized that it was a clerk at the front desk. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes," the man said. He wasn't much older than Rachel. "You're with the New Directions group, right?"

"Yes," Rachel said politely as she approached him.

"I just got a call from your bus driver," the man said. "There's an accident and he's stuck in traffic and not sure when he'll be here."

"What?" Rachel exclaimed. "That is unacceptable. We have to leave soon to get to the Kennedy Center. Doesn't he know how important this is?"

"He said that another bus has been called to come and get you guys, but there's no word on when it can be here," the man said. "He said he tried to call the director but he wasn't answering his phone."

"Great. That's just great," Rachel said. "And of course I'm the only one down here to deal with this. Can you call us a bunch of cabs?"

"Sure," the man said. "Just give me a minute, ok?" There was another patron waiting to be helped and he thought the woman might be more important than the teenager before him.

Rachel backed away some and crossed her arms and watched the guy behind the desk. Only a few minutes passed and Rachel determined that he was going to be no help whatsoever. She would take care of this. She could go out and round up enough taxis and have them there by the time the rest of the New Directions decided to join her in the lobby. She had dealt with one bus mishap at Regionals and she would do it again now.

Rachel put her bag down by one of the couches in the lobby and stormed out of the hotel.

"She's already down there," Quinn said to Santana and Brittany as they got on the elevator. "She better be lucky I'm nice enough to bring her phone to her because she left it in the room because she was in such a hurry."

The girls got off the elevator and scanned the room to find Rachel. They saw her bag right away, but the girl was nowhere in sight.

"Maybe she went to the bathroom," Brittany shrugged.

The other two agreed and sat down to wait for her to get back and for the others to join them. They commented on the cute guy working at the front desk and were disappointed a few minutes later when his shift ended and a frumpy older woman took his place. So much for the eye candy.

Quinn eventually got up to check the bathroom in the lobby and found it to be empty. "She's not there."

"Do you think she went to Coach C's room?" Brittany asked.

"You don't think she went outside or anything, do you?" Santana asked. "To get some air or something?"

"I'll call Shelby first and if she hasn't seen her, we'll go out and look," Quinn said.

She was frustrated when the phone went to voicemail and so she ended the call and the girls also left their bags on the couch and planned to head out and see if they could find their friend.

Rachel made another left turn and scanned the street for a cab. She'd been out here for far too long to have no found enough cabs yet. She'd only hailed two so far and sent them back to the hotel. This was ridiculous. She went another block and made a right turn this time. She was always under the assumption that there were cabs all over D.C., but so far she wasn't having much luck.

Rachel stopped to check her watch and realized she'd been walking for over half an hour and that she should start to head back to the hotel. That's when she took a moment to take in her surroundings and realized she wasn't exactly in the nicest part of town. She was away from the tourist hotspots and found herself on a dirty street. She opened her purse to get her phone and gasped when she realized she didn't have it. She clutched her tiny purse to her and turned around to try and go back the way she came.

Shelby stepped off the elevator in time to see Quinn, Santana, and Brittany walking out the door.

"Where are you all going?" she asked kindly as she caught up to them. She knew something was up immediately when she saw them exchange looks. "What's going on?"

"Rachel wasn't with you, was she?" Quinn asked.

"No," Shelby narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"We're um, just not sure where she is," Santana asked.

"What?" Shelby exclaimed. "What do you mean?"

"She left the room before me to come down here and when we got here we only saw her bag," Quinn explained.

"Did you call her?" Shelby asked. She was already pulling out her phone.

"I've got her phone," Quinn said. "She rushed out and left it there."

"You were going outside to look for her?" Shelby asked. "Why do you think she left?"

"We just thought maybe she stepped outside to get some air," Brittany said. "She's had a lot on her mind lately." She missed it when the other two girls shot her looks.

"What?" Shelby asked. The girls were silent and so Shelby looked at Quinn. "What's going on?"

Quinn sighed and eyed her friends before looking back at Shelby. "She found out that you and her therapist email each other."

"She? How?" Shelby was so confused.

"She said that she didn't read them so she doesn't know what's in them-"

"Oh god," Shelby said. She could only imagine what Rachel must have thought were in them. How long had her daughter been speculating about this? Shelby immediately started to worry over what Rachel must be thinking and assuming. "Have you checked all of the others' rooms?"

"Not yet," Santana answered.

"Go and do that," Shelby instructed. "I'll go and look outside. Split up. Quinn, come with me."

The girls followed the instructions and Shelby and Quinn headed for the automatic doors of the exit. They didn't see any signs of the girl and so she went to the first person she could ask a question to; a cabbie who sat in his car at the front.

"Sir, have you seen a brown-haired girl come out this way?" Shelby asked as she leaned down to the passenger side window. "She's sixteen."

"Yeah, are-"

"Which way did she go?" Shelby cut him off.

"I didn't see her here," he said. "She-"

"Where was she?" Shelby interrupted again.

"She was blocks from here?" the cabbie said. "Further in town."

"Can you take me to her?" Shelby asked.

"I've been sitting here ten minutes so she might not be there anymore, but I can take you back where I was," he told her.

"Good, let's go. Quinn, tell Mr. Schue what's going on. I'll call as soon as I find her," Shelby said.

"We're going to be late," Quinn pointed out. "What if we miss it?"

"We're not going to be late and we're not going to miss it," Shelby said. "Now go."

Shelby got in the taxi and urged the man to drive as fast as possible. She couldn't believe her baby was out there somewhere wondering around by herself. What could Rachel be thinking? She wished her daughter hadn't seen those emails because Shelby knew what she must be thinking? But why didn't she just ask about them? And why would she choose now of all times to disappear? She knew Rachel wouldn't let anything come before Nationals. Shelby pictured an upset Rachel wandering around D.C. She must be lost. She's probably scared and Shelby assumed she was probably thinking the worst.

"Hurry, please," Shelby urged the driver.

Rachel realized she'd made a wrong turn again and she seemed to be headed father away from the hotel. Well, maybe. She really had no idea where she was. She needed a phone, but so far she hadn't worked up the courage to stop any of the other people she'd seen on the streets to see if she could use their phone. She checked her watch again and picked up her pace. She had really done it this time. What if they missed Nationals because of her? The entire team was going to hate her. And her mother… well, suffice it to say that her mother was going to be so angry. Rachel knew she was going to be in so much trouble. The emails between her mother and Dr. Woodward were the farthest thing from her mind as she thought about the eternity she'd probably grounded for. Maybe if she got back soon no one would notice.

Rachel was lost in her thoughts as she turned down an alley. She stopped abruptly when people looked up at her.

"I'm sorry," she said with a smile. "I'm just lost."

No one in the alley gave any indication that they even heard her as she turned on her heel and started to walk the other way. Ok, trouble or not; she'd like to find her mom now.

**A/N – That's it for this chapter. Again, I'm really sorry about the delay. I hope you all liked this one and I'd love it if you'd leave me a review if you can.**


	93. Chapter 93

**A/N – Here's the next chapter. Sorry about the delay. I know I'm a broken record at this point. But I've got good news to share. My mom has finished her chemo treatments and all of her tests came back negative and they no longer see any signs of cancer. They're not even going to do radiation right now because they don't see a need for it. She'll be monitored and checked regularly, of course, but we were so happy with the news. Thank you to all of you who have been thinking about her and me since the beginning of the year. It has been noticed and I am truly grateful. Thank you. **

**And thank you all so much for the reviews and messages. I have a couple more I need to answer. It takes me a little while sometimes and I apologize for that, but I do get to them. I'd also like to say that if you're reading this and there is something you don't like or want addressed or explained, please leave me constructive criticism or send me a message and I will get back to you and we can talk about it. But if you're here just to leave mean-spirited anonymous reviews, save your time. I try to ignore them. I really do want to know what people think and I want constructive criticism, I really do. But put your name on it so we can talk about it. I might be able to give you some insight into how I think about things. You might be able to open my eyes to a point of view I haven't thought about. Like I said, it may take me a little while because I've got other things going on as well, but I do answer messages and reviews. Thanks for your time, guys. The continued support and feedback you all give me is amazing and I am so thankful. **

**I've got another story recommendation for you. It's another Rachel and Shelby story called One Step at a Time by Trebles and Tones. s/8544203/1/One-Step-At-A-Time - That's part of the link. Check it out! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Shelby was growing more and more anxious as she sat in the back of the cab and looked out the window for any signs of her daughter. She couldn't believe this was happening. Rachel was alone out there and she couldn't find her and she was so worried about what the girl must be thinking or assuming out those emails with Dr. Woodward. She needed to find her baby.

"This is where I dropped her off," the driver said as he pulled to the side of the road and looked back at Shelby.

"What was she doing out here?" Shelby asked. It was more for herself, but she looked up when the driver answered her.

"She said she needed a bunch of cabs back at the hotel," he said with a shrug.

"We have a bus coming for us," Shelby said sadly. None of this was making any sense.

Shelby's thought were interrupted when her phone started to ring. "Will," she answered. "Did she come back to the hotel?"

"No," he said. "Shelby, what's going on? The bus is here to get us. Where's Rachel?"

"She disappeared," Shelby said. The cab driver I'm with said he found her blocks from the hotel and she said she needed a lot of cabs at the hotel. It doesn't make any sense."

"I got a call earlier from the company saying the bus was in traffic and that he might be late, but that was a few hours ago," Will said. "He's here now. And Rachel couldn't have known that."

"I don't know what she's thinking," Shelby said. She was too consumed with worry about the emails to see the obvious in front of her face.

"What should we do?" Will asked. "We need to get to the Kennedy Center."

"You guys go," Shelby said. "I'll find her and we'll meet you there. I'll call as soon as I know something."

"Ok," Will said. "Don't worry, Shelby. I'm sure she's fine."

"Thanks," Shelby said.

Rachel tried to keep a calm pace as she walked out of the alley she had turned in to. She just needed to find her way back to a main road. She needed to find a taxi so she could get back to the hotel. Or to the Kennedy Center, she thought as she quickly checked her watch. Most of all, she wanted her mom, despite the trouble she knew she was going to be in. But she'd only been trying to help the group.

Rachel's heart rate and breathes quickened when she heard footsteps coming up behind her.

"Hey," someone hollered at her. Rachel didn't know whether to take off and run or stand frozen in place. "Hey."

Rachel stopped as the guy caught up with her and blocked her path. He was tall and imposing as he stared down at her.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to intrude." She looked up at him and figured him to be in his early 20's. He was clearly very strong and a lot bigger than she was and her eyes were filled with worry and fear.

"You're lost?" the man asked.

Rachel nodded and mumbled another, "I'm sorry."

"Do you need a phone to call someone?" he asked.

This caught her by surprise and she looked up again and saw concern in his dark eyes.

"I forgot mine," she said.

"Use mine," he said and he reached in his pocket and handed it to her. "I'm Trey."

"I'm Rachel," she said. "Thank you."

"No problem," he shrugged. "I got a little sister about your size. What are you, 14? She got lost once and we couldn't find her for almost a day."

"I haven't been gone a day," Rachel said and finally let herself breathe a sigh of relief. She didn't even bother to correct her on her age. "But my mom is going to be so mad."

"She's going to kick your butt," Trey said and he let out a deep, rich laugh that Rachel wasn't expecting and it made her smile grow.

"I think she will," Rachel said as she dialed her mother's familiar number.

Shelby looked down at her phone and her breath hitched when she saw the unfamiliar number appear on her screen. Oh god.

"Hello," Shelby answered hurriedly.

"Mom," Rachel said. "I'm sorry." She wanted to get that out right away.

"Rachel," Shelby let a tear fall at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Are you ok? Where are you?"

"I'm fine," Rachel said. "I got lost. I'm not really sure where I am."

"Do you want me to tell her how to get here?" Trey asked. Shelby furrowed her brow at the unfamiliar voice in the background. "Hello?"

"Hello?" Shelby asked.

"Hey, I can give your directions to get here," Trey said. "Where are you now?"

"I'm in a cab," Shelby said. "I'm going to give the phone to him so you can tell him, ok?"

Shelby handed the phone to the man in the front and then rubbed her hands over her face in relief and tried to get herself to relax a little bit. Rachel was ok. They were on the way to get her. Breathe, Shelby.

An agonizing seven minutes later, the cab turned onto a street and Shelby saw her daughter surrounded by five other guys and her heart jumped. But it didn't take her long to recognize that Rachel was gesturing animatedly and when the car stopped and Shelby opened the door, she heard the sound her of her daughter singing.

Rachel smiled when her small audience clapped for her, but the sound of car door shutting got her attention and she spun around to see her mother moving towards her.

"Rachel," Shelby breathed out as she enveloped Rachel in a hug. Rachel clung tightly to her. "What are you doing out here?"

"I got lost," Rachel said as she stepped back. "This is Trey and his friends. Trey let me use his phone to call you."

"Thank you," Shelby said and she reached out to shake his hand.

"No problem," Trey said. "It was nice to meet you, Rachel. Good luck with your competition today."

"Thanks!" Rachel smiled widely.

They said their goodbyes and Shelby ushered Rachel back to the cab and asked the driver to get them to the Kennedy Center and quickly as possible.

"But, Mom, we have to go and get everyone else," Rachel said quickly. "The bus wasn't going to be there in time."

"The bus made it in time and they're probably already there by now," Shelby said. She still wasn't getting that as far as she knew Rachel didn't know about the bus.

"Oh," Rachel said.

Rachel wasn't sure what else to say and she stayed quiet while her mom called Mr. Schue and let him know that she had been found and they were on their way. She knew her mom had to be angry, but now she just hoped that they could wait until after the competition to discuss it.

Shelby glanced over at Rachel when she ended her call with Will and smiled sadly at her daughter's worried and contrite posture. All Shelby wanted to do was take away her daughter's worry and fears. They had gained so much ground and it sucked when something unexpected arrived to set them back.

"Rachel," Shelby said gently as she reached over and put her hand on Rachel's head and brought it down the length of her hair. "Sweetie."

"Mama, I'm sorry," Rachel pouted her lip.

"I am too," Shelby said.

Rachel furrowed her brow a tiny bit in confusion. Why was her mother sorry? Oh she really was in for it, wasn't she? It was time to change the plan from silence to full out explanation and fast.

Shelby knew she had to get everything out in the open and clear the air before the performance tonight. She needed Rachel to understand and she had to tell her now because she didn't think they'd get a moment alone once they got to the Kennedy Center.

The cab driver had been trying to pay attention and figure out what had happened so it didn't help when mother and daughter started to talk at the same time and speak over one another.

"Mom, the guy at the front desk said that the bus wouldn't make it in time and no one else was around and so I figured I could go and round up some taxis and have them all ready by the time everyone got down stairs. I didn't mean to get lost and make you worry."

"Rachel, I know you saw that Dr. Woodward and I email each other and I know you're worried about it, but I promise you it's nothing. She sends out appointment reminders and lets me know how sessions went, but she never tells me what you guys talk about. I swear."

They both stared at each other for a second in silence as they tried to work out what the other had said.

"Wait, how do you know that I know about the emails?"

"You took off in the city on your own without telling anyone to try and find taxis?"

"We're here," the driver announced as he pulled up in front of the grand building. It was a shame because he wanted to know what happened next.

The finally looked away from each other and Rachel got out of the car as Shelby paid the man and thanked him for helping her.

"Good luck," he said with a knowing smile.

"Thanks," Shelby smiled back. She bet he had teenagers of his own.

Rachel had already started to walk towards the building, but Shelby's longer strides allowed her to catch up easily. She took her daughter gently by the arm and stopped her before they could go inside.

"We're going to be late," Rachel said.

"Let's go," Shelby sighed. It would just have to wait until later because Rachel was right. They needed to get inside so she had time to get ready for the performance.

Rachel took another step towards the door, but was stopped when her mom spoke up again.

"Rachel, I love you."

"I love you too, Mom," Rachel said. "More than anything. More than Barbra."

Shelby smiled and leaned down to kiss Rachel's head. "You're still in trouble," Shelby said and then stepped past the girl and held the door open for her.

Rachel nodded and held her head high as she stepped into the building. It was worth a try.

There was a flurry of activity when Rachel and Shelby joined the rest of the New Directions. Everyone started talking at once to try and figure out what happened and where she had been.

"We don't have time for this right now," Will said. "We can figure it out later." He looked at Rachel and said, "You have detention when we get home."

"But-"

"Three days," Will cut her off.

Shelby nodded from where she stood in the back out of the way. It was his club and he could handle it as her teacher. She knew the stress of travelling with kids and if one of her students had disappeared like that, she'd have dished out detentions too. And extra one-on-one practices, but Will was nicer than she was. And Rachel would probably like that anyways.

The kids dispersed and Rachel followed Quinn and Santana into the dressing room so she could get ready.

"How did my mom know about the emails?" Rachel asked once they were alone.

"We were going to look for you before anyone else discovered that you were gone, but she saw us," Quinn said.

"We thought maybe that's why you disappeared," Santana added.

"No, it's not why I disappeared," Rachel said. "God." She was annoyed.

"Sorry," Quinn said.

"No, it's not your fault," Rachel said. "It's just a big mess."

"Well no one told you to run off," Santana said honestly.

"I didn't run off, I was trying to help," Rachel countered.

She launched into an abridged version of the story and her friends were laughing by the time it was over.

"You are the most impulsive person I've ever met," Santana laughed. "And that says a lot coming from me."

"Two more minutes would have been too long to wait?" Quinn asked.

Rachel huffed her annoyance, but conceded their point.

"What'd your mom do to you?" Santana asked.

"Nothing yet," Rachel said. "I think she's waiting until there are no witnesses."

"We better win tonight because we might never see you again," Santana laughed some more.

It was contagious and the other two joined in until someone opened the door and poked their head in.

"Ladies," Shelby said. The three girls quieted instantly. "Time to get going."

"Ok," Quinn said.

"Go easy on her Coach C," Santana smirked as they walked past Shelby. "You know that competitions make her crazy."

"Shut up," Rachel said and she shoved Santana lightly.

"Girls," Shelby warned easily though there was no anger behind it. She was letting everything go until after the competition and then she would talk to Rachel.

The kids went backstage and Shelby and Will left the room to go and find their seats. They heard a familiar voice from behind before they could open the doors to the hall.

"I see you made it all the way here with your ragtag group of losers," Dustin Goolsby said as he sauntered up to them. "I hope you've prepared them to lose."

"Not likely, Goolsby," Will said. "Our kids are ready."

"Cheat off of anyone else lately?" Dustin accused.

"No one cheated off of you, Dustin," Shelby said. "We were given an honest review of the routine the kids saw that day and they were less than impressed to say the least. Apparently your lead has a problem staying on key while trying to vibrato. And the dancing was simple and not quite on beat. We were told your group lacked any of the power of the former Vocal Adrenaline and that though you're trying pretty hard, your standards are just too low to begin with to facilitate any type of Nationals level performance. We do wish you the best of luck though. And don't worry about the music selection. I'm sure it hides all the weaknesses like you hope it will."

Dustin was taken aback, but tried to hide his shock at her words. A comeback never made its way to his lips and he stood up straighter and turned and walked away.

"Rachel told you all that?" Will asked in awe.

"No," Shelby chuckled. "I made it up. It may not be true, but he'll be thinking about it and worrying through the whole performance. He's probably on his way right now to talk to his kids again. Arrogance isn't confidence and if he's not confident, they won't be either."

"You psyched him out," Will said.

"Yeah," Shelby smiled devilish smile that mirrored the one Rachel so often wore. "You don't think my kids learned how to funk people out on their own, do you?"

"I have so much to learn," Will said as they opened the doors and walked in the hall to go and find their seats.

The New Directions watched from the wings as Vocal Adrenaline performed. They were great, of course, but not what they used to be when Shelby was teaching.

Shelby and Will watched from the audience and Shelby kept a critical eye on the kids she used to coach. They were good and she was proud of them, but she had no doubts over who she wanted to win this competition. Will looked over at Dustin and smiled smugly when he saw the man nervously biting his nails. Will could see in his expression every time his students didn't do something perfectly. He hoped he didn't look as nervous when his group came up next.

The kids had a huddle before they took the stage and each of them felt ready and like this was theirs if they wanted it badly enough. They had worked so hard and had really come together as a team this year. This was their moment and they could feel it.

Shelby held her breath as the music started and Rachel began to sing. Rachel met her eyes and smiled a little wider and Shelby felt tears prick her eyes. The rest of the team joined in as it picked up the beat and the crowd went crazy over the dancing. Mike and Brittany had taken the lead and were the focus and it was wonderful.

By the time the third song ended, the crowd was on its feet, Will and Shelby included. It was the best of the night so far and there were only two teams left to go. It was a deafening roar as the kids took another bow before running off the stage.

"Oh my god, I just performed at the Kennedy Center!" Rachel exclaimed out of breath.

There was lots of hugging and some tears and high fives as the kids worked their way back to the dressing room. There was another cheer when Shelby and Will came through the door to greet them.

"Amazing job, guys!" Will said.

"It was wonderful," Shelby concurred and then had to brace herself as Rachel leapt into her arms. "Good job, baby."

"I did it!" Rachel said excitedly. "I mean, we did it."

"I'm so proud of you," Shelby told her as she lowered her feet to the ground.

"I really do love you more than Barbra," Rachel said.

Shelby hugged her tightly and kissed her head. "I love you too."

Shelby made the rounds congratulating and hugging kids and then they sat and started the wait until the end of the show. The longer the judges took, the more anxious they all became. Will and Shelby tried to keep them all calm and not show that they too were just as nervous. But Shelby had been through this before and kept having to reassure everyone that yes, it was normal for it to take this long.

Finally there was an announcement that the teams needed to make their way back to the stage because the results were in. Shelby went back to her seat in the audience and Will joined the kids on stage. They weren't third, that's awesome. Not in second…

"And this year's national champions are the New Directions from McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio!"

Shelby was on her feet long before the man finished speaking. She was clapping and crying and joining in with the rest of the crowd that was cheering their approval of that decision. The kids on stage were jumping up and down and Quinn hugged Rachel and Santana joined them before breaking apart to give Brittany a sweet peck on the lips. Will hugged Rachel and then Artie and everyone was passed around. They stood together proudly and lifted the trophy into the air. Shelby had experience this moment many times before, but never had it felt as good as seeing her daughter getting to do it too. Rachel's eyes met Shelby's in the audience and the girl's welled with tears and she blew her mom a kiss. This was perfect.

The kids were still as excited as ever when the bus pulled up to the hotel. They wanted to pile out there, but Will stopped them.

"Ok, guys, tonight the party is on me," Will said. "I reserved one of the big conference rooms and the food will be here in about half an hour. It's ours until two in the morning." It was just before ten now and he knew figured that hosting the party would allow for him to know where all of the kids were. He could control it this time. He'd gotten the hotel to set up a radio system so they could play music and he'd ordered a bunch of pizzas and other snacks for them. "So go upstairs and get changed into whatever you'd like to party in and meet back down in conference room 104."

All of the kids agreed that Mr. Schue had come up with the perfect idea and they were excited about the party. It was an awesome victory and the four kids who suck into Vocal Adrenaline's practice that day took particular pleasure in the fact that they came in sixth.

The girls were chatting happily as they neared their rooms. Mercedes and Tina disappeared into theirs as did Santana and Brittany. Quinn put her keycard in the door and opened it for Rachel who tried to step in but was stopped by Shelby reaching out and taking her arm. Rachel blushed and looked back at Quinn and Shelby led her silently towards her room. Quinn gave her a sympathetic smile before she too closed the door behind her.

Rachel shifted from foot to foot nervously as Shelby found her key and opened the door. She put a hand on Rachel's back and guided her inside and shut the door.

"Mom, please, not here," Rachel pleaded as she and her mom stepped further into the room. "I didn't mean to get lost. Please wait."

Shelby moved past Rachel and sat down on the edge of the bed and motioned for Rachel to come to her. Rachel shook her head and stamped her foot as tears pooled in her eyes.

"No," she said. "Not tonight. Please. We just won Nationals."

"Rachel," Shelby warned.

"Mama, I'm sorry," Rachel said as she moved towards Shelby. "I wasn't running off. I just got lost. I was trying to help. I was so worried we wouldn't make it in time. I know I should have waited for you and Mr. Schue to come downstairs, but I just reacted. And I know I shouldn't do that and that I've got to learn to think first, but this was so important to me. And then I got lost and I was scared and understood why I shouldn't have been out there alone and I know I was lucky that someone like Trey and his friends found me and not some other people because it could have been worse. And I knew you'd be angry, but I was so glad when you found me. I was getting really scared and I wanted you so much. I know I was wrong and I know I shouldn't have done it. But please not here. Not now." Tears had may their way down her cheeks. She sighed in resignation when Shelby took her hands.

Shelby moved Rachel so that the girl was sitting next to her on the bed and then she shifted so she could face her.

"You just lectured yourself," Shelby said with a smile.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"You just told me why you did it and why you know it was wrong and promised not to do it again," Shelby said. "I didn't have to say anything."

"So that's it?" Rachel asked. "You're not going to spank me?"

"No," Shelby shook her head.

Rachel finally let go of the worry she'd been holding. "You could have said that when we first came in here." She wiped at her eyes and shot her mother an annoyed glare.

"Eh," Shelby shrugged with a smile for her daughter. "It certainly got you thinking about what you did wrong."

"I know I shouldn't have done it, Mom. I'm sorry," Rachel said sincerely.

"Good," Shelby said. "You're grounded for one week when we get home. I heard from your teacher that you got three days of detention for disappearing from the group."

"But so shouldn't it be three days of grounding to go with three days of detention?" Rachel asked. She appreciated her mother trying to separate it for her. This was a school trip and if Shelby wasn't there, she would only know what Mr. Schue told her. She wouldn't have experienced that worry firsthand.

"Don't push it, young lady," Shelby said.

Rachel sighed, "yes, ma'am."

"What I really wanted to talk about was the emails," Shelby said.

"I didn't read them," Rachel told her. "I used your computer to print off the flyers for the pool and opened the email without thinking about the fact that you'd be logged in."

"I know you didn't read them," Shelby said. "But that's what's been worrying me."

"What?" Rachel asked, confused. "I didn't want to read your private emails. I'd be angry if someone looked at my private emails. I tried really hard to push it out of my mind. I admit that I was worried about what you guys are talking about. I tell her things and she's not supposed to tell anyone, even you."

"She's not telling me anything about your sessions, Rachel, I swear," Shelby said.

"Then why does she email you?" Rachel asked.

"She sends out reminder emails about appointments," Shelby said. "And sometimes I ask her questions or for tips."

"Tips?"

"Yeah," Shelby said. "Mostly for myself. She offers me simple advice because sometimes I need some help."

"You need help for me?" Rachel asked.

"No, I need help for me," Shelby said. "I don't have all the answers and sometimes I have questions too. She never mentions anything that you two have discussed privately. And we haven't emailed like that in over a month. But she still sends reminder emails about appointments. She does it for all her clients."

"I email her too," Rachel said. "She always answers my questions for me."

"She wouldn't do anything like that to betray your trust and neither would I," Shelby said.

Rachel smiled. "I'm glad I wasn't too worried about it then. I mean, I was thinking about it, but I was trying not to."

"When I heard you had disappeared and then found out you knew that Dr. Woodward and I emailed, I was really worried," Shelby admitted. "I thought you were assuming the worst and was angry or upset with me. I thought you disappeared because you felt you couldn't trust me anymore."

"I didn't think that at all," Rachel said. "Not when I got lost. The only thing I was thinking about was how much trouble I was going to be in." She looked away for a moment because she was embarrassed. "I just knew I was in for it when I was found. But I wanted you. I was scared for a little while and I wanted my mom."

"Oh honey," Shelby said and she pulled Rachel to her. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," Rachel said. "And I should have just come to you and asked about the emails. But I didn't want you to be mad at me for looking at your email even though it was an accident. It got stuck in my mind, but I pushed it aside as best I could. I was curious and worried and not worried all at once. But I wanted to concentrate on Nationals. I was going to ask Dr. Woodward about it on Thursday. Or you if I couldn't wait that long."

"You promise you taking off was didn't have anything to do with the emails?" Shelby asked.

"I didn't take off, I got lost," Rachel said. "And I promise. Besides I wouldn't just take off; I know I'm stuck with you forever."

Shelby held her tightly and rubbed her back. Without being asked or prompted, Rachel had just told her that she knew that Shelby was never going to leave her.

"You're absolutely right," Shelby said. "I will always find you. You are stuck with me."

"I'm glad," Rachel smiled.

"Me too," Shelby said. "And I think you've got a party to go and get ready for."

"Thanks, Mom," Rachel said as they stood up.

"Enjoy it because the moment we get back to Lima, you are grounded. No ifs, ands, or buts." She had turned Rachel towards the door and landed a sound swat on her backside to correspond with her last word.

"You said no spanking," Rachel pouted as she rubbed her rear.

"That was because I love you," Shelby said and kissed Rachel's cheek. "Even more than Barbra."

Rachel rolled her eyes but accompanied it with a smile as she walked out of the room to go and get ready for the celebration. She may be grounded for a week, but nothing could put a damper on being a national champion.

Two and a half weeks later they had finally reached the end of the school year. Well, almost. There was still another week and a half to go. Rachel had been quite proud of herself when her mother told her that she had planned it out and was going to be putting a pool in the backyard. Inground, deep end, diving board, the whole nine yards. Rachel told her she should put in a slide too because Beth would love it. Shelby had rolled her eyes and walked away. The slide would be there soon.

It wouldn't necessarily be fair to give Rachel all of the credit because Shelby had thought about it before, but she never really saw the need when it was just her in the house. But now that she had kids, she knew they would love it. Rachel, however, was taking full credit and was happy to tell everyone how she had convinced her mother to put a pool in for her. Shelby then told her that she'd be taking 20% out of her allowance all summer to help pay for it since it was her idea. Rachel didn't even care and shrugged her off. Shelby had watched her walk away and smiled at the girl who was too nervous to part with her money when she'd first moved in for fear of not being able to save for New York City.

The pool would be finished and ready to use by the second week of June and Rachel couldn't wait. She was already planning parties and sleepovers. Shelby reminded her that no one was going swimming in it until the fence around it was complete and locked so that Beth couldn't get in by herself. The fence would only be waist high and would leave plenty of room between for chairs and what not by the pool, but it was always to remain locked if no one was out there. It was a rule she was daring anyone to test her on. She thought about including a swing set in the yard for Beth, but felt she was too young for it so she put bought a small playhouse to put outside for her youngest.

Beth was loving the new playhouse and Rachel didn't mind playing with her. Both girls were fascinated by the construction, but for very different reasons. Beth loved the activity and Rachel loved the shirtless construction workers. The men had been reminded that two girls lived in the house, but the temperatures were reaching the high 90's already and they were working hard to get as much done as possible before the Memorial Day holiday in a couple weeks. Rachel sat with Beth in the playhouse that Saturday morning and watched.

"Mach," Beth said.

"Yeah," Rachel looked away from the construction and at her baby sister.

Beth babbled as she handed Rachel a toy and went on with her game. A loud noise startled them both and Beth and Rachel looked out the windows of the playhouse and towards the workers. Beth loved watching the digging and Rachel just loved watching.

Shelby made her way out onto the back porch in search of the girls and shook her head when she saw two head looking out of the windows. They were both glued to the action. She was surprised Quinn wasn't here yet to watch too. It's not that Shelby hadn't noticed or anything, but she had a little more tact and looked from inside where no one could see her. And she didn't stare. She just glanced occasionally.

"Rach, you've got a visitor," Shelby said when she reached the small house. "Come inside, please."

Rachel furrowed her brow as she picked Beth up to carry her towards the house. Why hadn't her mom just sent whoever it was outside? Rachel's thoughts were momentarily distracted when another worker peeled his shirt off. Shelby reached out and grabbed her arm to steer her around one of Beth's toys so she didn't trip.

"You know they can see you staring," Shelby said to Rachel.

"I'm not staring," Rachel argued. "I'm noticing."

"Sure. How about a little more paying attention to where you're walking and less noticing," Shelby said sarcastically.

Rachel took that advice when they reached the porch and she went back to wondering who had come to see her that Saturday morning.

**A/N – This is the end of this chapter. I hope you all liked it. Thank you so much for reading. Please leave me a message and let me know what you thought. Your feedback means so much to me. Thanks! **


	94. Chapter 94

**A/N – I've got the next chapter for you. Sorry for the wait. I really wanted to have something up last Friday because it was the two year anniversary of the story, but I wasn't able to (obviously). Sorry about that. I tried and I wanted to do something for you guys, but I couldn't swing it. You all have no idea how much your support and reviews and messages and just simply continuing to read the story have meant to me over the last two years. Can you believe it's been that long? I'm shocked and pleased and so grateful. This story and all of you mean so much to me. **

**I hope this doesn't disappoint. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Shelby held the door open for Rachel and Beth to go into the house from the back porch. Beth was looking over Rachel's shoulder and still watching the activity with the construction, but smiled when Shelby caught her eye. Shelby was making a funny face at Beth when Rachel stopped abruptly and caused the woman to run into her and Beth to laugh.

Henry stood up from the couch when he saw them coming in through the door and Rachel stopped when she saw that it was her dad that was there to see her. Way to not give her any warning, mom.

"Rachel," Henry said.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked. She kind of shocked even herself with the rudeness of the question, but ever since yelling at Scott, Rachel had felt less inclined to worry about her fathers' feelings. Especially when it had been close to three months since the man standing before her had bothered to even send a text message to say hello.

"Rachel," Shelby scolded lightly. She stepped around the girl and held her hands out for Beth but Beth turned her head and held on tighter to Rachel's neck. Beth missed all of the good stuff in this house and she didn't want to miss this too.

"I've got her," Rachel said. She took a step away from Shelby and looked at Henry expectantly.

"I came to see you," Henry said. "To see how you are."

"I'm going to wait in the other room," Shelby said.

"Really?" Rachel said sarcastically. She barely acknowledged her mom when she walked out of the room. "Why? I'm not sick. I didn't just get out of the hospital. You don't even have to pretend to be worried about me right now."

"What are you talking about?" Henry asked.

"The last time I saw you or even heard from you was when you and Daddy came by to see me after I was released from the hospital when I had my appendix out," Rachel explained it for him. "You haven't even said so much as 'hi' since then."

"I've been-"

"Busy, I know," Rachel cut him off. "I know that better than anyone." She barely heard it when the doorbell sounded throughout the house because her focus was on the man in front of her. Beth was watching them intently and she kept her arm wrapped around Rachel's shoulders in a show of support. She wasn't sure about this guy at all.

"Rachel, there are just some things you don't understand yet. You will when you're older," Henry said.

Shelby pulled herself out of the conversation long enough to answer the door and she wasn't surprised to see Quinn and Santana on the other side. The girls had been a staple at her house during the construction. She knew Brittany had a dance class during this time or that girl would be there too. The first time all of the girls watched the construction, Rachel had bluntly asked Santana why she enjoyed it so much since she was gay. Santana had said that just because she didn't want to have sex with them didn't mean she didn't appreciate a good looking body. Though Shelby suspected, Santana spent most of her time watching the one woman on the construction team. The woman was short, but confident. She managed this work site and kept the workers in line. She hadn't peeled her shirt off yet though.

"What's going on?" Quinn asked when Shelby ushered them into the kitchen. "They could hear the voices in the other room.

"Henry came by to see Rachel and she's not exactly happy about it, it seems," Shelby answered.

"Who's Henry?" Santana asked.

"Rachel's father."

"The one that had her over at his house? I thought we already told that guy off. He doesn't listen very well, does he?" Santana started to mutter in Spanish as she turned and headed for the living room in an effort to back Rachel up.

"Stop," Shelby said as she grabbed Santana's arm and turned her back towards the kitchen table. "This is her other father. And we're not just going to burst in there. She needs to get to have her say. She never lets herself be angry in front of them and I'm glad that's changing."

Santana huffed, but sat down.

Rachel scoffed at her father as she switched Beth to her other arm. "I understand perfectly. I'm not sure what parenting classes you took, but I'm sure most experts don't tell you to put work above your kid. Abandoning kids at home is usually frowned upon."

"We didn't abandon you!" Henry yelled. "You were always taken care of and provided for. Our jobs are the only reason you got to live in that nice house and get all of the things you wanted and go to all of the lessons you wanted to go to."

Shelby clutched the water bottle in front of her and used every piece of willpower she had not to get up and go in there.

"I wanted my fathers!" Rachel yelled back. "We were a family and then all of a sudden we weren't. It was like you and Daddy just decided that I was secondary. Do you know what that feels like? Of course you don't. Because you were off doing whatever the hell you wanted without any thought to what I might be thinking or feeling."

"I'm sorry if you felt abandoned or like you had done something wrong," Henry said. "That wasn't the case. You didn't get into any type of trouble or anything like that. We were doing what we had to do for you."

"No," Rachel said in a shaky voice because she was trying not to cry. "You were doing it for you. I was barely an afterthought."

"You never said anything, Rachel," Henry said. "You never mentioned how you were feeling to either of us. Everything was fine and the one day you spring the fact that you've found your mother on us and that you want to leave. How do you think that made us feel?"

Shelby got up from the table and started to walk into the living room, but Santana reversed the roles and stopped her.

"Wait, Coach C. Don't. She needs to yell at him," Santana said. "You just said so yourself."

"Santana, I appreciate your input, but I need to go in there," Shelby said as she tried to step past her, but Santana got in her way again.

"Let her finish," Santana said. "If you go in and take over the conversation she might stop talking to him and right now she's getting her feelings out. She's finally saying what she could never say. After she did this to the other guy she said she felt better."

Shelby stared down at the girl and finally nodded. They both went back to the table and sat down.

"Sometimes I wish I could yell at my dad and tell him how I feel," Quinn said and then looked down at the table. "I don't think he'd listen, but it would make me feel better. It sucks when you can't ever get to say what you feel you need to say."

Shelby sighed softly and put her hand on Quinn's and gently rubbed her thumb over it. Santana sent up a silent thank you for her loving parents. They were indulgent and strict and fair and overbearing and perfect. She'd never realized how much until she'd really opened her eyes to the friends around her.

"It's my fault?" Rachel yelled. "I thought that for so long and I'm just starting to understand that it wasn't. But you're telling me that if I had just spoken up one day and mentioned that it might be nice not to be alone in the house all the time when I was twelve-years-old that you and Daddy would have listened? That's bullshit!" Beth held tighter onto her sister and Rachel rubbed her back absently to try and soothe her. Beth did not like all of this yelling and she didn't understand why Rachel was about to cry.

Shelby stood up when she heard Rachel's language but both Santana and Quinn reached for her and held on so she couldn't go out there.

"You know how I know that?" Rachel continued. "Because when I did finally say something, you grounded me and told me I could never see Shelby or Quinn again. You said that I shouldn't have told anyone else about our family situation, that I had broken your trust somehow. You punished me because you didn't like that I called you out."

"I didn't come here for this, Rachel," Henry said.

"Well what did you come for?" Rachel asked in an annoyed manner. She was moving past her tears that had been threatening to fall.

"I know you went and stayed with your father recently and I wanted to check in with you as well," Henry said.

"Great job," Rachel said sarcastically. "This went over about as well as it did at Daddy's house. Though I am glad we were able to just cut to the chase and you didn't have to pretend to care about me anymore." She was really angry now. "I'm sure Daddy filled you in on the details so I won't bother. The only difference is that this is my house and I don't have to leave. But there's the door so feel free to get out."

"Rachel, I am still your father," Henry said. "You will not talk to me like this."

Rachel was headed for the stairs but Henry grabbed her arm to stop her from walking away.

"Fuck off, Dad!" Rachel yelled as she pulled her arm away from him.

Shelby shot up from her chair immediately and neither Quinn nor Santana was fast enough to stop her. They exchanged a glance as they followed after the woman.

"Rachel!" Shelby scolded when she reached the room.

"You're doing a great job with her, Shelby," Henry said sarcastically.

"I think it's best if you probably leave now," Shelby said as she ignored the dig.

"No, I think I'd like an apology from my daughter first," Henry said.

"Fat chance," Rachel said, though quieter this time.

"What does she have to apologize for?" Santana asked. "You're the one that walked out on her. It's not her fault you can't handle the truth now." She'd done this with one dad and she was happy to tell the other one how she felt as well.

"I don't believe I was asking for your opinion on anything," Henry said. "Scott told me about you. Do you ever let Rachel speak for herself?"

"Oh, I think she's spoken for herself plenty," Quinn joined in. "You just don't like what you're hearing."

"Girls," Shelby admonished. She was rapidly losing control of this situation.

All three girls started to talk over one another and Beth was growing more and more agitated because of the noise. She reached for Shelby and buried her head into her mother's shoulder like she was trying to get away from the noise when the woman took her from Rachel.

"Girls, stop yelling," Shelby tried again.

Henry wasn't much better. He was yelling back at them. This was not at all what she expected when she opened the door and saw him standing there. Beth whimpered and grabbed Shelby's shirt and the woman decided that she had had enough.

Shelby turned her head away from Beth and put the tips of her thumb and middle finger in her mouth and let out a loud whistle. She rubbed Beth's back when the baby jumped because of it. She was met with silence from the other four people in the room who all stared at her incredulously.

"Henry, I think it's time for you to leave," Shelby said.

"I think so too," Henry said curtly. "Goodbye, Rachel."

Rachel didn't say anything in return. Henry stepped past Shelby and she turned back to the girls.

"Find separate seats and sit down," Shelby told them. "I don't want to hear a word."

Shelby walked Henry to the door and she wasn't sure what to say when she opened it for him. He didn't bother with any type of pleasantries and just walked out without looking back.

When Shelby returned to the living room, she saw Quinn sitting in the rocking chair and Santana was on the loveseat and it was silent in the room. Shelby took a seat next to Rachel on the couch and placed Beth in her lap. No one said anything and the weight of what had just happened seemed to settle around them. There wasn't even any noise coming from the construction site out back.

Shelby took a long breath and was about to start talking when the tiniest person in the room spoke up to offer her input on the situation.

"Fuck," Beth said.

The silence that hung in the air was deafening and Rachel's eyes went wide and she looked up in shock and saw that her friends had the same look on their faces. Shelby's mouth dropped open and she looked down at her little girl and then shot a glare over to Rachel. Rachel looked away quickly.

"Beth, no," Shelby said sternly. "We do not say that word."

Beth looked up at her mom and her eyes started to tear up at the reprimand. Rachel said it so why couldn't she?

Beth let out pathetic cry and Shelby picked her up and held her so that Beth could rest her head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, baby," Shelby cooed. "But we do not say that. Rachel," she looked over at her eldest.

"It's not my fault," Rachel defended herself. "She probably learned it from Santana."

Santana gasped and looked at Shelby. "I didn't teach her anything."

"Relax, Santana," Shelby said. "I know why my 14-month-old said it and who she heard it from." Her eyes were on Rachel who was trying to look like she didn't know what Shelby was talking about.

Beth calmed down and Shelby stood and handed her to Quinn. "Why don't you and Santana take Beth out back to play? Rachel will be out in a little while." Quinn nodded and Rachel gulped.

"Rachel. Upstairs." Shelby's instructions were quite clear.

Before Rachel could stand, Santana put her hand on the side of Rachel's head and gave it a light shove. They all knew Santana was still kind of scared of Shelby and the girl had not felt that was funny. If the situation weren't so serious for her, Rachel would have smiled.

Rachel stood up and slowly started to walk towards her mother who was waiting near the stairs. Crap, she was going to have to walk right by her. Rachel wanted to tell her that she could go first, but Shelby was clearly waiting on her. Rachel cast a surreptitious glance over her shoulder to make sure Santana wasn't looking at them. When she was sure her friend wasn't paying attention, Rachel quickly put her hands behind her back to cover her backside and hurried past Shelby and up the stairs. Shelby couldn't help but smirk as she followed after her.

Rachel went into her room and sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard. She had a plan that she'd worked out quickly while walking up here.

"Mom, why didn't you tell me that it was my Dad waiting for me inside?" Rachel asked as soon as Shelby walked into the room. She needed to get it on a new topic before her mother even had a chance to get going.

"I don't know," Shelby answered honestly as she sat down on Rachel's bed. Rachel pulled her feet closer to her so as to give her mother more space. Or maybe it was to try and make it harder for Shelby to reach her. "I didn't expect it to turn into a shouting match."

"What could he expect though?" Rachel asked. "He hasn't even tried to see more or talk to me since I right after I was in the hospital. I have every right to be angry."

"I agree," Shelby said. "But-"

"And I can't believe he and Daddy have been talking about me," Rachel cut her off so her mother couldn't change the topic. "They barely talked to each other the last two years and now they're talking about me? It's ridiculous."

"It is, honey."

"And did you hear him try and blame me for it?" Rachel continued. "It wasn't my fault, right? Why should he try and blame me."

"It wasn't your fault," Shelby said forcefully. "None of that was your fault."

"Yeah… Why would he come over here to check on me?" Rachel asked. "He could have just sent a text message. 'Hey, Rach, what's up? Hope you're doing well,'" she impersonated her dad. "That would have been better than this."

"Rachel, calm down some," Shelby said soothingly.

"I shouldn't have to calm down," Rachel said. "He walked in like nothing was wrong and that we see each other once a week or something. I bet he doesn't even think that he's been wrong to stay away for three months. He just wants to get to pretend that he's a good father without actually being a father. And now he can blame this whole visit on me and so he still gets to feel good about himself for trying. I bet he learned that technique from Daddy."

"Honey, I'm sorry you're so upset," Shelby said sympathetically.

Rachel pouted and sniffed a couple times and nodded her head. The distraction was totally working. Her words about her father were true, but she just recognized that in talking it out, she was serving her own greater good by keeping her mother's mind on Henry and not her mouth.

"Would you like me to ask Santana and Quinn to leave since you're so upset?" Shelby asked.

"No," Rachel said quickly. "There's no need to do that. They'll probably make me feel better. I should probably get down there so they don't think I've disappeared."

Rachel stood up on the opposite side of the bed from here her mother was and tried to get to the door. She didn't make it far though because Shelby stood up and blocked her path.

"I'm sorry your dad's visit made you feel bad," Shelby said. "And I'm glad you're able to talk to me about it. Nothing that happened was your fault."

"Ok," Rachel nodded. "Thank you, Mama."

"I love you sweetheart," Shelby said and she pulled Rachel into a hug.

"I love you too, Mom," Rachel said and she relaxed at the touch and savored being held. It looks like the distraction really had worked.

"Rachel?"

"Hmmm?"

"What kind of soap do you have in your bathroom?" Shelby asked.

"Soap?" Rachel questioned. She was confused and stepped back and realized what was going on when she saw her mother's face. Oh crap.

"Yes, soap," Shelby said. "I believe we need some for your mouth." She took Rachel by the arm and turned her and walked her into the bathroom. She pointed to the closed toilet seat lid and Rachel sat down dejectedly.

"No, Mom, please don't," Rachel said. "I'm sorry. I was just so angry."

"I know you were angry," Shelby said. "And I understand that. But you should not be saying those words even in anger. And especially not while you are holding your very impressionable baby sister."

"I didn't know that she would repeat it," Rachel said. She watched in dismay as Shelby picked up her bottle of hand soap from the sink.

"Beth is going to be repeating everything we say," Shelby said. "She is at that age. And I better not hear another curse word come out of her mouth. Or yours."

"I won't do it again, Mom, I promise," Rachel said. "Please don't."

"Open up," Shelby said. "Stick out your tongue."

"Mama," Rachel whined and shook her head.

"Rachel," Shelby warned.

Rachel slowly opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue all while giving her mother pleading eyes.

"I'm going to put a drop on your tongue and you're going to hold it there for thirty seconds," Shelby said. "Don't swish and don't swallow it, understand?"

Rachel nodded and then watched in horror as her mother squirted a couple small drops of the soap onto her tongue. Her face immediately scrunched because of the horrible taste.

"Close your mouth," Shelby said.

Shelby glanced at her watch as Rachel did as she was told. Then she started to lecture.

"That type of language is not suitable for polite conversation," Shelby said. "It's not suitable for any conversation, especially not with someone your age with a sister Beth's age. You will not swear in my house or around your sister again and I don't care how angry you are. You are extremely intelligent and I know you can find better ways to express yourself than by using crude language."

Rachel's eyes were watering and a few tears had slipped down her cheeks. Why had she bought the most fragrant soap they had last time? It was so pungent in her mouth. Shelby turned to the sink and filled up a glass with water and Rachel looked at it longingly.

"Furthermore," Shelby continued. "Do not blame someone else, especially a friend, for a mistake or wrong doing you have done. That's not fair, Rachel." If she had been able to talk at the moment, Rachel would have explained that it was supposed to have been a joke. Kind of.

Rachel nodded and closed her eyes again. Surely it had been thirty seconds by now.

Shelby glanced at her watch again and then handed Rachel the glass of water.

"Rinse and wash your face and then come out to your room," Shelby instructed.

Rachel greedily took some water in her mouth as her mom walked out. Shelby waited for a little less than five minutes for Rachel to appear. The girl wore a sheepish expression and her eyes were remorseful.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

Shelby took her hands and then lifted her chin so the girl would look at her.

"I'm serious, Rach, I don't want to hear you use that kind of language. I won't stand for it," Shelby said. "You saw firsthand today how easily Beth can pick up those words and I will not have her speaking that way. If hadn't Beth hadn't repeated it, I may have felt that a talk about it was enough, but I want you to realize how much your words matter. This was just a warning; the next time I hear it, I will get a bar of soap and you will hold it in your mouth. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said contritely. She was convinced that Beth was going to be getting her into trouble for at least the next ten or fifteen years.

"Good girl. I love you."

"I love you too," Rachel said.

"Do you want to talk about your father some more?" Shelby asked.

"No," Rachel shook her head. "I think I said it all. It would be nice if it didn't hurt, but I feel better. It's nice knowing that I'm not so worried about what they think or if I'm good enough. Well clearly I was never good enough."

"Yes, you are," Shelby said. "You are so far beyond good enough. You've broken the ties a little bit and that's hard, but I think it'll help you move forward."

"It will," Rachel said. There was one thing she had been thinking about for weeks and because of this visit, she now knew without a doubt what she wanted. She smiled despite the soapy after taste in her mouth. "Can I go down and see Santana and Quinn now?"

"Sure, sweetheart." Shelby leaned forward and kissed her head.

"Ok," Rachel said. She looked at her mom expectantly and hoped the woman would leave. She wanted Shelby to walk in front of her and not the other way around.

Shelby looked at Rachel and was wondering why the girl wasn't going anywhere. "Do you need anything else?"

"No," Rachel answered. "You can go if you want to."

It dawned on Shelby and she smirked again. "No, go ahead."

"That's ok," Rachel said. "I need to…grab something."

"Come on," Shelby laughed and took her by the arm and led her to the door. She placed a couple of playful pats on Rachel's bottom. "I'm not going to swat you; you can safely walk in front of me out of the room."

Rachel blushed childishly and Shelby let go of her arm when they were in the hallway.

"Go on," Shelby said. "Stay out of trouble and don't stare at the construction workers."

"Ok," Rachel waved her off as she bounded down the stairs.

Shelby knew that one or two of those instructions would be broken. Definitely one. Probably two.

Shelby shook her head as she went down the stairs as well. She scrunched her nose up as she thought back to what soap in your mouth tasted like. She hoped her daughter was a faster learner than she had been. Shelby made a mental not to call her mother and tell her about it because she was certain that the woman would find great amusement from this story.

Rachel had stopped by the kitchen on her way out back to find her friends so she could grab three soda cans. It wasn't normally what Rachel drank, but she needed something to help get the rest of that taste out of her mouth. Ugh!

Beth squealed when she saw her sister coming towards them and yelled out, "Mach!"

Rachel shook her head at the girl as she handed out the soda cans.

"I'm not talking to you right now, Beth," Rachel said, but not unkindly. Beth reached for anyway and Rachel gladly held her.

Santana laughed and nudged Rachel, "What'd she do?"

"Nothing," Rachel blushed.

"Sure," Santana smirked. "That was pretty epic. Out of everything you yelled that's the word Beth picked up. Great job, kid." She held her hand out and Beth gave her a high five.

"It was kind of funny," Quinn said. "Shelby's face was priceless."

The girls dissolved into a fit of giggles as they sat in the grass by Beth's playhouse. They recounted Beth's little outburst and the reactions that went from it.

"I don't know how you deal with it when your mother is mad at you," Santana said. "Don't tell anyone, but she still scares me."

Quinn couldn't help the snort that gracelessly appeared. "Everyone knows you're scared of her."

"No they don't!" Santana argued.

"Yes," Rachel said. "It's not a secret." She joined in with Quinn's laughter. "And she's not that scary when I'm in trouble. Just mad and disappointed like any other mom." Rachel just shrugged and took a sip of her soda.

"Come on," Santana urged. "What'd she do to you?"

"Lectured about bad language and how impressionable Beth is," Rachel answered.

"And…" Santana drew the word out.

Rachel let out a big sigh and looked at her friends. "Soap."

"Ugh," Santana said and shook her head. "If it your first time?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "It was awful."

"Amateur," Santana said. "I was 11 the first time my mother washed my mouth with soap."

"I was 13," Quinn said.

"I never want to have to do that again," Rachel said. "She said this was just a warning and that next time would be worse."

"Beth, you won't say it again, will you?" Quinn asked the little girl who was sitting in Rachel's lap. Surprisingly enough, she'd been the only one paying attention to the construction.

"Inn," Beth said and held some grass she pulled up towards Quinn.

"Thank you, sweetie," Quinn said. "She'd been so excited when Beth finally started saying her name, or at least what was supposed to be her name.

"I want her to say my name," Santana said. "Beth, can you say Santana?"

"No," Beth said. Santana frowned but the other two started to laugh.

Beth grew tired of just sitting there and got up so she could go in the playhouse and get her toys. They all sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Santana brought up the real reason she and Quinn had come over. They needed to finalize their plans for the end of the school year party that was happening the next weekend. They wanted all of the details worked out before they tried to pull it off.

"So are you ready to risk the wrath of your mother again for the party?" Santana asked.

"Yeah, of course," Rachel said. "I'm not really worried about getting in trouble and besides, I doubt we'll get caught. And I don't want to miss the party." Rachel heard about the party every year and she'd never gone, but had always wanted to. And now she had friends to go with so there was no way she was going to miss it. She'd even worked out how not to get caught while sneaking out. Nope, she wasn't worried at all.

**A/N – That's it for this chapter. Thank you all so much for reading. Please leave me a review if you can. I appreciate your feedback so much. You guys are great. Thank you. **


	95. Chapter 95

**A/N – Here's the next chapter. I'm so sorry about the delay. I've got a hurricane on my doorstep and I've been a little busy. Thank you all so much for your reviews and messages. I appreciate so much! You guys are awesome. **

**And thank you to everyone who took the time to read and leave a review the new little Rachel story I posted last week. Thank you for indulging me in my writing it. It means a lot. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

"Mach," Beth said. "Mach."

"Yeah?" Rachel asked, barely sparing a glance for her little sister.

The sisters plus Quinn and Santana were still sitting in the back yard playing. Well, Beth was playing and the three older girls were staring. It was early afternoon and it was extremely hot outside and the girls were simply making sure that the construction on the new pool was going according to plan. Everything looked great.

"Mach," Beth was more forceful this time.

"What?" Rachel said as she finally gave the girl her attention.

"Mine," Beth said. She was reaching for the soda can in Rachel's hand.

"You can't have any," Rachel said. "You have to wait until I can get you some juice or milk."

"No," Beth said. "Mine."

"No," Rachel argued with her. Her mother had lectured her for about six years one time when she caught Rachel giving Beth a sip of soda. Shelby didn't even really like for Rachel to have it that much. The only reason there was even some in the house was because it was left over from the last time everyone was over for Beth's birthday party in April. It didn't seem any worse for the wear seeing as how it was over a month old.

"Mine," Beth said again. She was starting to get upset and a fit was coming on.

"No," Rachel said again. "Go and play."

"No!" Beth yelled.

"Geez, calm down," Santana said to the little girl.

"Yeah, like that'll help," Quinn said.

"Mach!" Beth yelled and then started to cry angry tears.

"No," Rachel said. Rachel probably would have given in by now normally, but now it was an argument and she didn't want to lose.

"Mine!" Beth cried and reached out and grabbed Rachel's free hand. She quickly pulled it up and opened her mouth only to have Rachel snatch her hand away.

"Don't you dare!" Rachel scolded. Beth upped the level of her tears and grew red in the face and even stopped breathing for a second as she cried. Rachel just rolled her eyes. These fits were becoming more and more common with Beth as she got older.

"What was she doing?" Quinn asked.

"She's started biting recently," Rachel explained over the noise. "She hasn't really gotten one of us yet, but she's trying. She bit the hell out of her stuffed rabbit one day though when I picked him up because I was trying to clean up and she wanted him. She pulled him back and bit his arm, but I think she was going for my hand."

"What does your mom say?" Santana asks.

"She just tells her no," Rachel shrugged.

Beth took a big breath and let out another loud wail causing Rachel to roll her eyes again.

"I'm going to take her inside," Rachel said.

"Yeah, and I'm going to get going," Quinn said.

"Me too," Santana agreed. "Don't forget to ask your mom."

"I won't," Rachel assured them.

Rachel picked up Beth and all of the girls went into the house accompanied by the cries of the angry toddler. Quinn and Santana said their goodbyes and left while Rachel tried half-heartedly to shush her sister as she dropped the now empty soda cans into the recycle bin.

"What's going on?" Shelby asked as she came into the kitchen.

Beth just cried louder when she saw their mother and reached for her. Shelby took her from Rachel to try and calm her down.

"Mach!" Beth yelled and slapped her hand down angrily.

"She's throwing a fit because I wouldn't let her have any of my soda," Rachel said.

"Mine," Beth cried.

"No, it's not yours," Shelby said calmly. She hugged Beth to her and rubbed her back.

"She tried to bite me too, but I pulled my hand away," Rachel went on. "And then we came in here."

"Beth," Shelby scolded gently. "We do not bite."

Rachel wished the reprimands she received were usually that soft and soothing. She bit back a sarcastic smirk as she imagined her mother softly saying, 'Rachel, we do not swear.' A nod and a kiss on the head and Rachel could have been on her way. Nope, she got soap and a lecture about the importance of Beth not saying such words. Whatever, Beth.

Beth hugged tightly to Shelby and gave Rachel a watery glare. Rachel was about to get one of Beth's cups out and pour her some juice, but she stopped and changed directions. She wasn't going to get her anything if Beth was going to stare at her like that.

"Is it nap time?" Shelby asked Beth who was now quieting down. "I think so. Where're you going, Rach?"

"I'm going to go and watch a movie upstairs," Rachel said. A nap actually sounded great. It was early afternoon and it had been a really long morning because Rachel still insisted on getting up and running at 5:30 in the morning despite it being a Saturday. Then her father had shown up and that had been a debacle. Combine that with sitting out in the sun for so long and Beth's tantrum, Rachel felt worn out. Not that she was ever going to admit that she needed a nap though. No way. She wasn't some little kid who needed to sleep in the middle of the day.

It didn't take very long for Shelby to get Beth to sleep after she was given some juice and her diaper was changed. Beth was content with her blanket and pacifier as her mother rocked her in her room. Shelby loved holding her ever growing girl while she slept because she knew the days of her being this small were shrinking. Her baby girl was growing up so fast.

After twenty minutes, Shelby got Beth settled in her crib and went to find Rachel to see what she was watching. It would be nice just to hang out for a while, especially after everything that happened with Henry that morning.

Shelby climbed the stairs to the music room where Rachel said she'd be and was surprised when she looked in and didn't see her even though the TV was on. Shelby walked further into the room and looked over the back of the couch and saw Rachel curled up and fast asleep. Shelby picked up a folded blanket that was on another chair and spread it out over her daughter and then lowered the volume some on the TV. She moved some hair away from Rachel's face and lightly kissed her head before quietly making her way from the room. It looked like it was nap time at the Corcoran house and Shelby was not going to argue with that.

The nap did Beth a world of good because all signs of the cranky child were gone when she woke up. She was smiling and laughing with Rachel during dinner. Rachel happily shared some of her meal with Beth and Shelby was glad to see they were back to being friends now.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, Rach?" Shelby looked up at her.

"Can Quinn and Santana stay the night on Friday?" Rachel asked. "Since it's the last day of school? It'll be a celebration of sorts."

"I don't see why not," Shelby said. "Not Brittany too?"

"Santana said she's busy," Rachel said with a shrug.

"Oh. Well no matter, tell them they can stay," Shelby said. "Are you excited about that this is the last week of school?"

"Yeah," Rachel smiled. "I'm looking forward to getting to relax and go swimming and just hanging out. I've never gotten to do that much. I liked being in school because I always got to see people. This summer will be so different."

"It's going to be wonderful," Shelby said.

Rachel had to admit that she was really excited. She was looking forward to not having to worry about school and getting to spend more time with her mom. Not every waking moment or anything, but it'd be fun to just be able to do whatever she wanted when she wanted. It was so different this summer. She had her friends and a car and her mom. All she had to do was make it through this last week of school and she'd be free.

"Do you want to watch a movie tonight?" Rachel asked as they were finishing up dinner.

"Sure," Shelby said. "What do you feel like?"

"Anything," Rachel said. "I'll go pick something out and get it ready."

"The dishes need to be done first," Shelby reminded her. It was one of Rachel's chores.

Rachel sighed and stood up and grabbed her plate and glass. "Get Beth to do the dishes."

Shelby laughed and glanced at Beth who was taking a long sip of her milk. "How about we let her be able to reach the sink first?"

"Fine," Rachel sighed.

"I'll get her cleaned up while you clean up in here and then you can pick out a movie," Shelby said.

"Ok," Rachel said.

Rachel waited until her mother and Beth were gone from the room before rolling her eyes and starting to load the dishwasher. She was going to take great satisfaction in watching Beth have to do the dishes one day years from now when she was home visiting and it was her little sister's chore.

Monday morning in school Rachel found Quinn and Santana by their lockers and they talked about their plans for their upcoming Friday sleepover-sneak out adventure.

"Tell me again why we have to do this at my house?" Rachel asked. "Why aren't we sneaking out of one of your houses?"

"My dad works late that night and won't get home from the hospital until around one in the morning and we'll already be gone," Santana said. "He'd notice right away when he checks on us."

"I don't know," Quinn shrugged. "It never came up to have it at my house. Besides if we get there early and hang out, we can check on the pool."

"And I was thinking that we should do something for your mom," Santana said. "Something really nice so that she'll be happy with us all night."

"Like what?" Rachel asked.

"We should make her dinner," Santana said.

"That would be fun," Quinn agreed.

"I can't cook anything," Rachel told them.

"She's not lying," Quinn said to Santana.

"It's whatever," Santana said. "You won't have to do anything. But we'll get her all full and happy and content and give her a couple glasses of wine and hopefully she'll sleep soundly all night."

"You want to give my mother lots of alcohol so she'll pass out?" Rachel asked incredulously. "What if Beth needs her in the middle of the night?"

"Relax, shorty, I'm not talking about getting her drunk," Santana said. "Just a satisfying meal to make her even more sleepy. We'll slip out and back in and she won't ever be the wiser. Are you worried about getting caught?"

"No," Rachel said. "I mean, we might, I guess, but I'm willing to take that chance. But listen, we can't drink."

"At the party?" Santana asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I'm not going to and since it's my house we're sneaking back into and my mother we'd have to face, I don't think you guys should either."

"I hadn't planned on it," Quinn said.

Rachel and Quinn both looked at Santana.

"God, fine, I won't drink," Santana said. She actually really hadn't planned on it either. Maybe a beer or something, but she wouldn't if her friends didn't want her to. She wasn't stupid and she knew that it could be dangerous to drink around all those people she didn't know in a house she wasn't familiar with. It was a completely different situation at the gathering at Quinn's house all those months ago; she was only supposed to be with people she knew and trusted and they were going to crash at Quinn's the night. Besides, it would be a lot of fun to watch the rest of the drunk kids making fools of themselves.

"Thanks," Rachel said sincerely. "My mom will forgive sneaking out a lot more than she'd forgive one of us drinking."

"No problem," Santana said. She left off any hints of the fact that Shelby Corcoran scared the crap out of her and no way was she going to risk that woman finding her drunk.

Friday afternoon arrived and Rachel bounded into her house a free woman. The entire summer lay ahead of her in all its glory and Rachel couldn't wait to get it started. The pool would be finished and ready by next weekend and while Rachel was sad to see the construction workers go, she was certainly ready to go swimming whenever she wanted to. Shelby had invited their family and some other people over for a pool party to celebrate its opening. Rachel was probably more excited about that than the party she was going to that night.

"Hey, sweetheart," Shelby said when she saw Rachel come into the house.

"Hi," Rachel said happily and she dropped her book bag on the ground and hugged her mother dramatically. "I'm free."

"Yes, you are," Shelby smiled. She was looking forward to the extra time she'd get to spend with Rachel all summer. "Let's see that report card."

"Is it really so important?" Rachel asked. She wasn't worried, she knew it was great. But she liked playing with her mom.

"It is if you want to get out of having a bedtime all summer," Shelby said.

"Seriously?" Rachel asked. She was rather shocked at that.

"That depends on what your report card says," Shelby teased her. She knew it was going to be good. No bedtime seemed like an easy thing to do for Rachel over the summer. And maybe, just maybe, Shelby could get her kid to sleep in a little bit because of it.

"Here," Rachel said as she dug it out of her bag and handed it to her mother.

"Let's see here…" Shelby said as she glanced it over. All A's and one B. "This is wonderful, honey."

"Thanks!" Rachel beamed at the praise.

"Consider your bedtime rescinded until any such time I deem it appropriate again," Shelby said with a bit of flair.

"Thanks, Mom," Rachel said.

"My pleasure, sweetheart. When are Quinn and Santana supposed to be here?" Shelby asked.

"In a little while," Rachel answered. "They both needed to go home and get their stuff before they could come over. And Quinn is going to go and pick up Santana and then they'll be here."

"Sounds perfect."

When Quinn and Santana arrived they headed straight to Rachel's room to drop their bags off and greet the girl. There was a queen sized air mattress on the ground waiting to be blown up. Quinn and Santana would share that later. Shelby had asked if one of two of them wanted to stay in the guest room, but that offer had been declined. That wouldn't make a real sleepover, she'd been told.

"Hey, Coach C," Santana said as she and the other two teens approached Shelby in the kitchen. "Can we cook dinner for you tonight?"

"Excuse me?" Shelby laughed.

"We want to cook dinner for you," Quinn said. "Well, for all of us, but mostly as a thank you for having us over."

"Oh, you guys don't have to do that," Shelby said. "I'm happy to have you."

"I love to cook," Santana said. "I've been cooking with my parents forever. It'll be fun."

"I don't know…" Shelby said and she looked over at Rachel.

"We won't let her burn anything down," Quinn said. "Please."

Shelby glanced at the girls and they all seemed so eager and who knows, maybe Rachel would learn something. And it's not like she was leaving the house so she'd be here if they needed any help or if Rachel did indeed cause some mayhem in her kitchen. And if it didn't work out, they'd get some take-out.

"Ok," Shelby said. "That sounds lovely. Thank you very much. Let me know if you need any help with anything."

"We will," Santana said. "We'll let you know when it's ready."

Shelby let them shoo her out of her kitchen even as she gave instructions to not destroy it. She had no idea what they were going to make, but this should be good. And then she remembered the one time Rachel tried to make her toast and coffee and she shuddered. She'd hold off judgment on whether it was good until later.

The girls got to work on two meals, one for Rachel and one for the rest of them. Shelby told Santana she could make anything that was in there and available so Santana went for the best.

"You're making steaks?" Rachel asked when she saw the ingredients on the counter.

"And baked potatoes and mixed vegetables," Santana answered. "And pasta for you."

"You can do that?" Rachel asked, her voice full of awe.

"Yeah," Santana laughed. Her parents loved to cook and she'd been cooking right along with them for ages. She could make tons of meals.

"It's a great meal for red wine too," Santana added. "Your mom is going to love it."

Plus it was a heavy meal and it was already later than they normally ate dinner. With any luck they could get Shelby full and happy and sleepy and off to bed so they could get out of there.

Shelby had to admit that the smells coming from the kitchen were amazing and she wanted to badly to go in there and see what they were cooking. But she had promised she would stay out unless they needed her and she was enjoying hearing the talking and laughter of the three girls as they cooked. She sent up a silent prayer for this summer to take it's time and not fly by. She would only have this summer and the next with Rachel in her house before the girl left for New York City and college and her life. Much like she felt when she was holding Beth while she slept, Shelby wanted to keep Rachel a kid and in her arms as long as possible.

Rachel watched as Santana looked over her mother's modest wine collection until she found the bottle she wanted.

"Why are you opening it now?" Rachel asked as Santana worked to get the cork out.

"So it can breathe for a little bit," Quinn said answered for her friend. "It helps it taste better."

"Oh," Rachel said. She felt pretty unworldly next to her friends who obviously knew about all of this stuff. She suddenly felt childish at not knowing what was going on the kitchen. Her two friends were older and clearly more experienced in a wide range of things, the least of which was knowing that wine needed to breathe before it was served. She had missed so much in the years she'd spent with no real parents and no real friends.

"Rach, you want to set the table?" Quinn asked. "It'll all be ready in about fifteen minutes."

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I'm going to ask if we can use the dining room instead of just eating in here."

"Ok," Santana said.

"Hey, Mom," Rachel said as she went into the living room and saw Shelby and Beth sitting together on the floor playing.

"Yeah?"

"Can we eat in the dining room instead of the kitchen?"

"Of course," Shelby said. "Do you guys need help with anything?"

"No," Rachel shook her head. "Mom?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?" Shelby looked up at her again and noticed the faraway look in Rachel's eyes. "What is it?"

Rachel sat down on the floor next to her and asked, "Did you know that wine needs to breathe?"

Shelby was thrown for a second because the question seemed to come out of nowhere. "Yes. If you open a bottle a little while before it's going to be served it lets the air in and helps mellow out the flavor a bit, especially for red wine."

"Oh," Rachel said. "I didn't know that."

"Well, you don't have much experience with wine," Shelby said.

"Do you think I'll ever know things like that?"

"Things like what?" Shelby asked gently. She wasn't sure where this was going.

"Just things," Rachel answered. "Things that everyone knows because you just know them."

"What's wrong?" Shelby asked.

"Nothing," Rachel mumbled. "I just feel like I'm so behind sometimes and that I don't know so many things because no one was around to tell me that you've got to let red wine breathe before you serve it or that baked potatoes take forever to cook. I figured out a lot of things by myself, but it wasn't the same. It doesn't feel the same. How am I supposed to go and live by myself in New York City if I don't know that you've got to let red wine breathe before you drink it?"

Shelby put a hand up and rubbed Rachel's arm and then cupped her cheek. "You're going to do great in New York City, Rachel. I'm so sorry you missed out on so many things and experiences. I want to give all of those back to you, I promise you I do. But many of those things come out in everyday moments, like tonight. You learned about red wine and you can carry that with you from here on out. You had three years where you weren't being guided, but you were still learning. Maybe not about red wine and baked potatoes, but you gained and insights into the world that usually takes many people a lot longer to learn. And for the rest, well you've just got to be patient. Those things you want to know come with time. And if you've ever got something you don't understand or feel you should already know, come to me and we'll talk about it."

"But Quinn and Santana already knew that about wine," Rachel said.

"And the three of you have had vastly different life experiences," Shelby said. "You're almost a year younger than they are for one. Two, Santana has been raised in such a different way than you were. Quinn went through something you can't imagine. But that's what makes the world really work. There's not a set list of life experiences you check off as you get older. Everyone is different and it's that difference that you bring to the table that makes you so special. You three can share and learn from each other and that's the real strength of your friendship. They love you Rach, whether you know about red wine or not."

Rachel looked down and wrung her hands together and finally admitted, "There are times when I still feel like I'm twelve years old."

Shelby pulled the girl close and Rachel rested her head on her mom's shoulder.

"Rachel, you do not need to be ashamed of that," Shelby said. "There is nothing I wish more than to have found you sooner and brought you into my life. I also want you to know that it is ok to feel like that little girl sometimes. You don't have to hide that from me. I know you still get confused and that's ok. You've only been living with me for nine months. Life is not solved and hurts are not undone and little girls are not meant to grow up in nine months. So you need to stop worrying about things you may not know and how that affects your future and focus on being you right now. That is the most important thing."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked.

"I promise," Shelby told her. "And Rachel, just so we're clear, I love those glimpses of my little twelve-year-old girl. She is so special to me."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Absolutely," Shelby assured her. "Whether she's cuddled in my bed with me or singing in the shower or I've got her turned over my knee," Shelby smiled when Rachel blushed, "I love her so much. I love her more than she'll ever know. And I want the sixteen-year-old I've got in front of me right now to never forget that."

"I won't, Mama," Rachel assured her. She leaned into Shelby and let herself be held.

Santana stepped into the living room a couple minutes later and rolled her eyes when she saw Rachel leaning into Shelby and the two of them sitting together.

"I thought you were coming to ask about setting the table, not to take a nap," Santana said sarcastically.

"Shut up, Santana," Rachel said now that their moment was gone.

"Be nice," Shelby said. "Go back and set the table."

"Ok," Rachel dragged the word out and got to her feet.

"It'll be ready in a few minutes," Santana said. "So if you want, you can get your rugrat up and ready while the other one sets the table."

Shelby laughed but Rachel shoved her slightly when she walked past.

"Beth and I will be there in a few minutes," Shelby said.

Shelby looked over the spread of food on the table and she was duly impressed. It all looked and smelled amazing and she started to wonder if she could get Santana and Quinn to come over and cook for her more often. She should make that a condition of every sleepover; participants must cook dinner for the mom.

The girls were carrying out drinks and Shelby eyed them all suspiciously when a full glass of red wine was placed in front of her. At least now she knew why Rachel was thinking about it.

"I'm going to trust that none of you had even a drop of this," Shelby said seriously.

"Not a drop, Ms. Corcoran, we swear," Santana said.

Shelby looked from each girl to the next and finally nodded her head. She trusted them.

The meal was incredible and the girls all shared a smile when Shelby accepted a second glass of wine, though not a full one. Since the dinner was later than normal, it was creeping up on Beth's bedtime and Rachel could tell she was growing tired as she sat in her high chair.

"Mom, why don't you let us give Beth a bath and get her ready for bed," Rachel suggested.

"No," Shelby said. "You guys are over here to hang out and have fun and not do all of this work.

"We don't mind," Rachel said. Beth is funny in the bath.

"Ok, if you want to," Shelby relented. "I'll clean up the kitchen and start the dishes while you guys do that."

"No, that's ok, we can-"

"I insist," Shelby cut Santana off. "It's only fair after getting to enjoy such a wonderful meal."

The girls agreed and Shelby went into the kitchen to start cleaning the dishes. She saw the wine bottle sitting out and tested it for weight. She trusted the girls, but she couldn't help but checking. Once she was satisfied, she poured herself another glass to drink while she worked. She then closed up the bottle of wine and put it away. She nursed the glass for a while; she wasn't anywhere near feeling the effects of the alcohol, but she had certainly enjoyed having a glass with such a great meal.

By eleven that night, Beth had been asleep for hours and Shelby had just gone into Rachel's room and kissed her goodnight. She told them to take it downstairs if they felt they were going to start making a bunch of noises. They promised she wouldn't hear a peep from them.

"What are you doing?" Santana asked. She was curious as to why Rachel was sitting at her desk writing. She thought they were about to leave for the party. They'd been the last hour getting themselves ready.

"Writing a note for my mom," Rachel answered.

"Are you serious?" Santana asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I don't want her to worry if she does wake up and realize we're gone. If I tell her where we are when we'll be back, she might not get so mad."

"If it makes you feel better," Santana said before going back into the bathroom with Quinn to check herself in the mirror again.

"It does," Rachel said. She knew her mom and she knew what her reaction would be if she woke up and found them all missing. And Rachel didn't fancy being dragged out of a party by her mother in the middle of the night. If she could prevent that from happening, she would.

The girls did their best to make the beds look like they were being slept in and then Rachel left the note near the pillow so it would be seen if Shelby got close. Rachel stepped back into the bathroom and shut the door and Quinn and Santana waited. Santana tried to stop herself, but she couldn't help but picking up the note to see what was written.

_Mama,_

_I'm sorry! Quinn, Santana, and I went to a party tonight. It's an end of school celebration that happens every year. I didn't think I'd ever be able to go so I'm excited. I promise that none of us will have anything to drink and I promise that we will be home between 3:30 and 4:00. Please don't be mad if you find out we snuck out. I love you!_

_Rachel_

Santana was about to put it back, but her nerves got the best of her and she took it over to Rachel's desk to add her own note.

_Ms. Corcoran,_

_We all went to the party for a few hours and will be back before you know it. I won't drink and I promise to look out for Quinn and Rachel but I know they won't drink either. If you do find us gone, please don't call my parents in the middle of the night. My dad works late at the hospital tonight and won't get home until after midnight so he'll be tired. My mom will get up early and let him sleep. Don't be mad. We're all safe. _

_Santana_

"Do you want to add anything?" Santana asked Quinn. She noticed that Rachel was now out of the bathroom and waiting with Quinn.

"No," Quinn rolled her eyes. Since when had she and Santana ever left a note when sneaking out? "Come on, we need to go."

The note was returned to its place on the bed and Rachel looked in on Shelby one more time and found her mother sound asleep. The book she had been reading was lying at her side where she dropped it. The girls then quietly slipped form the house and walked a few blocks to the empty church parking lot where Santana had left her car. They didn't want to turn a car on in the driveway and risk waking Shelby up. Rachel had learned that lesson from the time her mother thought she was someone breaking into the house.

The girls were having so much fun at the party and not one of them had broken their promise to drink. They were relying on bottles of water and having a great time. They were dancing and talking and enjoying the thump of the loud music and atmosphere. Quinn and Santana easily moved from one circle to the next because this was not their first proper high school party. They never left Rachel out though and the younger girl was enjoying herself immensely.

"Hey!" Brittany shouted as she bounded up to them and held out two cups. "I got you guys some drinks."

"Hey, Britt," Santana said. "I didn't think you were coming to this tonight.

"I changed my mind," Brittany said. "Some of the other Cheerios are here and they invited me. I've been thinking of joining again next year."

"But we quit because Coach said we couldn't be on Cheerios and in glee," Quinn said. "She wanted to control who our friends were."

Rachel stayed silent and out of the way because she was the cause of that ultimatum from Sue Sylvester.

"But I miss it," Brittany whined. She'd clear been drinking. "Coach will let me do both. Here, have a drink."

"What if she won't let you do both?" Santana wanted to know. She ignored the cup full of beer that was being shoved her way.

"I don't know," Brittany said. "But it's summer so I don't care. I'll ask her in September. Have a drink."

"I don't want a drink, Britt," Santana said. "Maybe you shouldn't have anymore either."

"I'm fine," Brittany waved her off. "Look there's Missy. I'm going to go dance."

"Britt, give me those cups," Quinn said.

"Quinn, you promised," Rachel said when Brittany handed them over.

"I'm not going to drink them," Quinn said as she set them on a table, careful not to spill any. "But maybe she won't either. She'll start to dance and forget she had them."

"Oh ok."

Santana didn't know what to feel about how Brittany was acting. She didn't want to admit it to anyone yet, but it felt like they were growing apart over the last few weeks. She kept making excuses as to why Brittany wasn't able to hang out or have sleepovers and stuff like that. She was torn as she watched her walk away to dance with some other girls. She knew she didn't want to hang out with Brittany, but she couldn't leave her here drunk. Anything could happen to her. But she couldn't abandon Rachel and Quinn either and she didn't want to. Truth be told, it wasn't just Brittany who was changing and Santana found that she enjoyed hanging out with Quinn and Rachel so much more most of the time. It wasn't about sex, but about true companionship. Those two were her friends in the truest sense and Brittany was pulling away. Brittany didn't want to make out as much and Brittany had even asked her once if Santana minded if she went back to making out with boys for a while because she missed it. It had broken Santana's heart. What made it even worse was that Brittany didn't see it as anything but an innocent question and didn't know why Santana had been devastated. But now here she was dancing all over another girl. And she was ready to go back to the Cheerios after Coach told them they couldn't hang out with Rachel or anyone else in glee. Santana just didn't get it. But she couldn't walk away from her that night until she knew that Brittany would make it home safely.

"Steph," Santana called out to an old friend from the Cheerios. "Did you come here with Brittany tonight?"

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "Her and Missy and Angela."

"How are you all getting home?" Santana asked.

"I'm driving," Stephanie said.

"Are you ok?" Santana asked seriously.

"Yeah. I haven't had anything to drink, I swear," Stephanie said. "Angela covered for me the last party we were at didn't drink so she could drive me home. So I'm returning the favor."

"Make sure Brittany gets home safely."

"I will, I promise."

"Thanks," Santana smiled at her.

"Don't worry about it," Stephanie said. "You guys be safe as well."

Santana sent one last look at Brittany and then parted ways to join up with Quinn and Rachel. The music was intense and her friends were already back to dancing and Santana joined right in.

After a few hours of dancing and laughing and soaking in the party, Rachel was worn out. All three girls were sweating and smiling as another song ended and they stopped to catch their breath. Rachel glanced down at her watch and saw that it was already 3:32.

"We have to get going," Rachel said with a sigh.

It was a shame too because the party was still going strong. But the note said that they'd be home soon and she didn't want to go back on that. She was trying to be as honest about this sneaking out as possible.

"Yeah," Santana agreed.

Santana scanned the room again and saw Stephanie dancing with Britt and Missy and she gave Santana a thumb's up. Santana nodded her thanks and then they headed for the door. Rachel's first end of the year party had been a success.

They once again parked in the church lot down the street and walked to the house. The air wasn't exactly cool, but it was pleasant and fresh and was welcome after the heat inside the party.

"Shh," Rachel whispered when they reached the front door.

She turned the key slowly in the lock and opened the door and they crept inside. The lights were off and nothing indicated that Shelby had been awake or noticed they were gone. By the time they reached Rachel's bedroom, they knew they had gotten away with it and to be honest, Rachel was stunned. She really did expect to get caught. She wasn't afraid of it, but she expected it.

"I can't believe it," Rachel whispered and her face broke out into a smile as she looked at her friends. "We did it."

They were all so proud of themselves; the plan had worked from start to finish. The girls quickly changed into some pajamas and washed their faces and brushed their teeth so they could go to bed. Rachel turned her blankets back and stopped short when she saw the note she'd written still in the bed. Except it looked different. Rachel reached down and picked it up and gasped lightly.

"What is it?" Quinn asked in a whisper.

Rachel's face fell and she started to read:

_Rachel,_

_I hope you had a great time! I sure hope the party was worth it. I appreciate you giving me specifics of when you would be back. Now I have a time for you. All three of you need to be awake and downstairs at 8:30, no exceptions. I love you too._

_Mom_

_Santana,_

_Thank you for your note and your promises not to drink. Don't worry; I did not call your parents and disturb them. _

_Coach Corcoran_

_P.S. I better not even suspect that any of you were drinking. Sleep well, my dears. _

Rachel sat down dejectedly on the bed and looked at the note again. She knew they were going to get caught! She wished her mother hadn't been so vague about what they needed to be downstairs for at 8:30 in the morning. She looked at her clock and saw that it was already 4:40. Great.

"I can't believe she found out," Santana whispered.

"I can't believe she's not in here trying to kill us all," Quinn said.

"What do you think she's going to do in the morning?" Santana asked.

Quinn looked at Rachel who looked down at her hands.

"Who knows," Quinn answered.

"We better get some sleep," Rachel said. "I'll set my alarm so we can get up in time."

The other girls nodded and they all climbed under the covers. At least the party had been awesome. Shelby couldn't take that away from them.

Shelby was awake in her room and she had listened for the girls to come in and she was glad to see that they were indeed back when they said they'd be. Her panic had been short lived and she'd even cracked a smile when she saw the note. Leave it to her daughter…

Shelby stayed awake and listened for the noise to die down in Rachel's room before making her way over there. She wanted to check on them, but not until they were settled. She saw that the light was off and quietly opened the door. She could tell immediately that Rachel wasn't quiet asleep, but she was almost there. Quinn was the same way and Santana's eyes were fluttering.

Shelby went to Rachel first and pulled the blankets tight to her chin.

"Did you have fun?" Shelby whispered lightly.

"Yes, Mama," Rachel mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"Shhh," Shelby cooed. "Did you drink?"

"No," Rachel started to breathe more deeply.

"I love you." She placed a soft kiss on Rachel's temple.

"I love you…" Rachel drifted off into a deeper sleep.

Shelby moved to that air mattress next and knelt down near Quinn.

"Quinn, did you drink?" Shelby whispered.

"No, Shelby," Quinn murmured much like Rachel had.

"Go to sleep, sweetheart. I love you," Shelby said with a kiss to her head.

"Me too," Quinn said.

"Santana," Shelby reached over Quinn and put a hand on Santana's arm. "Did you drink?"

"No, Coach," Santana mumbled. "Britt…"

"I love you, Santana," Shelby would have kissed her head too if she could have reached her.

"Ok," Santana said and she rolled away.

Shelby left the room satisfied that the girls were home and in their beds safely and she was also convinced that none of them had touched alcohol and that made her smile. She headed back to her own room to catch a couple more hours of sleep.

The morning came much too early for the girls' liking, but they dragged themselves out of bed all the same. None of them were going to disobey the instructions left in Shelby's note. But even so, they waited until the last possible moment to make their way downstairs. Santana shut her eyes when she reached the bottom step because she heard it before she saw it. All three girls exchanged a glance before walking into the kitchen while still in pajamas and sporting tired eyes.

Maribel Lopez, Judy Fabray, and Shelby all looked from their coffee cups to greet their shocked daughters.

**A/N – That's all for this chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. Your feedback is so important to me. Thank you! **


	96. Chapter 96

**A/N – Here's the next chapter! Thank you all so much for all of your reviews and messages and for the fact that I'm still getting alerts and faves for this story 95 chapters into it. You guys are all so amazing. Thank you so much for sticking with me and offering me constant support. **

**This is a gentle reminder that this story is nearing its end. I've probably only got 5 or 6 more chapters left to go. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

"Good morning, ladies!" Shelby said brightly when the girls walked into the kitchen.

Judy and Maribel smiled as well. Their girls looked so tired and so shocked that it was hard not to smile at them.

Rachel wanted to groan. She wanted to roll her eyes. But she also knew better. Though she hardly felt that it was fair for their mothers to ambush them this early in the morning. They couldn't have at least let them sleep a few more hours? They'd left a note for crying out loud!

"Morning," Rachel mumbled.

The girls all stood in the doorway of the kitchen as if they were worried about crossing the threshold and going all the way in. They'd stay right there where it was safe. All three were just in pajama bottoms and t-shirts and Quinn yawned. The mothers loved the disheveled because it made the girls look much younger.

"Come on in," Shelby said. "Have a seat. We want to talk to you."

The girls finally walked into the room and sat at the table. Shelby had brought in extra chairs from the dining room so they would all fit. They each sat by their mother and Rachel immediately reached for Shelby's coffee cup and took a sip. Judy rubbed Quinn's back kindly when the girl did the same with her mother's coffee. Santana propped her head up in her hands with her elbows on the table until Maribel patted her knee and made her sit up properly.

"Did you girls have fun last night?" Maribel Lopez asked.

Three heads nodded.

"I'm so glad," Shelby said. "Don't get me wrong, I was panicked at first when I went to check on my daughter and her friends that were in my care and realized they weren't in the room or the house. I didn't see it at first. The way you had the beds done made it look like someone was in them, but it didn't take long to realize they were empty. So I assumed you were all downstairs watching a movie or something. No, no one was there. Maybe you were up in the music room. No, it was empty too."

Rachel wanted roll her eyes at Shelby's dramatic retelling of the night before.

"I even checked in Beth's room," Shelby continued. "At least one of my baby girls was fast asleep in her bed like she was supposed to be."

"Mom," Rachel whined, hoping she'd get to the point soon.

"I went back to check your room again, just to be sure, and that's when I found the note. It was propped up against the pillows, just under the blankets," Shelby explained for the other moms.

Maribel and Judy were loving this. Somehow, deep down, neither mother was surprised to get a call that early in the morning. They didn't expect it but it wasn't a shock either.

"Thank you for leaving me the note," Shelby said seriously. "That was very thoughtful and considerate of you. I appreciate you taking my feelings into account when deciding to sneak out. And Santana, thank you for adding to it."

Shelby had gotten quite a laugh at seeing her young scaredy cat make sure that her whereabouts and promises of good behavior were on the record.

"I had no idea where Quinn was," Shelby said lightly and smiled over at the girl. "She didn't leave me a note."

Quinn just rolled her eyes, but returned the small smile. She'd never left a note when sneaking out in her life.

"I was too busy keeping guard to write a note," Quinn fibbed in a tone that matched Shelby's playfulness. "I knew you'd give me the benefit of the doubt because you love me so much."

"I suppose this time I can," Shelby said.

Quinn smiled and reached for her mother's coffee again. So far this wasn't going as badly as any of the girls thought it might when they stepped into the room and saw their mothers there.

"And I want to say thank you for promising me you wouldn't drink and for upholding that promise," Shelby said. "You are all good girls and I'm glad you took your safety and the control of yourselves seriously. Anything can happen if you put yourselves in that kind of position of losing control."

The girls all exchanged a look and they each knew that they were thinking about Brittany. Santana trusted Stephanie, her friend at the party, but she was going to check on Brittany as well as soon as she got the chance.

"But ladies, let me be clear," Shelby said, "I thank you for leaving me the note, but I do condone the sneaking out. That is never allowed. I know that Rachel knows that."

"So does Santana," Maribel spoke up and gave her daughter a disapproving look. This was not the first time she'd been caught sneaking out.

"And so does Quinn," Judy said. She'd caught Quinn doing this a few times in the past as well.

"Since you guys were here at my house, I've got a punishment for all three of you," Shelby said. "None of you will be allowed in the pool when it opens next weekend."

"But, Mom!" Rachel whined. "What about the party?"

"The party is still going on and you will be here to help, but you won't be swimming," Shelby said. She knew how the much the girls, especially Rachel, were looking forward to it.

"We'll be here too," Judy said. "Quinn will help with whatever needs to be done as well."

"And you know you can count Santana in as well," Maribel said. "I'll be out of town next weekend to visit my mother or else I'd be here too."

"Wonderful," Shelby said. "There's going to be a lot to get done that weekend."

The mothers had all talked about this before the girls woke up and they agreed it to be an appropriate punishment from Shelby for all the girls since she was the one who discovered and dealt with their absence in the middle of the night. They would each be handing out their own punishments as well.

"This sucks," Rachel sulked. Her whole family was going to be here and she was going to have to sit out like some dumb troublemaker. And the party was Saturday and from the sounds of it, she wouldn't be able to go swimming Sunday either. She'd been looking forward to this for a month.

"Rachel," Shelby warned.

"Is that it?" Santana asked. She was trying to keep the hopeful tone out of her voice. She could handle of weekend with no swimming. They had all summer to go swimming.

"That and you're grounded for the week," Maribel said.

"As are you, Quinnie," Judy said.

"And you, Rachel," Shelby added.

"But-"

"Through Friday," Shelby continued. "Saturday morning you are free women except for going swimming over the weekend."

Rachel slumped back in her chair and sighed, but didn't offer any other verbal protest. She wasn't upset at being in trouble and she was still glad they'd gone to the party last night because they'd had a lot of fun, but who wanted to be grounded the first week of summer vacation? Despite knowing that it was her transgressions that landed her in this position, Rachel thought it was highly unfair to be grounded this upcoming week.

Shelby watched her daughter and smirked. She could tell that Rachel was mad about not having gotten away with this scott free. Poor baby. The girls are lucky they left a note and so Shelby didn't have to hunt them down in the middle of the night. None of them would have been happy if that had happened.

"Everyone understand?" Shelby asked the three girls.

There was a grumbling of responses that seemed to be a yes, but none of the adults were sure.

"Santana," Maribel said quietly, but sharply and the same time Judy said Quinn's name. Shelby turned a withering stare on her daughter.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, Shelby."

"Yes, Coach C."

Much better.

"Now, why don't you girls go and get showered and dressed and then we can all go out for breakfast," Shelby said. "Rachel, you can use my bathroom and Quinn and Santana you two can decide who gets Rachel's bathroom and who gets the hall."

"Don't take forever," Maribel said. "You're all just hanging out with us."

That instruction would fall on deaf ears and all the adults knew it. The girls weren't going out, especially with their mothers, looking anything but great.

The girls all got up from the table and started out of the room only to be stopped when Shelby spoke up.

"Hey, Santana," Shelby waited until the girl was turned around and looking at her. "How about instead of calling me Coach you call me Shelby from now on."

"Really?" Santana asked.

"Yep," Shelby smiled at how her face and eyes lit up. "That doesn't mean you can get away with anything though. As Shelby or Coach, I've still got my eye on you." She wanted to keep that bit of fear that Santana had for her if for no other reason than Shelby thought it was really cute.

"Of course, I know," Santana said quickly. She missed Shelby winking at Maribel.

"Good. No all of you go on," Shelby said.

Santana's wide smile could be seen by everyone when they left the room.

Quinn took the hall bathroom and Santana used Rachel's and Rachel dragged her feet in getting to her mother's bathroom. She went into her room and grabbed some clothes to put on and then went into Beth's room when she heard the girl up and playing. Shelby had let Beth sleep in as late as possible so they could talk with the teens. In fact, Shelby was on her way up there so she could get her dressed and ready while the other girls showered.

"Your mother is being impossible," Rachel said to Beth as she entered the nursery.

"Mach," Beth greeted and stood up in her crib where she had been playing.

Rachel put her clothes down in the rocking chair and picked Beth up.

"We left her a note and we're all still grounded," Rachel complained. "And I can't go swimming next weekend." Rachel was talking like it was the end of the world and she'd never get to go swimming in that new pool again. "We just wanted to have some fun. I've never gotten the chance to go to a party like that. The mess at Quinn's house last year doesn't count."

Shelby smiled in the hallway as she listened to her girls talk.

"It was a lot of fun though, Beth," Rachel continued. "Don't tell Mom, but it was kind of worth it. Not that I think we should be grounded at all. I thought I was helping by leaving a note in the first place."

"You were," Shelby interrupted and came into the room.

"Mom!" Rachel gasped in surprise as she spun around and looked at the woman. Beth laughed at the quick motion and wanted Rachel to keep spinning.

"You'd be in a lot more trouble if there hadn't been a note explaining where you were and what was going on," Shelby said.

"Then why are we grounded?" Rachel whined.

"I said a lot more trouble, not that you wouldn't be in any trouble at all," Shelby told her. "And come on, you need to get in the shower."

Shelby picked up Rachel's clothes and carried them into her room with both girls following because Beth was still in Rachel's arms. She set the clothes on the counter in the bathroom and turned the shower on for Rachel and then went back out to the room where the girls were waiting.

"Rach, you snuck out," Shelby said when she noticed the pout on Rachel's lips. "You know that's not allowed."

"How else could we go to the party?" Rachel asked.

"You could have asked me," Shelby said.

Rachel looked at her mother suspiciously and shook her head. "Like you would have let us go."

"If you had taken the time to talk to me and explained why it was important to you, then yes, I would have," Shelby said. "Do you think I never want you to go out and have fun with your friends? I know those parties are fun. I know how much you want to get to participate in those things; to have a high school experience and I know this is the first time you've ever had the opportunity."

"You seriously would have said yes?" Rachel asked. She was skeptical. "There were no parents and there was drinking."

Shelby had to admit that was a huge disadvantage of it, but she liked to think she would have said yes. Ok, she'd have considered it. No, probably not. Maybe this hadn't been her best argument.

"I very well might have," Shelby said almost believably. "I could have given you a curfew and I would have known exactly where you were and when you'd be back."

"But you had all of that with the note we left," Rachel said.

"Yes, but sweetheart, in instances like these, you don't get to decide that you just want to go and that's that," Shelby said. "And maybe I could have offered a party here for you and your friends without alcohol."

Once again that morning Rachel had to refrain from rolling her eyes. She didn't want that. She had wanted to go to that party. What she had said to Beth was true. Sneaking out was worth it. And she still didn't think the grounding and missing the party was warranted because she had given her mother all of the information she wanted in the note. Parents just didn't understand.

"I'm sorry we worried you," Rachel said. It was mostly an act because she had figured out that it was now best to give in and let her mother think she'd accepted it. She doubted they would ever see eye to eye on this.

"Thank you," Shelby smiled at her. "I'm sorry you'll miss out on the party next weekend, but you all broke the rules. You were all supposed to be at the house and it's not fair to the other mothers that I didn't know where their children were, let alone my own."

Oh my god, she'd left a note! Rachel just nodded. They were getting nowhere. She was just going to have to take this unfair punishment. When she was older and had her own teenage daughter, she was going to let her and her friends go to parties and have a good time.

Beth had been watching this conversation with growing boredom. She was ready to get down and play and so she broke up the moment by squirming enough to be let down. It was then that Shelby realized the shower had been running all the time and she ushered Rachel into the bathroom to get ready.

The girls all descended the stairs a while later and Maribel stopped Santana just as the girl was pulling out her phone to send a text messages.

"Sorry, my dear, but you are grounded," Maribel said and she held her hand out for the phone.

Santana looked at Quinn and Rachel and then back at her mom and took a breath.

"I need to check on Brittany," Santana said.

"What do you mean?" Maribel asked.

"She was, um, drunk last night at the party," Santana told her.

"Where is she?" Maribel asked. "Did you leave her there?"

"No," Quinn answered. The mothers were all staring them down now. "Steph, one of the Cheerios, was there with her a couple of other girls. She wasn't drinking and she promised she'd get them home."

"If she didn't have anyone to look after her, we'd have brought her here," Santana said. "I wouldn't have left her there all alone."

Maribel softened her features and nodded. "I know that, Santana. Call whoever you need to make sure she's ok."

While Santana stepped away to make a phone call, Shelby put an arm around Rachel and squeezed her shoulders. She was so proud of the girls not just for abstaining from drinking, but for looking after their friend while they were there. But it also solidified in Shelby's mind that no, she would not have given Rachel permission to go to a party like that. She had to admit that her girl may have thought this one through a little more than she had this time. The note really was a great move. It was a scarily efficient sneak out and while the teenage version of herself was quite proud, the mother was somewhat scared by their forethought. She chuckled to herself and made a mental note to share this revelation with her own mother. Rebecca would be so amused.

"She's home and sleeping, I assume," Santana said when she came back into the room. "Steph took her home last night. Apparently her mom called looking for her at like four in the morning."

"Did you talk to her mom?" Maribel asked.

"No," Santana answered. "Just Steph."

"I'll call her mother later and make sure she's doing ok," Maribel said. The woman had known each other for years through their daughters. Maribel had noticed, though, that the girls didn't spend as much time together anymore. She didn't know if they'd broken up or what because Santana didn't want to talk about it. She would try again that night though because she could see the hurt in Santana's eyes whenever Brittany was mentioned. And now with the drinking thing, Maribel wanted a straight answer.

"I'm glad she's home and safe," Shelby said.

"Yeah..."

"Ok, how about we go and eat," Shelby said.

"Santana," Maribel said knowingly and held her hand out.

Santana sighed and reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out and handed it over to her mother. Maribel had watched her try and hide it away. The other two girls reluctantly parted with their phones as well before they left to enjoy a nice breakfast together.

By Tuesday Rachel was convinced that Beth was on a mission to drive her absolutely insane. Literally. It was clear that Beth wanted her out of the picture and locked away in an institution somewhere. And to make it even worse, Rachel was beginning to realize that her mother sided with Beth on this. Shelby had told Rachel Monday morning that Beth was going to stay home with them all day this week instead of going to the babysitter's house. Katie, Beth's regular sitter, was taking a vacation and it just worked out perfectly that Rachel would be there all day with nothing to do but watch her sister.

Rachel was not pleased. This was a terrible way to start the summer. It sucked to be grounded in the first place, but now she had to watch Beth too. Great. Just great.

Shelby still had her regular students coming by for voice lessons and Rachel wished she could participate in that. At least it would be more interesting than the crap Beth liked on TV.

The girls had just finished lunch and Rachel wanted to get Beth down for a nap. Beth wanted to play.

"It's time for a nap, Beth," Rachel said. She was so exasperated. She didn't know how Katie did this every day.

"No," Beth said.

"Yes," Rachel countered. "You're tired. Come on."

"No!" Beth started to cry.

Rachel just rolled her eyes because this was Beth's trick to get out of everything. She was so glad she far beyond the throwing a fit stage. She'd never yell or stomp her feet to get what she wanted. Shelby walked by with a student and they both glanced into the room to see what the crying was about, but neither stopped on their way to the front door.

"Put your toys down," Rachel said. "We're going to go lay down."

"No!" Beth yelled.

Rachel reached for Beth's hands to pry the toys free, but the little girl moved her hand away and threw a block and hit the TV with it. Rachel spun her head around to look at it to make sure it hadn't been broken.

"Rachel, that TV better not get broken," Shelby admonished as she came into the room. Beth cried harder and reached for Shelby who readily picked her up.

Rachel just looked at her mother like she was crazy. She's not the one who had thrown a block and hi the TV. She wasn't the one sitting there screaming because she wasn't getting her way.

"Don't cry, baby," Shelby cooed to Beth. "I know you're tired."

Beth started to quiet down and rested her head on Shelby's shoulder and looked at Rachel. Rachel turned away and leaned against the couch to hide her annoyance. She'd just sit here and not throw blocks unlike some people in the room getting all of the attention and goodwill. Oh no, Beth was never in trouble. She was a perfect angel.

"Rachel, pick up this mess while I put Beth down for her nap," Shelby instructed as she walked out of the room.

Rachel looked around and 'this mess' was all of Beth's stuff. Why couldn't she pick up her own toys? Rachel got to work on it so she could finish and go to her room. When did she get to the part of the grounding where she had to spend time in her room alone? Rachel would love that right now.

On Wednesday, Beth got into Shelby's office and tore up pages of sheet music she had been looking over to give to some of her students. She also pulled every book she could reach off the shelves. She was having a great time until her mother walked in and saw her.

"Beth, what are you doing?" Shelby said as she walked in the room and picked the girl up. "Rachel!" Shelby yelled for her eldest.

"What?" Rachel asked as she came in the room. "Oh."

"Oh is right," Shelby said. "What was she doing in here? Why weren't you watching her?"

"I went to the bathroom," Rachel defended herself.

"You have to be more careful," Shelby said.

"You know, she does do things on her own," Rachel said. "She knows what she's doing."

"If you had been watching her she wouldn't have been able to get in here in the first place," Shelby said.

"I'm not allowed to go to the bathroom?" Rachel asked incredulously.

"Just make sure you know where she is and what she's doing," Shelby said.

"I've been doing that all week," Rachel said.

"I want you to clean this all up," Shelby said.

"Why can't Beth help?" Rachel asked. This was unbelievable. "It's her mess, after all."

"Rachel, please just do as your told," Shelby said.

She knew that it would be easier for Rachel to clean it on her own. It would be done faster and better than if she allowed Beth to stay and help. The girls had been at each other's throats all week and she didn't need to give them another thing to fight about.

Rachel watched her mother and Beth walk out of the room that she now had to clean for her sister. Once again Beth got to make the mess and Rachel found herself in trouble for it.

Early Thursday afternoon, Rachel answered the door for her mother's next student. Rachel recognized her as a member of Vocal Adrenaline. The girl was getting extra lessons over the summer and Rachel stepped aside to let her in.

"Hi, Amanda," Shelby said when she stepped out of the kitchen. "You can head on up."

"Mom, can I sit in on this practice?" Rachel asked before Amanda could get anywhere.

She wasn't trying to put Amanda on the spot or anything, but she desperately wanted something different to do. Beth was napping and Rachel wasn't allowed to watch TV or have her phone or computer. Beth was making her crazy. Her mother was making her crazy and Rachel needed this one.

"No," Shelby answered. She had never let Rachel sit in on a practice with her students because they deserved their privacy. And Shelby knew how Rachel was; the girl wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut. "Besides, you're grounded."

It hadn't been said to embarrass Rachel, and Shelby saw it as just stating a fact. The woman missed Amanda smirking behind her and Rachel's red cheeks as she turned and stomped off.

Amanda went up to the music room while Shelby looked in on Rachel who was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling.

"What's the matter?" Shelby asked from the doorway.

"Nothing," Rachel answered grumpily.

Rachel wasn't the only one in the household glad that tomorrow was Friday and the grounding would be over. She didn't know what had Rachel so cross though. She'd been annoyed all week and Shelby was willing to chalk that up to being mad about being stuck in the house, but right now it seemed like it was more than that. But she also didn't have time to figure it out with a student in the house and Rachel being less than forthcoming.

"If you're looking for something to do, you can clean up this room," Shelby said. It was a mess and Rachel usually never let it get this bad. She was glad about that and she wasn't too keen on it being the pigsty it was now.

Rachel just rolled her eyes and nodded. She knew a command and not a suggestion when she heard one. She really wanted to ask how her mother expected her to keep up with cleaning her own room when she'd spent a week having to clean up after Beth at every turn.

"Ok, good," Shelby said. "I'll see you after the lesson."

Rachel spent a solid fifteen minutes working on getting the room picked up before Beth woke from her nap and cried to be picked up. Rachel retrieved her and changed her diaper and carried the girl back to her room so she could finish. Once Beth was on her feet in the room, she didn't waste any time in looking for something she could get into. As Rachel picked up, Beth started to pull down. Rachel took her eyes off of her sister for a few seconds and then heard a crash and turned around to find a lot of her CDs on the floor at Beth's feet. They were kept on a lower shelf as part of the collection Rachel wanted to keep.

"Damn it, Beth!" Rachel hissed.

She crossed the room and picked the girl up and set her down on the floor on the other side of the room.

"Don't move," Rachel instructed.

She quickly ran to Beth's room to grab some toys and came back to find Beth pulling her blankets off the bed in an effort to climb up onto it.

"Beth, stop," Rachel whined when she got back to her room. Now she was going to have to make the bed again. And she still had a ways to go before it got back to being clean in here.

Rachel put the toys down in front of Beth, but the little girl squirmed away and headed for pulled down five books from the shelf before Rachel could stop her.

"No!" Rachel said forcefully. "Stop."

Beth raced for the bed and crawled under it and laughed when Rachel got down on her stomach to try and pull her out. Rachel had had it. She was done with this.

"I'm getting Mom," she threatened and then got to her feet and looked around. The room looked worse than when she started.

Rachel didn't stop at the closed door and instead burst into Amanda's lesson bring the phrase they were working to an abrupt halt.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" Shelby demanded to know.

"Mom, Beth is destroying my room," Rachel told on her little sister. "I'm trying to clean it and she's making everything worse. She won't listen at all and now she's under the bed and she won't come out."

"Rachel, I am in the middle of a lesson," Shelby said. "Beth is just a baby."

Yeah, Rosemary's baby.

"She is not destroying your room," Shelby continued. "Go back downstairs and watch her properly, please."

Rachel didn't miss the edge in that please from her mother. Fine, if Beth was allowed to trash her room, she was done trying to clean it. It could stay exactly as it was now for the rest of the summer for all Rachel cared.

It had taken some doing but Rachel finally got Beth out from under bed and now they were downstairs in the kitchen having a snack. Rachel looked at the clock and knew that Amanda's lesson would be over soon and thankfully it was the last one for the day. She'd soon be able to pass the small demon sitting in front of her off to her mother. She was ready to go into solitary.

"Beth," Rachel groaned when the girl accidentally dumped grape juice down the front of her outfit. "Come on so we can change your clothes."

Shelby was walking Amanda down the stairs when Rachel and Beth passed them going up. Rachel sat Beth on the floor of the nursery so she could play while picked out another outfit.

"Ok, Beth, let's get you changed," Rachel said. The juice would be setting in soon she needed to get her out of the wet clothes.

"No," Beth said and she moved Rachel's hands away from her. She was playing now and she didn't have time to stop and change her clothes.

"Beth, come on," Rachel said wearily. Rachel tried to pick the girl up again and hold her still.

"No!" Beth shouted and moved away.

"Yes," Rachel said. She was more determined now. She wasn't going to lose this battle of wills. "Come here."

Rachel reached out to get Beth's shirt and then felt a very sharp pain in hand. Beth bit her right hand in the fleshy, soft part between the thumb and pointer finger.

"Ow!" Rachel cried as she pulled her hand away when Beth let go. There were very clear teeth marks and it was bleeding. Tears immediately formed in her eyes and she shook her hand to try and get some of the pain to go away, but it wasn't working.

Despite the pain in her hand, Rachel reached out and grabbed Beth and landed a swat on her backside just as Shelby walked in the room to see what all of the yelling was about. Beth's diaper absorbed most of the blow, but she still felt it enough to hurt her feelings. She started to cry, but then noticed her mother was there and geared up and let out a wail. Rachel hadn't seen Shelby yet and pulled her hand back and cradled it to her chest. It hurt so badly and her own tears started to fall.

"Rachel!" Shelby scolded as she stepped into the room and picked up the wailing Beth and held her close. "What are you doing?" Her eyes softened a bit when Rachel looked up and Shelby could see the tears on her face.

Rachel didn't notice that though and cried, "She bit me!"

Shelby looked at Rachel's hand and then at her crying toddler and sighed. She couldn't solve this all at once and getting Beth calmed down needed to happen first because the girl would eventually make herself sick if she cried too hard for too long. But she did need to make some things clear to Rachel.

"Rachel, you are not allowed to spank her for any reason," Shelby said sternly.

Rachel just stared at her in disbelief. She was the one who had been bitten and yet she was the one getting lectured while her hand bled.

"You are her sister and not her mother," Shelby said. "It is my job to punish her and I will not have you doing it. Now please go and wait in my room for me." Shelby wanted her in there because hers was the only bathroom in the house that had antiseptic and bandages to clean her hand.

"This isn't fair," Rachel cried. "I didn't do anything to her."

"I saw you swat her," Shelby said.

"She bit me!"

"I know that," Shelby said. "I will take care of it. Now go, please."

Beth was still crying quite hard and Rachel was getting even more and more worked up. She needed to get them separated and calm and it was proving more difficult than it should.

"Why do you always take her side?" Rachel yelled as she got to her feet with her hand still cradled to her chest.

"I'm not taking anyone's side," Shelby said. "I'm asking you to go and wait in my room for me. Do as you're told." She didn't know where all of this was coming from, but she was rapidly growing tired of it.

"Beth doesn't have to!" Rachel said.

"Rachel, go. Now."

"No," Rachel yelled back. "It's not fair."

"Rachel, since you can't listen to simple instructions, I'll try and make it clearer for you," Shelby snapped. The crying and yelling was wearing on her patience. "Find and empty corner in my room and stand in it and wait for me. If you're not standing in a corner when I go into the room, you'll be grounded for another week. And trust me, you do not want that. Now go."

Rachel's crying intensified as she turned and rain from the room. She stepped into her mother's room and closed the door behind her and wanted to scream out a week's worth of frustrations. She didn't act on it though and instead reluctantly placed herself in an open corner and continued to cry.

**A/N – That's all for this chapter. I hope you all liked it and I would love it if you would leave me a review. Your feedback means so much to me. Thanks, guys! **


	97. Chapter 97

**A/N – Here's the next chapter! Thank you all so much for all of your reviews and alerts and messages and for continuing to read. You guys amaze me and I thank you so much for sticking with me. And your reviews mean the world to me because I love getting to hear what everyone thinks about each chapter and the story as a whole. Thanks!**

**Happy Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating it this week. If you're not celebrating it, Happy Rest of the Week! **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Shelby's attention had been on Rachel as the girl ran from the room in tears and she was still looking at the door as if the girl might walk back in. Shelby heard her bedroom door shut though and she knew Rachel was in there. She really hoped the girl was doing as she was told because Shelby did not want to have to follow through on her threat to ground her for another week. Shelby knew Rachel and understood her to be much more upset than was warranted for this incident. She wanted desperately to talk to her so she could try and fix what was wrong. But that simply had to wait because she couldn't be in two places at once. She had to talk to Beth and get her settled first because if she waited too long, the girl wouldn't understand why she was being scolded. Shelby sighed as she sat down in the rocking chair and sat Beth on her lap so she was looking at her.

"Hush now," Shelby said. Her tone wasn't exactly stern, but it wasn't soft either.

Beth's crying waned some and she got up on her knees in Shelby's lap and reached for her.

"Mama," Beth said. "Mach, bite."

"Yes, you bit Mach," Shelby said. "That was bad. We do not bite," Shelby told her. This time she was stern and the little girl's lips formed a well practiced pout. "You hurt Mach."

"Ow," Beth said and her tears started again.

"Shh," Shelby said. "That's enough. No biting."

"Up," Beth said and she started to squirm so she could get off of her mother's lap.

"No," Shelby said as she held her in place. "You are going in timeout."

"Up," Beth squirmed harder. Why wasn't her mom letting her down?

"No," Shelby said sternly. "I am going to change your clothes and then you are going in your crib for a few minutes."

"Mama," Beth whined and tried to get free from Shelby's grasp so she could get down.

"Sorry," Shelby said.

Shelby picked up the outfit that Rachel had been trying to change Beth into and reached for the girl's shirt. Beth captured Shelby's hand in her own and brought it to her mouth to bite her.

"No!" Shelby scolded as she pulled her hand away. She took a hold of Beth's hand and lightly smacked it. "You will not bite anymore."

Beth started to cry immediately and she gave her mother a watery glare, but she didn't fight anymore as her clothes and diaper were changed. Shelby held Beth close and rocked her when her new outfit was in place. She offered Beth the same comfort she always gave to Rachel after punishing her. Like Rachel, Beth held tightly to Shelby and leaned her head on her mother's shoulder.

Shelby did her best to keep her own emotions in check. Her little baby was growing up and this was the first time she'd ever really disciplined her and it was hard. Shelby knew that deep down she had been letting Beth get away with more than she probably should have. But she was a baby; her sweet baby girl. She remembered how Rachel had cried after her first spanking and how it had made Shelby upset, but how she had also known that it was the right thing to do. She knew that now with Beth too.

Beth's crying didn't even last a full minute and she let her eyes get droopy as she rested against her mother. Shelby stood from the chair and Placed Beth in her crib much to the tiny girl's disdain.

"Mama," Beth said sadly.

"Sorry, Beth. You're in timeout for a few minutes," Shelby said. "I've got to go and talk to Mach."

"Up," Beth yelled as Shelby turned and left the room. "Mach!" Surely her sister would help her right now since Mom was being unfair. "Mama."

Beth started to cry again, but Shelby stayed strong and closed the bedroom door most of the way shut when she stepped out of the room. From the spot she was standing in the hallway she could hear both her girls crying.

Beth was not at all happy about her predicament and she showed her dissatisfaction by picking up all of her toys that usually stayed in the crib and threw them on the floor. After the fit the only things that remained were her blanket and pacifier. She angrily put the pacifier in her mouth when she realized she had nothing to play with and sat down in the crib. It wasn't long after that, that she finally lied down and drifted off to sleep, despite her earlier nap. Getting in trouble was exhausting.

Shelby's heart nearly broke when she opened her bedroom door and looked in at Rachel. The girl was standing in the corner like she had been told to do and she looked so defeated. She was still crying and she was cradling her right hand to her chest. She noticed that at some point during her talk with Beth, Rachel had grabbed a hand towel from the bathroom and had wrapped her hand in it.

"Oh, Rach," Shelby said as she quickly crossed the room.

Rachel turned at the sound of her mother's voice and soon found herself wrapped in Shelby's arms. Shelby held her tightly and Rachel hugged her back with her left arm, but kept her right out of the way. She buried her face in Shelby's shoulder and neck and her tears found a renewed fervor.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Shelby said as she rubbed her back and kissed her head.

"I didn't do anything. She bit me," Rachel cried.

"I know," Shelby cooed.

"You always take her side," Rachel said.

"Calm down now," Shelby said.

"She's been getting me in trouble all week," Rachel lamented.

"Shhh," Shelby said. "We're going to talk about it, but you've got to calm down first."

"I don't want to talk about it if I'm still just in trouble," Rachel said with a pout. None of this was fair.

"Well you won't know if you are or not until you calm down," Shelby said with a smile. "I need you to take a deep breath and relax a little bit because I need to clean your hand out."

"She probably gave me rabies, that little demon," Rachel said as she stood back from Shelby and wiped her eyes.

"Rachel," Shelby chided lightly with a small chuckle. "Let me see."

Rachel held her hand up and Shelby was careful as she removed the towel and finally got a look at how bad it was. Beth had really gotten her. It was still bleeding and the teeth marks were red. There was no doubt that Rachel's hand would bruise and Shelby knew she was going to have to be diligent about cleaning it out and keeping it that way. She seriously considered whether she needed to take Rachel in for a tetanus shot. She'd call the doctor later and ask.

Shelby took Rachel into the bathroom and retrieved some peroxide and bandages from the medicine cabinet and set them on the counter. She also took out a bottle of Tylenol so she could give Rachel some help ease some of the pain. Shelby then ran some water and held Rachel's hand under the stream so help wash away some of the blood. The bleeding was starting to slow and was almost stopped. Shelby held her hand steadfastly and turned it so the water would be allowed to wash over all of it. She picked up a clean towel and instructed Rachel to pat it dry some while she got the medicines and bandages ready.

"Ok, this is going to sting a little," Shelby said.

She held Rachel's hand over the sink by the wrist and started to pour the peroxide on the bite marks. Rachel hissed at the pain and tried to pull away, but Shelby held on tighter and turned the hand over so she could do the same to the bite marks on her palm.

"Mom, that hurts," Rachel complained as she tried once again to pull her hand away.

"I know, but you've got to let it work," Shelby told her. "You do not want to get an infection from this."

When she was finished, Shelby let Rachel sit on the closed toilet seat and she perched on the edge of the bathtub next to her and gently started applying some ointment to the marks.

"Rachel, I know that this really hurt and that you were angry, but you are not allowed to spank Beth," Shelby said.

"I didn't spank her; I just swatted her," Rachel said. "She deserved it."

"Be that as it may, you are not allowed to swat her either," Shelby said. "You are her sister and not her parent and you are not allowed to punish her. That's my job."

"But I was the one watching her," Rachel said.

"And you should have come to get me," Shelby said.

"I did that when she destroyed my room and you didn't listen," Rachel countered. "You haven't listened all week when I said she did something. You've been making me clean up all of her messes and I've been the one getting scolded and sent to the corner when she does something wrong."

Rachel's bottom lip trembled and Shelby could see she was getting worked up again so she leaned forward and kissed the girl's head.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Shelby said. She rubbed her back and kissed her head again. "Don't cry; we're going to talk about it."

Rachel took a deep breath and Shelby put the ointment down and reached for the bandage she was going to use to wrap the girl's hand.

"I'm sorry for making you think I was choosing Beth over you all week," Shelby continued. "I admit that I've been reluctant to really look at the trouble she gets into because she's just a baby and it's hard to admit that she's growing up. But you're absolutely right, I was making you pick up after her and I should be teaching her to help. I'm not oblivious to how you two have been all week, you know."

"She's been a pain the a-" a perfectly raised eyebrow stopped her, "butt," Rachel said.

"And you've been sulking all week," Shelby pointed out.

"I have not," Rachel pouted.

"Do you know why I made you clean my office while I took Beth away?" Shelby asked.

"Because you thought the mess was my fault," Rachel answered.

"I knew Beth made the mess," Shelby said. "And I was too hasty in expecting you to be with her every second I was conducting a lesson. But I had you clean it because I knew you could get it done quicker without Beth. I was taking her away from you to give you a break. I'm sorry I didn't explain that at the time."

"Why can't she ever pick up her mess and her toys?" Rachel asked.

"She will be," Shelby said. "I'm going to start on that. But I'm serious about you not being allowed to discipline her, Rachel. It is not your place. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to Beth. I don't want to confuse her. And I don't want you to be put in the position of having to make that decision. You are not an authority figure in her life the way Nana or even Judy will be, just like they are for you. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I think so," Rachel said. "But what happens if you're not here and I'm babysitting and she acts up?"

"You can tell me what she did wrong when I get home," Shelby said.

"But she's never going to listen to me," Rachel whined.

"Yes she will," Shelby said. "But she's learning too, Rach. And so are we. I don't want anything to be confusing for her or you so this rule is the right one for us. You just concentrate on being her big sister and leave the discipline to me."

"I hope she gets unjustly sent to the corner one day," Rachel pouted.

Shelby laughed lightly and finished up with the bandage and then stood Rachel up. She wet a wash cloth with warm water and cleaned Rachel's face of the tears. Rachel stood still and let Shelby work. Though it was usually because she had been crying, Rachel loved when Shelby washed her face for her.

"Why don't you go and lie down in my bed for a little while? It'll do you good to just relax for a while," Shelby said.

"Will you lie down with me?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Shelby answered. "But I've got to go and check on your sister. As you know, it's hard to be in timeout for a long time."

"You put her in timeout?" Rachel asked.

"Yes. I was never siding with her over you in there," Shelby explained. "I knew I needed to get the two of you calmed down and to do that, you needed to be separated. But she is little, Rachel, and I had to deal with her first. I couldn't have waited too long to explain to her what she did wrong and punish her for it because she wouldn't understand it later. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," Rachel mumbled. "But why couldn't you just say that instead of sending me to the corner?"

"I asked you to leave and wait for me in here," Shelby said. "You were the one who decided to yell back at me."

"But you were mad at me when she was the one who had misbehaved," Rachel argued.

"Rach," Shelby said softly. "Let's not start yelling again. You were both crying and both yelling and I did what I needed to do to get your separated. I knew she bit you, but I also wanted you to know right off the bat that you are not allowed to spank her. And then I got frustrated and lost my temper and sent you to the corner. It happens to the best of us, sweetie. I'm sorry if you felt you were punished unjustly. But I hope you understand now."

"I do," Rachel conceded with a sigh.

"Good girl," Shelby said.

They walked out of the bathroom and Shelby waited while Rachel crawled into bed and then left to check on her littlest troublemaker. She couldn't stop her smile when she stepped into the nursery and saw that Beth was asleep. She also took note of the toys from the crib all over the floor. They could talk about that later, but for now it looked like Beth was getting a much needed, extended nap.

As promised, Shelby went back into her room and got into the bed with Rachel. The girl immediately cuddled up to her and Shelby was happy to just hold her. Shelby was leaned back semi-upright against the pillows and Rachel was practically on top of her with her cheek resting against Shelby's chest. Shelby wrapped her arms around her and rubbed her back all the way down to her bottom. After feeling like her mother had been scolding her all week for her sister's transgressions, Rachel was ready to soak in this closeness of just her and her mom.

"Mama?" Rachel said sleepily.

Shelby smiled at her tone and said, "Hmm?"

"What time does the party start on Saturday?"

"Around noon," Shelby answered. "But your grandparents and Sam and Maggie and the boys will be here earlier than that."

"Are you sure I can't go swimming? Please."

"Sorry, Rach," Shelby said. "That punishment stands."

"But, Mama, it's not fair," Rachel whine and Shelby couldn't help but smile at her pout and the way the girl slapped her hand down on the mattress.

"It is fair," Shelby said. "You just don't like it."

Rachel grumbled something in return, but dropped the subject and squirmed and adjusted her position until she was comfortable again.

"Will you sing to me?" Rachel asked.

"Of course," Shelby said.

She started out by humming and Rachel shut her eyes and listened as it reverberated in her mother's chest. Once she started to sing, Shelby kept time by placing a few soft pats on Rachel's bottom and it wasn't long before the girl was asleep.

Shelby waited a few minutes until Rachel was fully settled and then extracted herself from the bed. She gave Rachel a pillow to snuggle with and then covered her up with the blankets and kissed her head. She made sure the bandaged hand was out of the way and hoped that Rachel didn't shift too much and accidentally bump it.

Shelby made her way down to her office and found the number to Rachel's doctor and called and talked to the nurse at the desk. It was determined that Rachel should be brought in just so that her hand could be checked and she could be given a booster tetanus shot. Bites from humans were very prone to infection, Shelby was told and she sighed knowing that Rachel was not going to want to go in. She made an appointment for later in the afternoon so she could let the girls sleep a little while longer.

The music room was her next destination so she could put away some of the sheet music that had been left out, but Shelby got distracted when she looked into Rachel's room and saw the mess that was there. It was worse than when she'd told her to clean it earlier and Shelby shook her head and the path of destruction Beth had left behind. After the hour she'd just had, Shelby knew she wouldn't ask Rachel to clean this mess too, even if it was her room. Instead, Shelby got to work on cleaning up the room herself. Rachel had earned this free pass.

A couple hours later Rachel was sulking as they sat in the waiting room at the doctor's office. Beth was on the floor playing with a couple toys Shelby had packed and she was enjoying the attention of some of the other parents in the room who declared her to be the cutest thing ever. Beth knew that.

"Mom," Rachel whined for the thousandth time since waking up and being told they were going to see the doctor. She'd been so excited and grateful to see that her room was clean only to be told she needed a shot. What a killjoy that had been. "You cleaned it just fine. We don't need to be here."

"Hush," Shelby said, not looking up from her magazine.

"But-"

"Rachel Berry," the nurse said as she stepped into the room.

"Come on," Shelby said as she took Beth's hand and stood up.

Rachel heaved a sigh that let everyone in the room know she was not happy about being there as she got to her feet. Her supposed maturity took a back seat as she started to envision all the ways she could get Beth into trouble when the girl was a little older. Rachel smiled devilishly at the scenarios that started to fill her mind. Just you wait, Beth.

After getting the basic vitals, a nurse removed Rachel's bandages and cleaned the bite again. Beth watched with focused interest and she looked at the red marks and then at Rachel.

"Ow," Beth said. "Mach."

"Yeah, ow," Rachel confirmed with an edge to her voice as she glared up at her baby sister.

Beth turned her head away and clung to Shelby and the woman obliged by holding her tighter. Rachel couldn't see it right now, but Shelby knew her little buddy was showing remorse. She understood that her Mach was mad at her and Beth knew she had bitten her; she'd told Shelby so earlier.

Rachel pouted her way through receiving a shot and having her hand rewrapped. The doctor took Shelby aside and told her to remove the bandage in the morning, but to do her best to make sure it still stayed clean without. Shelby asked about the possibility of Rachel swimming in the next few days and the doctor said that was fine because it should start to scab over soon. All Shelby needed to do was make sure it stayed clean for the next day or two and watch for any signs of infection like a fever or swelling. The bruising was normal and would just take time to fade.

Between the bandaged hand and the shot she'd received, Rachel had practically declared herself to be an invalid by the time they got home.

"Mom, I can't set the table with just one hand. It would take me forever," Rachel told her.

"Then go play with Beth while I do it," Shelby said.

"I can't play with her," Rachel was horrified at the very suggestion. "You know what she did to me."

Shelby just rolled her eyes and shooed her from the kitchen.

"Mama, I can't do the dishes tonight," Rachel said after dinner and she held up her hand as proof.

Rachel meandered away from the kitchen before her mother could say anything else. She could get used to this no chores thing. She hadn't heard the doctor telling Shelby how long the bandage had to stay on. Surely it had to be a few days, right?

Rachel reached for the remote and then flopped down on the couch and turned the TV and started surfing the channels hoping for a good movie to watch.

"Mom, will you bring me a drink, please?" Rachel called out.

Shelby heard the TV and then huffed at her daughter's question. It seemed that somewhere in the course of the day's events, Rachel forgot she was still grounded.

Beth looked up from her doll she'd been caring for since they got home from the doctor's and over at Rachel on the couch. The older girl had just settled on a station and looked quite comfortable. Beth stood and walked to the couch and rested a tiny hand on Rachel's leg.

"Mach," Beth said with wide eyes. "Mach, up."

"No," Rachel said. She was comfortable lounging where she was and besides, how was she supposed to pick her up with one hand.

"Mach," Beth's voice was soft and her eyes started to fill with tears. "Up."

Even Rachel couldn't resist that and she rolled her eyes, but used her left hand to help Beth climb up and sit on top of her. Shelby had just stepped into the room and stepped back just as quickly when Beth started talk to Rachel. She wanted to see how her eldest handled this. Shelby wasn't going to stand for Rachel refusing to have anything to do with her sister for much longer. Rachel was forgetting a key ingredient; forgiveness. Rachel had punished Beth and remained angry and that wasn't how it was supposed to work at all. It only made Shelby know that she was absolutely making the right call when she told Rachel she wasn't allowed to punish her sister. Rachel was too childish to handle it.

Rachel was lying down, but was propped up on some pillows and now Beth was straddling her to sit on her lap and face her sister.

"Mach, bite," Beth said. "Ow."

Rachel watched with trepidation as Beth leaned down towards her bandaged hand. She was about to pull it away, but before she could, Beth placed a gentle kiss on it and sat back up.

"Boo boo," Beth smiled at her. She knew her sister's hand would start to feel better now because kisses always made her boo boos feel better.

Shelby smiled at her little girl and could see that Rachel was as well.

"Yeah, it's just a boo boo," Rachel said. "Give me a hug."

Beth obliged and lied down on top of Rachel and rested her head against the older girl's chest in much the same way Rachel had laid with Shelby earlier. Rachel wrapped her arms around her sister and they both focused their eyes on the TV. Shelby picked that time to come back into the room and she leaned over the back of the couch she could talk to them.

"Are you forgetting that you're grounded?" Shelby asked sweetly.

"No. Beth wants to watch it and I'm sitting with her," Rachel answered immediately without looking away from the TV.

"Beth does not want to watch _Air Force One_," Shelby said.

"She likes it," Rachel responded.

"Turn it off," Shelby decided to be a little more direct.

"Mama," Rachel whined and finally looked up at her mother. "I've got a sore hand and a sore arm from where I had to get the shot." Surely she deserved a little TV at this point.

"And you're going to have a sore bottom if you don't turn it off," Shelby said.

Rachel rolled her eyes just to make it clear to her mother that she was annoyed with her, but she reached for the remote and turned the TV off all the same. Beth looked at them like she had missed the entire conversation and wanted to know what happened to the movie.

Shelby turned and walked out of the room, but smiled when she heard Rachel start talking to Beth.

"Your mother is so unfair," Rachel complained to her sister.

Beth nodded her agreement. Rachel didn't have to tell her that; Beth knew it. She'd been confined to her crib earlier in the day like a common criminal. Rachel had no idea what it was like. Beth patted her arm as if to placate her and then laid her head back down on Rachel's chest. They didn't need the TV; they could think of something else to get into.

Paul and Rebecca were the first to arrive Saturday morning. It was already 9:30, but Rachel had yet to leave her room and join her mother downstairs. Shelby knew it's because she was sulking about not being able to go swimming that day. Plus the girl was grounded anymore and she had all of her gadgets back and Shelby knew she was playing catch up.

"They left a note," Shelby said with a laugh as she recounted the story to her parents.

"That's more than you ever did," Rebecca said.

"I know," Shelby agreed. "Rachel was scarily efficient. I think she'll be even better at sneaking out next time."

"I bet she's not happy about being kept out of the pool today," Paul commented. Beth was sitting on his lap and he was helping her eat some scrambled eggs.

"Oh, she's not," Shelby agreed. "None of the girls are. But I needed to make their punishment something to do with being here since they were staying with me at the time. They'll get over it."

"I am going to go and get her and tell her to come down and eat something," Rebecca said.

"Good luck," Shelby said, but Rebecca just waved her off.

Rachel was lying in bed still in her pajamas when Rebecca knocked on the door and stepped in. Rachel smiled at her, but made no move to get up. She was playing with her phone and not ready to get out of bed. Truth be told, her plan was to hide out in her room all day.

"Morning, sweetheart," Rebecca greeted.

"Hi, Nana," Rachel said. She looked up from her phone long enough to smile at her grandmother.

"I thought maybe you'd like to come downstairs and have some breakfast with your grandpa and me," Rebecca said. She went over and sat down next to Rachel on the bed and looked at the girl's phone. "What are you doing?"

"Playing a game," Rachel answered. She sighed when her character died and she started to hit the button to play again, but all of a sudden found her hand being held which greatly diminished her ability to play.

"Let me see your hand," Rebecca said. They had heard all about Beth's biting phase.

Rachel's hand was no longer bandaged and the bite marks were scabbing over and there was bruising but no swelling or residual redness. Shelby had kept the antibiotic cream on it and it didn't even look like it would scar that much if at all. Rebecca inspected it and turned it over a few times as if to make sure it was really healing properly and in order to do so it needed to have her grandmother seal of approval.

"It looks like it's doing well."

"It is," Rachel agreed. "Mom's been pretty diligent about it." Rebecca nodded. No one would expect anything less.

Once Rachel got her hand back she tried to start her game again but the phone was taken from her grasp.

"Nana," Rachel whined.

Rebecca closed the game and locked the phone and peered over at her granddaughter. "Breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry." Rachel pouted but leaned into Rebecca's side.

"You can't hide in here all day," Rebecca told her. "Your mom isn't going to let you and I'm not going to let you."

"Why not?"

"Because I want to hang out with my granddaughter," Rebecca said. "Now come have breakfast."

Rachel nodded and then sat up fully and crossed her legs and gave Rebecca a serious look. Rebecca furrowed her brow in confusion at Rachel's sudden change in demeanor and waited for Rachel to continue.

"Nana, do you think that I can talk to you and Grandpa about something today? Privately?"

"Of course," Rebecca answered. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes, it will be, I think," Rachel answered. "But it's important."

"Have you talked to your mother about it?" Rebecca asked.

"No!" Rachel said quickly. "And neither can you or Grandpa. You have to promise. Please, Nana."

Rebecca was taken aback for a second, but she nodded. "I promise."

"Hey, are you two coming down for breakfast?" Shelby asked lightly as she walked into the room.

"Yep," Rachel answered and stood up. "Come on, Nana. I'm starving."

Rebecca stood up and smiled for Rachel to go along with girl's obvious changing of the subject and the happy face she put on for her mother. But her mind was racing and she was worried. She had no idea what Rachel wanted to talk to her and Paul about. But she wouldn't mention anything to Shelby, as promised. But she planned to get Paul so they could have this conversation as soon as possible because she knew she wouldn't be able to focus on anything else all day until she knew what was going on.

**A/N – That's all for this chapter! I hope you guys liked this one. Please leave me a review if you can. I appreciate it so much. Thanks, guys! **


	98. Chapter 98

**A/N – I'm so, so sorry about the delay in posting this, guys. I got so unbelievably busy and I had to get some things sorted out. Life got in the way and I apologize. **

**Thank you all so much for all of your reviews and for reading the story. You're all so wonderful and I hope you know that. Thank you. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Rebecca followed Shelby and Rachel down the stairs, but she wasn't listening to Rachel's chatter; she was lost in her own thoughts about what the girl could want. Shelby just seemed pleasantly surprised that Rachel had agreed to come out of her room so easily. Maybe she wouldn't sulk all day like the woman assumed she would. For her part, Rachel was just trying to keep them all distracted so Rebecca wouldn't bring it up in front of her mom. This was a conversation that she did not want Shelby involved in. There would be time enough to tell her later.

"Hi, Grandpa," Rachel greeted when they entered the kitchen.

"Well hello, Rachel," the man said with a smile. Beth was still sitting on his lap and he was attempting not to get covered in the scrambled eggs she was eating.

"Beth, you're making a mess," Rachel said as she sat down next to them.

Rebecca sat across from her husband and tried to silently get his attention.

"Mine," Beth said as she picked up another tiny fistful of eggs and shoved them in her mouth.

"No one wants your gross eggs," Rachel assured her.

Shelby was leaning against the counter nursing her coffee and watching them all. She smiled at getting to watch her parents and children together. Paul was giving Rebecca a confused look and trying to ask with his eyes what she was talking about. He didn't understand the looks she was giving him. After forty-four years of marriage, he was usually able to have those silent conversations with his wife, but he was too distracted by the girls to know what she wanted.

"Here," Beth said and she reached a hand out towards Rachel who recoiled away. Beth thought this game was hilarious and every time Rachel backed further away, she laughed delightedly.

"Stop," Rachel commanded. "Keep your horrible food to yourself."

Rebecca gave up trying to get anything through to Paul at the moment when he mouthed 'what' to her one more time. He missed her annoyed look because he had his attention pulled away again when Beth started to laugh.

"Girls," Shelby warned lightly. But neither of them were paying any attention to her.

Rachel reached up and pushed Beth's hand away when the girl leaned closer to her with eggs squished in her hands and dropping on the floor.

"No," Rachel said. "Stop playing."

Beth didn't take kindly to Rachel pushing her hand and picked up another handful and launched them at Rachel who quickly pushed her chair back as far as it would go to get out of the way.

"Beth!" Shelby scolded, more forcefully this time. "No. We do not throw our food."

Beth still did not appreciate any reprimands coming her way from her mother and she quickly worked up some tears and pouted with her head down.

The ringing of the doorbell distracted them all.

"Don't worry, Beth, you'll probably still get to go swimming," Rachel said sarcastically as she got to her feet and left the kitchen to go and answer the door.

Shelby sighed as she grabbed some paper towels to clean up the mess. So much for Rachel not sulking all day.

Rachel opened the door to find Sam and Maggie and the boys waiting on the other side.

"Hi, Rachel!" Michael yelled as he shot past his parents and leapt at Rachel.

"Hey," Rachel said with a big smile as she wrapped her arms around him and lifted him up so she could hold him better. It was pretty awkward considering how short Rachel was, but she was managing.

"Hi," Jack greeted as he too wrapped his arms around his cousin.

"Ok, Rachel, you've got them," Sam with a smile as he walked past.

"What?" Rachel asked in a hurried tone. Was she babysitting now too?

"Ignore him," Maggie said before leaning forward to kiss Rachel's head. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi," Rachel smiled.

"Ok, boys, let's go see what Aunt Shelby made us for breakfast," Sam said.

Michael got down and followed his brother into the kitchen so he could perform the same greeting with his aunt. Rachel decided that this would be a great time to disappear again now that her mother was distracted. And she knew that Nana wouldn't bring anything up with everyone here. She hadn't actually meant that she wanted to talk to her grandparents at that very moment, but she knew that's what her grandmother wanted. But now they were definitely going to have to wait.

Rachel started to move away from the kitchen and stopped and let out a long sigh when she heard her mother's voice.

"You need to come in here too, Rachel," Shelby called out. "You haven't had any breakfast yet."

Sam smiled as his niece slumped her shoulders and sighed. Then Rachel took another step towards the stairs and Sam knew that move well. That was a 'just pretend you didn't hear your mother and escape' move. He followed after her and stopped her with a gentle hand her arm.

"Come on, Rachel," he sing-songed and put an arm around her shoulders and led her back towards the kitchen. "Mom said."

Rachel rolled her eyes, but leaned into her uncle's side all the same. Fine, she'd have breakfast, but that was it. She was determined to hide out today no matter what her mother said.

Four hours later the party was in full swing and Rachel still hadn't been able to escape. At least Quinn and Santana were there with her now. They had helped with getting the food ready and were taking some of it outside. Sam was manning the grill and Paul and Rebecca were in the pool with the boys and Beth and the littler kids were having a great time. Maggie, Shelby, and Judy were lounging in new deck chairs and Rachel sat nearby after bringing out a platter of hamburgers and hotdogs. Quinn and Santana had stayed inside to put the finishing touches on the pasta salad that Santana was making. She was actually quite proud of it and was happy when Shelby had asked her if she wanted to make something. Shelby had a feeling that the other two were taking this punishment a little better than her daughter. Not that they weren't sulky, annoying teenagers at times throughout the day, but they were at least trying somewhat, unlike Rachel.

Rachel stretched out in her chair and yawned. It was roasting hot and she was so done with this stupid party. She would never understand how her mother could be so unfair. The pool was her idea, after all. She should have gotten the first swim. And of course everyone else was having a great time and she just knew that they were going to hang out forever.

"Rachel!" Michael yelled from the pool.

Rachel had closed her eyes and didn't respond.

"Rachel!" Michael yelled again and this time he splashed some water up on his cousin.

"What?" Rachel asked as she sat up when the water hit her. She shot every occupant of the pool an annoyed look.

"Why aren't you swimming with us?" Michael asked.

"I don't want to," Rachel said and then turned to glare at her mother.

Shelby tried to pretend she wasn't paying attention.

"But it's so hot," Michael said. "I want you to swim with me."

"Sorry," Rachel said.

"Did you get in trouble?" Jack asked.

"What?" Rachel shot back.

"Michael and me were arguing on the way here and my mom said that we had better behave or we weren't going to be able to go swimming," Jack explained.

"What did you do, Rachel?" Michael asked with a laugh. He never would have thought Rachel would get in any trouble.

"Nothing," Rachel said with a blush.

"Mommy, Rachel's in trouble and that's why she can't go swimming," Michael yelled out so he could explain the situation to Maggie.

"Michael, hush," Maggie said.

Rachel didn't say another word as she got to her feet and walked towards the house.

"Rachel," Shelby tried to stop her. She felt bad for the girl.

The only response Shelby got was the slamming of the back door.

"Way to go, doofus," Jack said.

"What did I do?" Michael asked.

"Boys," Maggie said to cut off the conversation.

There was an awkward silence until Beth started to splash and laugh at the water on her face and then the boys started to play again.

"I'm sorry, Shelby," Maggie said.

"It's alright," Shelby said. "She'll be fine; she's just embarrassed." Shelby hadn't really anticipated that the boys would bring it up. All of the adults knew, but they would never bring it up. It was never Shelby's intention to embarrass Rachel when she was punished. She never wanted her daughters to feel humiliated over something she was hoping they'd learn from. Rachel and her friends had gone to a party they knew they weren't allowed to go to and so Shelby had kept them from participating in another party. She had hoped they'd make that connection on their own, but she knew that Rachel just thought she was being mean. She'd give her a little time to cool off and then go and explain it.

Santana and Quinn were just leaving the kitchen when Rachel walked in the house and slammed the door.

"What's going on?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing," Rachel answered. "I'm not sitting out there anymore. I'm going to watch a movie."

"I thought we had to stay out there the whole time," Santana said. She had the bowl of her pasta salad in her hands.

"You can if you want, but I'm done with that stupid party," Rachel told them.

"What happened?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing. You two can hang out if you want, but I'm going to the music room to watch a movie," Rachel told them.

"Well I'm not going out there if you're not," Quinn said.

Santana wasn't either, but she had worked hard on the food in her hands and frankly wanted to show it off. She looked down at the bowl and then the back door and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Go drop it off real quick and come back inside. We'll be upstairs."

Shelby looked up when the back door opened and she watched as Santana came outside and set a covered dish down on the table and hurried back inside. If she knew those girls, she knew that this was the last they'd see of any of them willingly for a while.

"It's so hot outside," Santana said as she flopped down on the couch next to her friends. "I thought maybe she'd give in by now and let us go swimming."

"Of course not," Rachel said sarcastically. "I'm sure this is teaching us a lesson or something stupid like that."

"We did bring our suits just in case," Quinn said. She was annoyed, but clearly not as annoyed as Rachel.

"I'm going to stay up until midnight and go swimming then," Rachel said.

"Yeah right," Santana said.

"I can," Rachel said. "There are lights in the pool."

"Now that we've helped with lunch, maybe Shelby will leave us alone and we can just sit up here and watch a movie," Quinn said. Though they were going to have to go back downstairs to eat at some point. She was already getting hungry.

"Oh please," Rachel said. "You know my mom is going to be up here at some point telling us we have to go back down there with everyone. I'm not going though. I'm staying right here."

Quinn and Santana didn't say anything, but they both knew Rachel was just talking. If Shelby told her to go back downstairs, she was going.

Just as Shelby suspected an hour passed and the girls had successfully made themselves scarce. Everyone else had already eaten and Shelby didn't want them to miss out on the meal. She checked Rachel's room first and didn't see anyone. The guest room was empty as well and so made her way to the third story and found the girls sitting on the couch watching a movie.

"Are you girls hungry?" Shelby asked when she stepped into the room.

"No," Rachel answered immediately.

"Yeah," Quinn said and rolled her eyes at Rachel.

"Me too," Santana said.

"Seriously?" Rachel questioned her friends.

"You're on your own right now, munchkin," Santana said. "I'm starving."

"Good. Come on down and eat something," Shelby said.

Quinn and Santana got up to do just that, but Rachel defiantly stayed where she was on the couch. Shelby waited until the other two girls left the room before making her way over to the couch to so she could talk with Rachel. As soon as the woman sat down, Rachel stood up and walked away. Shelby didn't say anything and just turned the TV off before getting up and following them down the stairs.

Shelby caught up to Rachel before she could get outside and pulled the reluctant girl into a hug and held her there when she tried to pull away. The door was open and people were walking back and forth between the back yard and the kitchen and even a soaking wet Michael went scampering by so he could find the restroom.

"Young lady, now is not the time to throw a fit because you're unhappy about this," Shelby whispered in Rachel's ear. She had her arms wrapped around Rachel's neck and Rachel's arm hung limply at her side.

"It would be even more embarrassing if I had to take you upstairs to have a talk because you can't behave," Shelby continued in that same whisper. "Right now you don't have anything to be embarrassed about because no one out there cares or was picking on you. Kids don't always have the best sense of tact, something you should know all about." Rachel didn't know what her mother was talking about; she was always tactful and thought before she spoke.

"Your grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousins want to spend time with you because they love you so much. They do not care that you got caught sneaking out to go to a party," Shelby said.

"You do," Rachel whispered back.

"Which is why you aren't allowed to swim at this party," Shelby said in the same soft tone. "I'm not mad at you and I think you know that. And I'm not being mean by not giving you your way. Sorry kiddo, but I'm the mama here and you got caught."

"Whatever," Rachel mumbled as she brought her arms up and wrapped them loosely around her mother's back. Shelby smiled.

"Walk, Michael," Shelby said as the boy went racing towards the back door after his trip to the bathroom. He slowed, but barely and soon disappeared into the backyard.

"Now what do you say you stop sulking and come outside and enjoy being with everyone?" Shelby was back to whispering.

"Fine," Rachel said.

"That's my good girl," Shelby told her and finally let her out of the hug.

"I'm not four, you know," Rachel said.

"You're my sweet baby," Shelby said in an exaggerated tone. "Mommy loves you so much." She grabbed Rachel and started planting kisses on her face.

"Mom… stop," Rachel said and she finally got out of her mother's grasp. "You are getting on my nerve." Her tone was light and she was finally smiling at her mother.

"Don't you mean nerves?" Shelby asked.

"No, I mean nerve. You and Beth have already used up all of the other ones," Rachel clarified for her and then quickly turned and hurried out the door when she saw that look in her mother's eye.

By the time Shelby got outside, Rachel was already sitting by Paul and Rebecca. Shelby knew it was a smart choice because the grandparents would protect her. But just you wait, Rachel. Just you wait.

A couple hours later, Judy and Quinn were getting their things together to go home. Santana was joining them since they had picked her up that morning to bring her over. Sam and Maggie were trying to get the boys out of the pool so they could have a couple of quick baths before the drive home. Paul would have gotten ready for their drive home, but Rebecca stopped him. She had been waiting for hours and she was not leaving this house without talking to her granddaughter. And if Rachel thought she was going to slip away, that child had another thing coming.

Rachel was hoping that once everyone left she'd be allowed in the pool. It was her understanding that she wasn't allowed to participate during the party, but the party was ending. Knowing her luck, she was going to have to wait until tomorrow.

Sam set Beth down near Shelby and the girl sat on her knees and started to play with a few of her toys.

"Come on, boys, it's time to get out," Sam said. He was starting to get aggravated over how long they were taking. They'd been telling them to get out for close to half an hour now.

They whined and stalled, but both Jack and Michael finally started to make their way towards the steps in the shallow end.

Rachel went to stand by her mother and Beth because Santana, Quinn, and Judy were saying goodbye.

"Sorry again for sneaking out," Santana said quietly to Shelby.

"I'm sorry too," Quinn added.

"Thank you," Shelby told them. "I hope we won't have to go through this again."

"We won't," Santana said.

"Are you guys coming over tomorrow?" Rachel asked. "We can go swimming then."

"Are you sure?" Shelby asked.

"What?" Rachel said quickly. "Yes, I'm sure. You said just for the party."

"Did I?" Shelby pondered aloud. "Is that what we said, Judy?"

"Was it just for the party or was it all weekend?" Judy asked.

"Are you serious?" Quinn asked.

"Mom," Rachel whined.

Shelby smiled and wrapped her arms around her daughter again. "Oh poor Rachel. Do you want to go swimming?"

Rachel nodded. She might not have been so quick to answer if she had realized what her mother was doing. Shelby moved them closer to the edge of the pool and looked around suspiciously at everyone watching her. Everyone but Rachel knew what was going on.

"Ok, you can go swimming," Shelby said.

"Real- ahhh!" Rachel's scream was silenced when she splashed backwards into the deep end. "Mom!" she yelled when she surfaced.

Beth looked up from her toys when she heard the splash and stood up in time to see her big sister come up from under the water. She wanted to play with Rachel in the pool.

"Mach!" Beth yelled as she got to her feet and raced towards the pool.

It all happened so quickly that Shelby couldn't stop her before the little girl jumped off the side and into the water.

"Beth!" more than one person yelled.

Rachel reacted quickly and grabbed Beth just after she went completely under and pulled her up and held her tightly while she treaded water. Beth was smiling as she wrapped an arm around Rachel's neck and looked up Shelby. She didn't understand why her mother looked so stricken.

"Mama!" Beth squealed and splashed the water. "Pool." She started to chatter excitedly.

"It looks like she thought that was fun," Paul said.

"She would," Shelby said. This pool was going to give her a heart attack.

Rachel held onto the ladder and lifted Beth up and out of water and set her on the side. Beth stood up and immediately got ready to jump again.

"Oh no you don't, young lady," Shelby said as she picked Beth up. "You cannot go in the pool by yourself. This is why that gate will be closed at all times when no one is out there." Shelby's heart was racing and she didn't think she'd get any sleep tonight because she'd be imagining her baby jumping in the pool with no one around to pluck her from the water.

Rachel climbed up the ladder and gave her mother a long stare. "I'm going to change into a suit and I'm going back in." Quinn and Santana were ready as well. They both had their bathing suits in the car.

"No you're not," Rebecca said. All three girls slumped their shoulders.

"But, Nana," Rachel said.

"Your grandfather and I are taking you to dinner," Rebecca said.

"What?" Shelby asked.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"We are?" Paul asked.

"Yes," Rebecca answered. "Now go get dried off and changed."

Rachel looked to Shelby who just shrugged as she was wrapping Beth in a towel and drying her off. She then turned and looked at her friends and shrugged herself. They understood. They'd have to go swimming later.

"Come on, ladies," Judy said. "I'm ready to get out of the sun for a little while."

Once the three of them had left, the bathrooms upstairs were soon filled as everyone took showers or had baths in order to get clean. Beth was happy as a clam as she ran around with just a diaper on when Rachel came back downstairs ready to go to dinner. Beth was going to crash early that night, but she was still a bundle of energy at the moment.

"Mach, up," Beth said as she ran to Rachel with her arms up. "Go pool?"

"Not right now," Rachel told her. "You'll have to get Mama to take you back in; I'm going out."

"Why do you get to go out and not me and Beth?" Shelby asked as she came into the room.

"I don't know," Rachel shrugged. "They like me the best?"

Shelby smirked at her and was about to retort, but her parents came in the room to get Rachel.

"We won't be too long," Rebecca said. "We still need to get on the road tonight."

"You can always stay here," Shelby said. "Give me your clothes you were wearing when you got here and I'll start some laundry."

"Our bags are already in the car," Paul said.

"Well go and get them," Shelby told him. "There's no sense in rushing back or having to drive when it's really late and you're tired."

"That sounds like a good idea," Rebecca said. After all, they didn't know what Rachel wanted to talk about and the dinner might take longer than they anticipated.

"I'll go get our bags," Paul said.

When he stepped out, Shelby took Beth from Rachel and then pulled the girl to her side and kissed her head.

"Behave yourself," Shelby instructed.

Rachel gave her an innocent look of disbelief as if to say 'who me?' as Rebecca led her towards the front door.

"Yes, you," Shelby said. Rachel just gave her a mischievous grin and walked out the door.

"Bye, darling," Rebecca said before following her granddaughter and shutting the door behind them.

"What do you think they're up to?" Shelby asked Beth. She bounced the girl and made her giggle.

"Mama," Beth said. "Go pool."

Shelby sighed and followed Beth's gaze out into the backyard. The pool had only been open a day and it was clear they had created a tiny water monster.

"No more pool tonight," Shelby said. "We need to get your dressed and then have some dinner. How does that sound?"

"Mach?"

"Mach will be home in a little while," Shelby said.

"Elmo?"

Shelby laughed. "Sure, you can watch Elmo? Can Mama watch too?"

Beth threw her arms around Shelby's neck and gave her a tight squeeze. Shelby would take that as a yes. Elmo and the Water Monster; it was going to be a fun night.

The wait wasn't too long and soon Rachel was sitting at a booth in Breadstix with her grandparents and they were looking at her expectantly. Rebecca had finally gotten the chance to explain to Paul what Rachel had said earlier in the day and now he was just as curious as his wife.

"Ok, enough stalling," Rebecca said. "Tell us what's going on. And why you can't tell your mother."

"She can't know yet," Rachel said. "You have to promise not to tell her."

"We don't even know what it is, Rach," Paul said.

"It doesn't matter, you have to promise," Rachel retorted.

"Rachel Barbra Berry, we will make no such promises until you tell us what's going on," Rebecca said. "I have been thinking about this all day and I want to know what's the matter. And if I feel that your mother needs to know, I am going to tell her. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said. She was just like Shelby and there was no arguing with her when she got this way.

"Nana, do you remember when you came over to spend the day with me and Mom and Beth and we were grounded?" Rachel asked. "Only it wasn't a real grounding and Mom was just trying to make me feel better about what a bad time I'd had at my dad's house."

"Yes, I remember," Rebecca said.

Paul nodded in agreement because Rebecca had told him about when she got home that evening.

"And I went outside so I could think for a while by myself and then Mom joined me," Rachel continued.

"Yes?"

"I had a revelation," Rachel said.

"About what?" Paul asked.

"About Mom. And my family. You guys," Rachel said with a smile. "My dad couldn't be bothered to even try, but off the cuff, Mom planned a day out for us of doing nothing but being together. And then you showed up unexpectedly and didn't even mind staying inside all day and hanging out."

"Of course I didn't mind," Rebecca said. "I love just being with you, Rachel. We both do. You bring us so much joy just by being near."

Rachel smiled and felt her chin tremble, but took a deep breath because she had to keep going.

"So I had this revelation and I got to thinking about how I'm the only one that's different," Rachel said. "And I pictured myself in the future and I was in New York and I had made it, I mean really made it. I've seen that image before but that afternoon sitting in the backyard it was so clear and I knew right away why it was different."

"How are you the only one that's different?" Paul asked.

"I'll tell you in a second," Rachel said. "So the next day I started doing some research. But I wasn't sure if I was ready yet. I needed to really think about it. But every time I even considered it, the outcome was always the same. So then I talked about it with Dr. Woodward and she gave me some more information about what I need to do. The hows and whens and all that. I haven't actually started the process yet though."

"Process, Rachel?" Paul asked.

"But even though I haven't started, I know one hundred percent that this is what I want," Rachel went on. "I've known it for even longer than I probably was admitting to myself."

"You've known what, Rachel?" Rebecca asked. "What are you trying to tell us?"

"I'm going to change my last name," Rachel said. "I want to be like Mom and Beth and you two and Uncle Sam and Aunt Maggie and Jack and Michael. I'm the only one who is different and I don't want to be anymore. I want to be like my family. Like my real family. I want to be a Corcoran."

**A/N – Alright, that's it for this chapter! No one tell Shelby! It's a surprise! I wasn't even sure if Rachel should tell you guys, but I figured you'd all want to know. I'm serious about telling Shelby though. If I find out she's been told… **

**I hope you all like this one. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks. And I'm sorry again about the delay. **


	99. Chapter 99

**A/N – Happy New Year! I'm sorry for the delay in getting a chapter out. But the holidays are such a busy time and I was out of town for part of it and you guys know how it gets. But here's the next chapter and I hope you guys like it. **

**Thank you all so much for your reviews and support and for continuing to read. You guys all mean the world to me and I can't thank you enough for everything. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.**

Rachel stayed quiet after her revelation and watched as her grandparents took in the news she had just given them. She wanted to be a Corcoran like the rest of the family.

"Oh Rachel," Rebecca said as tears welled in her eyes. "Sweetheart, that's amazing."

"Rachel, I don't really know what to say," Paul said. His smile was wide and his eyes were shining.

"So it's ok?" Rachel asked.

"It's more than ok," Paul said.

"It's wonderful," Rebecca said.

They both got to their feet and rounded the table and pulled Rachel up so she was standing and they could hug her. Rebecca kissed her head and they were both squeezing her tightly. Rachel was sure they were making quite a scene.

"Nana. Grandpa, we need to sit back down," Rachel said. They just ignored her. "Nana," she whined this time.

"Hush," Rebecca said. "I love you and we want to give you a hug. Our sweet girl."

"Now I know where Mom gets her ability to be so embarrassing," Rachel said and Paul laughed.

"We're not embarrassing," Rebecca said.

"Everyone is staring," Rachel said. "Grandpa."

"Fine," Rebecca said and she let Rachel go but not before kissing her on the head once more.

Rachel glanced around the restaurant surreptitiously to see if anyone was watching them before turning her attention back on her grandparents who were smiling at her adoringly. The thought that she could get anything she wanted in this moment crossed her mind.

"Do you think Mom will like it?" Rachel asked as they all sat back down.

"She's going to love it," Paul assured her. "She's going to be so honored and so touched, just like we are."

"Why don't you want to tell her yet?" Rebecca asked.

"I want it to be a surprise," Rachel said. "I just haven't been sure about the timing and I've got to get the money in order to pay for the court fees and I've got to talk to my fathers still. I want everything to be in order before I tell her. So please don't say anything. I want it to be a surprise."

"We won't tell her," Rebecca said. "And don't worry about getting money to cover the court fees; we are going to pay for that."

"No, you don't have to do that," Rachel said. "I've got money saved in the bank. I was just going to use some of that."

"Absolutely not," Paul said. "We are paying for it and that's final."

"You don't even know how much it is," Rachel said.

"It doesn't matter," Rebecca said. "You can give us all of the information you have about costs and everything else and we will pay for it."

"But, Nana-"

"Young lady, I better not hear one more word about it," Rebecca said.

"But-"

"Rachel." Rebecca's tone was quiet and dangerous.

"Rach, there's no arguing with your Nana, ok?" Paul said. "She will win. Especially on a point where she's right, which she is about this."

"Ok," Rachel said and then even smiled. "Thanks."

"Why do you need to meet with your fathers?" Paul asked.

"I have to have their permission to change my name," Rachel explained. "Well, technically I don't, but it's easier if I do. I just need to get them to sign some paperwork."

"When are you going to meet with them?" Paul questioned.

"I'm not sure," Rachel said. "I need to find a time I can get them both together so that I don't have to do it twice. But I want everything taken care of before the summer is over so I can start the new school year as a Corcoran and not have to go back and change anything once it's started."

"I'd like to go with you when you talk to them," Paul said.

"Oh, Grandpa, you don't need to do that," Rachel said. "I think I can handle them on my own now. Hopefully. I usually either cry or start yelling," she joked with a half-hearted laugh. "But I just need them to sign the papers so it shouldn't be that hard."

Rachel was trying to downplay it, but she really did think it would be difficult. That wasn't going to stop her, but she knew there would probably be a lot of yelling and she'd probably cry. But one way or another, she was changing her name and she wanted her fathers to give her this one. She hoped they would see it the same way they did when they gave Shelby custody and that they would hand her over once more. But a lot of bad interactions and harsh words had been exchanged since then so she wasn't really sure how it would go.

"Rachel," Paul said, "I'd like to go with you. I want to be there for you. I will stay out of the way, but you will have the backing of your family."

Paul needed to do this for his granddaughter. He wanted to stand with her and he knew he was a better choice than her mother or grandmother for the task. He wasn't going to say so out loud, but his wife and daughter were far more hot headed than he was.

"Ok, Grandpa," Rachel said with a small smile. "Ok."

The trio stayed for another hour or so before finishing dessert and heading back to Shelby's house. Beth was already fast asleep and Shelby was enjoying having the TV to herself without having to watch Elmo. She looked up and smiled when her parents and Rachel came into the room.

"How was dinner?" Shelby asked.

"It was great," Rachel answered.

"It couldn't be anything but wonderful with the company of our lovely granddaughter," Paul said.

Rachel blushed but smiled broadly. "Thank you, Grandpa."

"I mean every word," Paul said.

They talked for a few more minutes about before Paul went upstairs to get changed into more comfortable clothes to lounge around in.

"I'm going to go swimming," Rachel said as she looked out into the backyard."

"Not tonight, honey, it's dark. It'll be ten soon," Shelby said.

"But that's why there's lights in the pool," Rachel argued.

"Rachel, you can wait until the morning," Shelby said.

"Mom," came the whine that Shelby knew was coming.

Shelby was about to tell her no again when her mother spoke up before she could.

"Oh, let her go swimming," Rebecca said.

Rachel smirked and Shelby shot her mother a glare. Rebecca just ignored Shelby and headed into the kitchen to get some water. Rachel's smile turned innocent when Shelby looked at her.

"Go on," Shelby smiled.

"Thanks," Rachel said. She started to leave and then stopped so she could look back at Shelby. "Mom, they spent a lot on dinner tonight and I need to pay them back. I'm going to get up early and go to the bank and pull some money out to pay them back." She still couldn't believe they were willing to pay for all of the court costs and so she wanted to be able to help pay somehow.

"Young lady," Rebecca said in that same dangerous tone from earlier. Rachel didn't realize she had come back into the room. "What did I say about hearing another word about money?"

Shelby looked at Rachel's wide eyes and then up at her mother and tried to put the pieces together of what she had missed. Rachel must have tried to give them money at the restaurant too.

Rebecca walked up behind Rachel who still hadn't said a word and took her by the arms and moved her so she was facing the stairs. She placed two quick and stinging swats to her granddaughter's backside to send her up the stairs.

"Go and get your suit on so you can go swimming," Rebecca ordered

Rachel grumbled to herself and rubbed her bottom as she trudged up the stairs to do as she was told. Shelby watched her go until she disappeared and then looked over at her mother with her eyes full of questions.

"She is as stubborn as you are," Rebecca said.

Shelby gasped in shock. She was not stubborn. And if she was, she knew exactly where she got it from. She wasn't going to say that right now though; she knew better.

Rachel was outside and in the pool in record time and she was thoroughly enjoying herself. There was something really awesome about getting to swim at night. It just felt more exotic. She had always loved the water was a good swimmer. So she had rolled her eyes when her mom warned her to be careful before she could even get outside. Rachel had a t-shirt and shorts on over her modest bikini that Shelby had approved of before she bought it, but the shirt and shorts were now tossed aside on the deck.

Rachel was floating on her back and staring up at the moonlight and she felt happy and content. This was just about perfect. She was glad she'd convinced her mother to get this pool. She was going to take credit for it forever. Rachel shut her eyes and let the water hold her. It was the opening of the back door that broke the reverie and caused Rachel to open her eyes once more.

"Rach?" Shelby said as she stepped outside. "What're you doing?" Stopped to pick up the clothes Rachel had left lying on the ground and put them on a chair.

"Oh, you know, just drowning," Rachel replied facetiously and shut her eyes again.

"That is not funny," Shelby said sternly as she made her way to the side of the pool. She stood with her hands on her hips and looked down at Rachel who had now given her mother her attention.

"I was kidding," Rachel said.

"You saw the way Beth just jumped into the pool today," Shelby said. "She has no fear and she would do that if she was alone. And you want to swim out here in the dark alone. Anything could happen. I don't want to hear that kind of joke from you again, you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel replied contritely. "You don't have to worry about me though. Nothing is going to happen."

"Of course I will worry," Shelby said. She sat down in a chair and watched Rachel in the pool. "I will always worry."

Rachel nodded along unconsciously at Shelby's words. She knew her mom would always worry; she'd definitely learned that in the ten or so months she'd been with her. But Rachel decided a change of subject was in order got herself upright in the water and made her way to the edge of the pool and looked up at her mom.

"Can we do something this week?" Rachel asked. "Just us?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Shelby responded.

"Maybe after all of your lessons one day," Rachel said. "We can get dinner or just hang out or whatever."

"That sounds perfect," Shelby said.

"Good," Rachel said with a smile before she dipped under the water and came up a second later with all of her hair slicked back.

They stayed together in an easy silence until Shelby realized it was already after eleven and thought that they should go inside.

"But, Mom," Rachel whined. "I'm fine out here."

"Rach, it's cooling off a bit and there's a storm forecasted for tonight," Shelby said. "As I tried to explain to Beth, the pool is not going anywhere and will be here when you wake up in the morning."

Rachel rolled her eyes and said a short "fine" before ducking under the surface and swimming to the ladder completely underwater. Shelby picked up her towel so she could give it to her, but Rachel had other ideas when she got out of the pool.

"Rachel, don't run," Shelby said when Rachel started to scamper towards her. She honestly wondered who was going to get in more trouble for running around the pool, Beth or Rachel.

Rachel quickly made her way over to Shelby and flopped down in her lap and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Rachel," Shelby groaned in annoyance because she was now getting soaked.

"I love you, Mommy," Rachel said sweetly.

"I love you too, baby," Shelby replied with a roll of her eyes.

Rachel smiled and shook her head some so that the water would go everywhere and Shelby just held her and let her get it out of her system. Once Rachel settled with her head on her mother's shoulder, Shelby could feel the girl shiver once or twice at the cool breeze in the air. That was rare this time and of year and didn't help her wet child. Shelby wrapped the towel around Rachel and rubbed her back some to help dry her off.

"Come on, kiddo, let's go inside," Shelby said.

They stood up and Shelby waited while Rachel dried off enough to slip her shorts and t-shirt back on. When they went back inside, Paul and Rebecca were just heading up to bed. Rachel wanted to stay up and Shelby relented even before her daughter could remind her that she'd said there would be no bedtime over the summer.

"At least change your clothes first," Shelby said when she came back downstairs after getting ready for bed. "Put on some pajamas and then start your movie."

"I will, Mom," Rachel said. "I'm just surfing through the channels right now. Give me a couple minutes."

"Alright. Goodnight, sweetheart." Shelby leaned over the back of the couch and placed a kiss on Rachel's head.

"Night, Mama," Rachel said sleepily.

Shelby stood back and watched as Rachel rubbed her eye for a second and then continued on with her channel surfing. It had been a long day and she bet her baby girl would be asleep within the hour.

The next morning, Shelby was awakened by the sounds of her happy toddler who wanted out of bed. Beth held onto the sides of her crib and jumped up and down when she saw her mother come into the room.

"Good morning, Beth," Shelby said with a smile. "How's my big girl this morning?"

"Pool!" Beth said excitedly. "Mama, go pool."

Shelby just rolled her eyes as she picked her youngest up. "We can go in the pool after you've had some breakfast."

"Good morning, ladies," Paul said as he and Rebecca came into the room. They had been on their way downstairs when they saw Shelby in there with Beth.

"Pa!" Beth said. Shelby was attempting to change her diaper and she was now trying to squirm away. "Up."

"Hold still," Rebecca said as she walked over to them.

Shelby got the diaper changed, but Beth wouldn't hold still long enough for Shelby to put her feet back in the footed pajamas so she looked like she was in tails with the way the outfit dangled behind her. Paul picked up her to carry her downstairs and she squealed delightedly when he started tickling her ribs.

"I hope Rachel's not up yet," Shelby said. She hoped her daughter learned to sleep in some, especially if she was going to be staying up late every night during the summer.

When they go downstairs, Shelby saw that Rachel was indeed still asleep. Just as Shelby predicted, Rachel had fallen asleep within that hour; but on the couch and not in her bed like the mother had assumed. She was also still in her bikini with the shorts and t-shirt over it. Her still damp towel was on the floor and a blanket was half hanging off of her. The TV was showing a morning news program.

Shelby just sighed as she looked down at her. "I told her to change before she started a movie."

"At least she's sleeping in," Paul said with a laugh.

"She needs a shower and to get out of that bathing suit for a while," Shelby said.

"Mach!" Beth said. "Up!"

"Shh, let's let Mach sleep for a little while longer," Shelby said. "How about some pancakes?" Beth loved pancakes.

Beth was sitting on Paul's lap while Shelby cooked and he didn't think anything of letting her down when she squirmed and slid off his knee. She made a beeline for her big sister and pulled the blanket off when she tried to climb on top of her.

"Mach," Beth said.

She wasn't deterred and simply stepped on the blanket and then grabbed hold of Rachel's shorts and pulled herself up so that she was sitting on top of her. Rachel started to stir and so Beth slid down beside her and got close to her face.

"Mach," Beth said in soft voice.

"What?" Rachel mumbled.

"Mach, up."

Rachel woke up enough to realize Beth was lying on top of her and squinted one eye open.

"What do you want?" Rachel said.

"Mach, go pool," Beth said. "Up."

Rachel shifted and picked Beth up so she could sit up too. The older girl yawned deeply and looked around. She half hoped that someone would come back in and get her sister so she could lie back down. She didn't go to sleep until close to four in the morning and it was only 7:30 now.

"Mach," Beth said again. She was almost whining now in an urgent tone. She needed to go in that pool.

"Alright, come on," Rachel said.

Rachel picked her sister up and carried her to the bathroom with her, long since used to the lack of privacy that came with having a toddler in the house. After that quick pit stop, Rachel and Beth went out back and looked at the glistening water that was ready to welcome them. Rachel shed her shirt and shorts and took Beth's sleeper all the way off. She looked around for the swimming diapers, but didn't see any. She thought her mom had left some out here yesterday. Rachel didn't want to have to go all the way upstairs to get some.

Rachel checked Beth's diaper and found it be dry. She knew she would have been changed right away when Shelby got her up and she also knew that it would probably be a little bit before she would need to go to the bathroom. So they should be safe for now. Rachel laid Beth on of the tables and stripped her of her diaper.

"Ok, let's go swimming."

Paul got up from his spot at the kitchen table to round up Beth so they could eat their pancakes. When he got into the living room he saw that Rachel was no longer on the couch, but a quick look outside told him where his granddaughters were. He opened the back door and watched them playing. He didn't realize Beth was naked until Rachel tossed her into the air and caught her just as she splashed back down into the water. Both girls were laughing and playing happily.

"Shelby," Paul called out as he turned back towards the kitchen. "Come look at this. You might want to bring your camera."

"What's going on?" Shelby asked when she and Rebecca got to Paul.

"Watch," he said. He took the camera from her hands and stepped all the way outside so he could get a good shot. He aimed it and waited for Rachel to toss Beth up again.

Paul wasn't disappointed because Rachel soon tossed her baby sister into the air and he snapped as many pictures as he could, all the way until she splashed down and after.

Rebecca laughed and started to look at the pictures on the camera with Paul and Shelby groaned. She wasn't sure which worried her more; the fact that Beth was being tossed so high in the air or the fact that she didn't have a diaper on in the pool.

"Rachel," Shelby said as she walked out towards the pool. "What is she doing in there without a diaper on?"

"She's fine," Rachel said. "Watch what we can do."

Rachel tossed her up again and then dunked her under a bit when she splashed down. Beth then popped back up and was held in Rachel's arms as her older sister stood in the pool. She was laughing the whole time.

"Rachel, don't dunk her under the water," Shelby chastised.

"She loves it," Rachel pointed out.

"Mama!" Beth yelled out. "Go pool."

"Not right now," Shelby said. "And you two need to get out so we can have breakfast and so she can get dressed.

"We're not hungry, are we, Beth?" Rachel asked.

"Yes you are," Shelby said with an air of finality.

"Mama," both girls whined at the same time.

"Out. Come on now," Shelby said. "You can go swimming later."

Rachel sighed and made her way to the steps and got out of the pool while still holding Beth. Shelby grabbed one of the extra towels she'd left out there and held it open for Beth. She wrapped it around her littlest daughter when the girl was placed in her arms.

Breakfast turned out to be a nice affair even though Rachel complained about having to do all the dishes after Paul and Rebecca left to go home. Beth played with her toys in the living room with Shelby and as soon as Rachel was done, she came out and sat down on the floor next to her mother. Shelby had to laugh because both girls were still in their bathing suits. Rachel had never changed and Beth had been adamant that she wear hers for breakfast. She even had the diaper made for swimming on.

"Mama, go pool," Beth said when she noticed Rachel was there. "Mach, pool."

"I'm ready," Rachel said. She held her arms out for Beth who happily abandoned her toys and went to Rachel.

"I'll go get changed," Shelby said. "I'll be out in a second. Make sure you two put sun screen on before you get in the pool."

"Sure," Rachel said. She and Beth were already halfway out the door and Shelby rolled her eyes. Sure indeed.

Shelby joined them outside about ten minutes later and the girls were in the pool and Rachel was twirling around while holding Beth in her outstretched arms. She loved getting to see them playing together and enjoying each other's company because lately it seemed like all they did was butt heads.

"Girls," Shelby said to get their attention. "Did you put sun screen on?" She knew they hadn't; the bottle was still in the cabinet where she left it the day before.

"We'll get some in a few minutes," Rachel said.

"No, get some now," Shelby said.

"Hang on," Rachel said. She went back to twirling around.

"Rachel," Shelby said. She cocked and eyebrow when her daughters stopped and looked up at them again.

Rachel conceded and got her and Beth out of the pool much to the dismay of the youngest Corcoran. But Shelby knew that she needed to be diligent about the sun screen, especially with Beth since her complexion was so fair to begin with. And she didn't even want to deal with a sun burned toddler. She didn't want to deal with a sunburned Rachel for that matter.

Shelby handed Rachel a towel as she took Beth to dry her off. Rachel grabbed and bottle and squirted some of the cream into her palm and started to rub it on her arms and shoulders. Shelby put it on Beth and the little girl stopped squirming after a minute and decided that this was fun and wanted to help rub it in. Shelby had to stop her before she got it in her eyes.

Rachel was ready to go back in right away, but Shelby stopped her.

"Let me get your back," Shelby said.

"It's fine," Rachel said.

"No it's not," Shelby said. "Why are you trying to get burned?"

"I'm not," Rachel insisted.

"Stand still," Shelby instructed.

She passed Beth to Rachel to hold and started to put some sun screen on Rachel's face. Rachel did her best not to protest, but this was ridiculous. Who needed sun screen on their ears? Did it never occur to her mother that maybe she was trying to get a tan? She had no idea her mother would be this annoying when she suggested the pool.

"Turn around," Shelby said.

Rachel did as she was told and soon felt the cool cream on her back as her mother worked it in. Shelby started at her shoulders and went down, even being sure to include the skin under the bikini strap. When she reached Rachel's lower back, she grasped the back of her bikini bottoms and pulled them down slightly.

"Mom!" Rachel complained as she tried to turn around, but Shelby held her in place.

"Just in case your bottoms slip some," Shelby said and she put sun screen on the top of Rachel's backside.

Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head at what a sight she must be standing there with her bottoms pulled halfway down like she was the Coppertone kid so her mom could put sun screen on her. The woman was nuts. Shelby pulled the garment back into place and let it snap when she let it go and smiled when Rachel gave an annoyed huff in response.

"OK, go ahead," Shelby told them. The girls didn't need to be told twice. "Rachel, do not run near the pool, especially when you're holding your sister," Shelby scolded.

"Ok," Rachel said as she continued to hurry towards the pool.

Shelby narrowed her eyes at her eldest and hoped that this wouldn't be an ongoing thing because was going to have to put a stop to it quickly if it was. She did not need either of them to fall and get hurt around the pool, especially for something as silly as running.

Shelby eventually joined them in the water and they stayed there until it was time for lunch. Rachel asked if they could eat out there, but Shelby told them to take a break for a while and eat inside. Beth would need a nap soon anyways and it would give them a chance for their food to settle.

"You know that's a myth, right?" Rachel said as they went into the house

"What?" Shelby asked.

"That you need to wait an hour after you eat to go swimming?" Rachel told her. "It's not true."

"I know," Shelby said.

"So we don't need to wait to go back in the pool after lunch," Rachel said.

"Beth is taking a nap after lunch," Shelby said.

"No!" Beth said with a pout as she stomped her little foot.

"Yes," Shelby said.

"No. Go pool," Beth said as she started to cry. Shelby picked her up, but the little girl immediately reached for her sister. "Mach!" she wailed until Rachel was holding her.

"Your fit is not going to stop you from eating lunch or taking a nap," Shelby said to Beth who rested her head on Rachel's shoulder and did her best to stare her mother down. It didn't work.

Despite her protests, Beth did eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and drank all of her milk. Her eyes were drooping as she sat in her high chair, but she was not ready to admit that she was tired.

"Mama, no!" Beth cried when Shelby told her it was nap time and picked her up. "Mach, go pool."

Her cries were so sad and Rachel took her from Shelby and said that she would lay her down. Shelby agreed and stayed in the kitchen to do the dishes. She smiled to herself when she heard Beth stop crying after a minute or two. She was sure that Rachel would be back down soon too so she could go back in the pool. She knew the newness of the pool was feeding the excitement at the moment and she expected it to die down eventually and that the girls would want to do other things. But for the moment she was going to enjoy having Rachel home all day and playing with her sister. Give it a week and Rachel wanting to hang out with friends and spend hours away from home would become the norm.

Shelby finished the dishes and went upstairs to check on Beth and see what Rachel was up to since she never came back downstairs. Beth's crib was empty and Shelby knew she would find them in her room. She figured she had to have the most comfortable bed in the house because it never went very longer before Beth or Rachel slept in it. Both girls were asleep on top of the blankets and Shelby smiled… until she realized they were both still in their bathing suits. Rachel had changed Beth's diaper and put on another swimmer instead of a regular one. Shelby sighed and left the room. Enough was enough.

She went to Beth's room first and picked up a diaper and a t-shirt a couple sizes too big. She'd discovered how much Beth liked to wear them when she'd put one on her by mistake one day. Shelby's next stop was Rachel's room and she pulled out a pair of panties and a shirt that had once belonged to her but had long ago been taken by Rachel. It was too big for the girl and Rachel liked to lounge in it.

"Rachel," Shelby said to wake her up.

"What?" Rachel asked with a whine. They hadn't been asleep very long.

"You need to get up and get changed out of your bathing suit," Shelby said.

"We're sleeping," Rachel told her.

"I know," Shelby said. "You slept in that suit last night and you're not making a habit of it. I've got your stuff right here. I'm going to change Beth, but I will help you too if you need it."

"I don't need help," Rachel said with a huff as she stood up and grabbed her clothes from her mom and disappeared into the bathroom.

Beth started to cry when Shelby got her out of her suit, but she settled back down when a new diaper and her shirt were in place.

"Mach?" Beth asked with tears in her eyes and a wavering voice.

"She's right there," Shelby said when Rachel came out of the bathroom in her t-shirt.

Rachel picked Beth up and crawled into the bed with her as Shelby held the blankets back for them.

"I promised her I'd stay with her until she fell asleep," Rachel said as they settled into the pillows. She was half asleep herself. "But only until she falls asleep."

"You're a good big sister," Shelby whispered as she leaned over and kissed Rachel's head. She was amused at the girl's need to give her an excuse as to why she was taking a nap too. "Love you."

Shelby kissed Beth and then tucked the blankets tightly around them. She then went into her bathroom and picked up Rachel's bathing suit from where she knew it had been left on the floor. She took the time to change as well and then gathered up all of the suits and put them in the pile for a load of laundry and left her sleeping children to their nap.

The thunder and lightning started while the girls were still sleeping and it was pouring by the time Rachel woke up. She'd only been asleep about forty-five minutes and she knew Beth would sleep for much longer. She slipped out of bed and carefully picked Beth up so as not to wake her and carried her over to her room so she could put her in her crib. She didn't want her sister rolling off the bed since no one was with her. Beth didn't so much as whimper during the transfer. Rachel covered her up and headed to her own room so she could get a pair of pajama bottoms to put on. She grabbed the pants from the drawer and then went to the window to look out. It didn't look like there would be anymore swimming that day.

"Hey," Rachel said when she went downstairs and found her mom reading a book on the couch.

"Hey, sleepyhead. You didn't sleep very long," Shelby said.

"I'm not that tired," Rachel said. She laid down on the couch and rested her head in her mother's lap.

"Yeah right. What time did you go to sleep last night?" Shelby asked.

"I don't know," Rachel shrugged. "Late. I like staying up."

"Trust me, sweetie, staying up late is so much nicer if you get to sleep in," Shelby told her.

"I was trying, but Beth woke me up," Rachel countered.

"Well tonight I want you to sleep in your own bed," Shelby said. "And I do not want you sleeping in your bathing suit again."

"Ok," Rachel said.

Rachel reached up to the back of the couch and grabbed a blanket that had been folded and left there that morning and tried to spread it out over her. Shelby put her book down and helped until Rachel was snuggled up tightly.

"Rach, before you fall back asleep, I want to remind you about the gate one more time," Shelby said.

"I know," Rachel said in an exasperated tone. She'd heard about how they had to make sure the gate stayed shut about a million times now. "And I'm not going to fall asleep again."

"I'm just reminding you," Shelby said. "You are not going to like it if I find that gate open with Beth anywhere near the backyard."

"Mama, I know," Rachel said in an annoyed manner as she sat back up. She really didn't want to fall asleep again.

"Ok," Shelby said. "Ok. But please drop your attitude. That gate is important and I'm not going to stop mentioning it so you should get used to it and not complain every time I bring it up. It'll save us both a lot of grief."

Rachel nodded, but without the annoyance this time.

"And if you and Beth are out there swimming alone, I expect both of you to be wearing sun screen," Shelby said. "Beth is very fair and she will burn easily. And I will not have you laying around out there all summer with no sun screen on either."

"But I want to get a tan," Rachel said.

"You can," Shelby said. "I do too. But within reason. And there is no exception for sun screen when it comes to your sister. Understood?"

"Yes," Rachel said as she exaggeratedly leaned her head back to rest against the top of the couch. If she had known this was going to be a lecture, she'd have stayed in bed with her sister.

"All right," Shelby said. "I'm done. What are your plans for the rest of the day now that Mother Nature has cut off access to your new toy?"

"Wanna watch a movie?" Rachel asked.

"Sure. You pick one out and I'll make us some popcorn and drinks," Shelby said.

They both got up to complete their assigned tasks and then settled in for a relaxing afternoon and night. Beth didn't take too kindly to the lightening getting in the way of the pool, but even she got over it after a while.

The next few days flew by in a blur of swimming and teenagers and a rowdy Beth. Quinn and Santana arrived Monday morning and Shelby wasn't even rally sure they won't home again before Wednesday. She was half convinced they were stashed away in the guest room because they were always there in the pool. Shelby caught the gate open one time and gave Rachel an earful even though Beth was napping at the time.

On Thursday afternoon Judy stopped by to visit with Shelby and finalize the plans for her and Quinn to watch Beth the next night while Shelby and Rachel had their night with just the two of them.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but why didn't you just call?" Rachel asked when Judy told her why she was there.

"Because a visit is much nicer than a phone call sometimes," Judy answered.

"Excuse the mess," Rachel said as she led her into the kitchen to get her a drink. "Mom decided today would be a good day to clean out the drawers. One of her students cancelled and apparently that means she should clean."

Rachel was alluding to the table and counters that were littered with serving spoons and spatulas and any number of other cooking utensils.

"Are you helping?" Judy asked. She accepted the glass of iced tea that was handed to her.

"I'm trying to avoid it," Rachel said. "I'm headed back out in a few minutes."

Rachel was wearing what was becoming her everyday attire of a bikini and a thin pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

"You mean you don't want to clean out drawers?" Judy asked with a sly smile.

"No, thank you," Rachel said with a scrunched up nose. The whole thing seemed pretty pointless to me.

Shelby had heard Judy come in the house just as she was entering the bathroom downstairs and she called out, "Hi, Judy," when she came out. "I'll be there in a second."

Shelby walked into the living room to check on Beth who was there playing with her toys. She spotted the girl standing by the back door and looking out. The door hadn't been closed all the way and Beth pulled it open and stepped into the threshold.

"And where do you think you're going, little miss?" Shelby said as she walked up behind her and scooped her up.

Shelby looked out into the backyard and gasped when she saw the gate to the fence that surrounded the pool was wide open. Beth could have gone all the way out there. She hurriedly put Beth in her seldom used playpen and dropped some toys in with her. Beth didn't make a fuss and sat down with her dolls and books and a few matchbox cars. She only looked up when her mom yelled.

"Rachel Barbra Berry!"

Judy looked over at Rachel and watched as the girl's eyes went wide at hearing her name called out with anger behind it. Rachel had no idea what she'd done.

"Mom?" She said tentatively. She kept her gaze away from Judy who stayed silent.

Shelby stormed into the kitchen and immediately reached for one of the wooden spoons on the table. She wagged it at Rachel as she spoke.

"How many times have I told you to make sure you shut the gate to the pool out back?" Shelby demanded to know.

"Lots," Rachel said nervously. "I –"

"Then why is the gate wide open?" Shelby yelled. The back door wasn't shut all the way either."

Judy backed away and kept quiet because she understood that she was trapped in the wrong place at the wrong time. And as a mom she understood that Shelby would be having this conversation with her daughter no matter who was in the room.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "I didn't- It was shut. I-"

Shelby didn't let her finish because she grabbed her arm and spun her around and paddled her bottom with the wooden spoon six times. "Your sister was walking out the back door," she lectured.

"Mama, I didn't," Rachel cried after the second swat. "It was shut," she added after the fifth.

"Go to your room," Shelby said sternly. "We will finish talking about this later."

"Mama, I didn't leave it open," Rachel said through her tears. The stinging in her bottom was real and so was the hurt that she was being so easily dismissed. Her mother wasn't listening or didn't believe her when she said she didn't do it, and Rachel suspected it was both.

"Right now, Rachel," Shelby said.

Rachel refused to look over at Judy and couldn't meet her mother's angry glare as she ran from the room and up the stairs. Shelby took a few deep breaths and finally dropped the spoon back to the table and looked over at Judy.

"I'm sorry," Shelby said. She immediately felt terrible about having punished her daughter so in front of anyone. She knew Rachel would be so embarrassed.

"Don't be," Judy said. "You're not the first parent to discipline their child with an audience."

"I'm usually so conscious of it," Shelby said. "But I have warned her about the gate over and over again."

"I know," Judy said. "I was just coming to solidify the plans for tomorrow night, but I'll get out of your hair so you can deal with that."

"Thanks," Shelby said. "I'll give you a call later and let you know if we're even still going."

"Ok," Judy said. She put her glass of tea down in the sink. "Don't worry so much, ok? It was just me."

"Thanks," Shelby said as she walked her out. "Talk to you later."

Shelby went into the living room and sat down on the couch and watched Beth playing without a care in the world. It frightened her so much to think of the girl getting out back by herself. She thought Rachel understood that, but it was clear they were going to have to go over it again.

Shelby stayed where she was for about half an hour and talked with Beth who seemed to having a good time in the playpen. For now. They'd kind of stopped using it as often once she learned to walk because she usually threw a fit when she was placed in it. But for now, Shelby was glad it was keeping her because she needed to talk to Rachel. But first things first.

Shelby went out back and made her way towards the pool so she could shut the gate. She shut it and then stopped when she noticed two wet towels on the ground. What were they doing there?

All of a sudden it hit Shelby like a ton of bricks. She had been the last one out here. She had picked up towels to put in the laundry and she'd dropped two from her armload on her way in. She was the one who hadn't closed the gate. She was the one who didn't check and make sure the back door was closed all the way after she'd kicked it shut with her foot when she walked in.

Shelby's eyes filled with tears as she looked up at the second story of the house as if she could see Rachel through the walls. She knew her baby girl was up there crying because of her and it broke her heart.

"Shit."

**A/N – That's it for this chapter. I hope you all liked it. Please, please leave me a review if you can. Your feedback means so much to me. Thanks again! **


	100. Chapter 100

**A/N – Oh my goodness, guys, this is the 100****th**** chapter! We made it! Can you believe it? I'm still kind of in shock myself. I am proud of this story and how it has played out. And I am so honored by your reviews and your messages and your friendship. Thank you all so much for reading and providing me with all this constant support. Your feedback has made this story so much fun and exciting to write. I thank you all so much. Honestly, you guys are the best! I cannot say that to you enough. And we still have more chapters to go so it's not over quite yet. **

**I am so sorry for the delay in getting this out to you. The holidays clearly threw me off more than I thought they would. And I am leaving soon for a two week vacation out of the country and I've been trying to get ready for that as well. Everything just seemed to compound on me and it didn't leave much time to get this finished. But I was determined to get this chapter out before I left. I am so glad I was able to do that. Because literally in a few hours, I will be on my way to Japan for vacation. So thank you all for your patience and understanding. **

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Shelby ran a hand through her hair and leaned down so she could pick up the two stray towels from the ground. She felt incredibly guilty and she wasn't quite sure what she would say to Rachel. She knew she had to go and talk to the girl, of course, but she was at a loss for what to say. What did she say to her girl to make this better?

Beth was still playing in her playpen when Shelby walked back into the house. She looked back to make sure that, yes indeed, the gate was closed and latched completely. She then shut the back door behind her and locked it.

"Mama," Beth said.

"Yes, my love?" Shelby asked when the baby had her attention. She dropped the towels to the floor and decided she would worry about them later.

"Get out," Beth said. "Mach no." She rubbed her eyes even though a doll was still secure in her grasp. "Up. Leep no."

Shelby couldn't help but smile at her little girl. She wanted out so she could get around and play. Beth didn't want a nap; she wanted to get out and play.

"Are you a tired girl?" Shelby asked as she leaned down and lifted Beth from her playpen.

The little girl shook her head, but yawned at the same time and rested her head against Shelby's shoulder. Shelby swayed with her and it didn't take very long for Beth to give in to the sleep that had been chasing her for the last fifteen minutes.

Shelby carried her into the kitchen in search of her phone and stopped short when she saw the wooden spoon on the table. She picked it up and put it back in its proper drawer and decided to forget about her cleaning project for the time being. She found her phone and left the room and sat down on the couch with Beth still in her arms.

The phone only rang twice before Judy picked up.

"Shelby?" She had seen the woman's name on her screen and was pretty surprised to see her calling right now.

"Judy, I made a terrible mistake," Shelby said.

"What's going on?" Judy asked.

"It was me. I left the gate and the back door open," Shelby confided in her.

"Oh, Shelby."

"I know. I went out back to close the gate and I remembered," Shelby said. "I punished Rachel for no reason and I wouldn't even listen to her. She said she didn't do it. I feel so awful."

"Shelby, it's going to be ok," Judy said. "You made a mistake; it's not the end of the world."

"Tell that to the kid who got a spanking in front of her best friend's mom," Shelby said. "I'm sorry. But I never should have done that, even if Rachel had been at fault."

"You were just reacting," Judy said. "The gate is protecting your child and you're going to do what you have to do to make sure it stays closed."

"By punishing my other child?" Shelby asked.

"If need be," Judy answered.

"But it wasn't needed," Shelby said. "Rachel didn't do it."

"Shelby, it was a mistake," Judy told her again. "I know you feel guilty, but you cannot beat yourself up over this. At least not for too long. All parents make mistakes. You're allowed."

"But what am I supposed to say to her?" Shelby asked.

"The truth," Judy said.

"She's going to hate me," Shelby lamented.

"No she's not," Judy assured her. "But she will try and make you feel guilty."

"She has every right to make me feel guilty," Shelby said.

"No, she doesn't. Don't let her use this to try and get her way with things," Judy said. "Because the next thing you know she's batting her eyes and rubbing her bottom and you've bought a puppy."

"What?"

"Ask Quinn about the time she was nine and I spanked her for breaking a brand new bottle of grape jelly and leaving it all over the counters and the floor in the kitchen," Judy said.

"It was her sister, wasn't it?" Shelby asked.

"It was her father," Judy corrected. "Anyway, I sat her down and explained to her that I'd made a mistake that I was sorry."

"Did she accept that?" Shelby questioned.

"She did. But only after she'd guilted me into buying her a puppy," Judy said. "She got lots of ice cream and got to ignore her bedtime and lots of other little things because she made a habit out of reminding me of my mistake. I eventually had to put a stop to it and that was just as hard. Now it's just become a funny story."

"What happened to the puppy?"

"He ate all of my shoes and Russell's wallet with all of his credit cards and license and stuff in it," Judy said. "The final straw came when he pooped in Quinn's bed. We gave him to some friends who loved him. We are not dog people, Shelby."

Shelby laughed and then hushed herself when Beth shifted her position and settled back down. There was a silence that hung in the air for a few moments until Shelby took a deep breath and readied herself.

"I'm going to go and talk to her," Shelby said. "Beth is napping and that'll give me time to sit and talk with Rachel."

"You'll be fine," Judy said. "It was a mistake. She will understand. Eventually."

"Thanks," Shelby said sincerely. "And I'm so sorry I dragged you into it by flying off the handle."

"Don't worry about it," Judy said. "Sometimes it comes with the territory. Both of being a mom and a mom's friend."

"Thank you," Shelby said again.

She hung up the phone when the conversation had ended and quietly carried Beth to her room and placed her in her crib. She watched as the girl got comfortable and then covered her with a blanket and brushed some hair back from her face.

With Beth settled Shelby left the room and headed across the hall to Rachel's closed bedroom door. She took a deep breath and then knocked softly a few times. There was a long silence and then finally Rachel spoke up from in the room.

"Come in."

Shelby opened the door and stepped into the room and saw that Rachel was sitting on the bed resting against the headboard with her knees drawn up to her chest. She had her hands resting on her knees and her chin on her hands. Shelby watched as her eyes flicked up to look at her and then back down immediately to stare down as she had been. Shelby closed the door behind her and then took a few more steps into the room so that she was standing at the foot of the bed.

She noticed that Rachel had changed out of her bathing suit and had put on a t-shirt and sweats instead. If nothing else, Rachel looked like she was more comfortable in that outfit than the swimsuit.

"Mama, I-"

Rachel stopped talking when Shelby held her hand up to silence her. Shelby's eyes shown with unshed tears and sympathy when she saw Rachel's chin begin to tremble and tears form in her eyes. Shelby moved around to the side of the bed and sat down near Rachel's feet. She put one hand on Rachel's leg and then moved some hair back from her face with the other.

"Look at me, sweetheart," Shelby said gently.

Rachel shook her head and averted her eyes so she could look towards the window. Shelby could see that they were still glistening with tears.

"Rachel. Look at me," Shelby said again.

Rachel was hurt and upset and angry, but she also didn't want to disobey. Now just didn't seem like the time for it. It would be easier, though, if her mother would just get on with however else she was going to be punished. She just wished her mom would let her say something first. Rachel wanted to be listened to.

Rachel finally shifted her gaze back to her mother and lifted her eyes enough to meet Shelby's. Shelby didn't speak until she knew for certain she had Rachel's attention.

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Shelby said firmly and sincerely.

That certainly got Rachel's attention and she picked her head up off her hands and sat back some.

"Why?" Rachel asked. Her voice was shaky with tears.

"I know you aren't the one that left the gate open," Shelby said evenly. "I'm sorry I punished you."

"I told you it wasn't me, but you wouldn't listen," Rachel said as her tears started to fall again.

"I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry," Shelby said.

Shelby maneuvered herself on the bed so that she was sitting next to Rachel against the headboard. She took the girl in her arms and held on tightly as Rachel settled her head against her mother's chest and cried. Shelby rubbed her back and cooed in her ear to try and get her to calm down.

It took a few minutes, but Rachel finally settled and reached up and wiped her face with her hand and then wiped her hand on her mother's shorts. Shelby rolled her eyes and reached for a few tissues from the bedside table and used those to wipe Rachel's face instead.

They settled into a comfortable silence which Shelby was grateful for. She hated the idea of Rachel being so angry at her that she didn't want to talk to her or be with her. She was glad to get to hold her child and provide some comfort, even if she knew she was the one who put her in that position in the first place.

Rachel held tightly to Shelby and rested her head against her chest so that she could hear her mother's heartbeat. She never knew such a sound could be so soothing. She may have been sixteen years old, but Rachel loved being held like this. Her emotions were jumbled because she was angry at having been falsely accused and punished, but she wanted her mom because she knew the woman would make the hurt feel better.

One thing Rachel was certain of, however, was the pain in her bottom. She'd gotten used to it while she was sitting on the bed, but now that she had rolled over and taken the pressure off, she could really feel the sting. Whether all of that pain was actually in her bottom or partly residing in her head because her innocence had now been declared was another matter entirely.

"My butt hurts," Rachel said. It actually teetered on a whine as she reached back to rub the dull sting that remained.

Shelby couldn't help but laugh slightly at the proclamation from her daughter after the minutes of silence they had just spent together.

"I'm sorry," Shelby said before kissing her head.

"How did you know it wasn't me?" Rachel asked after another few moments of silence.

Shelby took a deep breath and squeezed Rachel tighter and then spoke.

"I remembered that I was actually the one who left it open," Shelby came clean with Rachel. "I had been picking up towels and I didn't shut it all the way when I came back into the house."

Rachel pushed herself up slowly so that she was sitting and gave her mother an incredulous look.

"You left it open? You gave me a spanking for something you did?" Rachel asked.

"I'm sorry," Shelby said again. "I forgot about it and then I saw Beth standing by the open door and panicked at the thought that she could have gotten down there and to the pool."

"But I told you I didn't do it!" Rachel half whined, half yelled. "You didn't even bother to stop and listen."

"I know that, Rachel," Shelby said. "I said I was sorry. I made a mistake."

"Why did you have to spank me in front of Judy?" Rachel asked with an angry pout.

"I have had to speak to you more than once about the gate," Shelby explained, "so when I saw it open again with Beth at the back door, I assumed you left it open again. I didn't mean to spank you in front of Judy, it just happened."

"Well maybe if you had listened to me or let me even talk at all, I wouldn't have been humiliated," Rachel said. "I'm never going to be able to look at Judy again."

Shelby wanted to roll her eyes at her daughter's dramatics, but kept herself in check. She knew that Rachel would be angry and she was willing to let her get her anger out… to an extent.

"Yes you will," Shelby said. "I called her and explained what happened and she knows it was my fault and that you were punished unfairly," Shelby said. "You have no reason to feel humiliated."

"Well I do feel humiliated," Rachel said petulantly.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Shelby said. "And I am sorry for my mistake and for spanking you and not hearing you out first. You deserve to be given a chance to explain yourself and I took that away from you. I hope you will accept my apology."

Rachel looked away and studied a spot on the wall across the room. Her pride was hurt even if she was glad the truth was out now. And on a more basic level, she was glad to know that no further punishments would be coming her way today.

"Yeah," Rachel said as she looked back over at her mother. "I do."

"Thank you," Shelby said.

"Please don't jump to conclusions in the future though," Rachel said. "You not listening to me and not believing me is worse than any spanking."

Shelby didn't even understand how thickly Rachel was laying it on as she melted a bit at her daughter's words. She pulled her daughter back down to her for another hug and Rachel smiled as she rested her head down and let her mother hold her.

"I promise I will listen to you in the future," Shelby said. "You will always have your fair say."

"Thank you, Mommy," Rachel said.

It was a good point and Rachel meant it seriously, but she was a smart girl and she could tell how badly her mother felt about all of this. And she was the one who had been wronged after all. There's no reason she couldn't or shouldn't use it to her advantage some.

"You're welcome, baby," Shelby said.

They only stayed like that a few minutes longer and then got up to head downstairs. Shelby was pleased with how well it had gone and that Rachel had accepted her apology so easily. Now they could get on with the rest of their day.

"I've still got to finish cleaning up in here," Shelby said when they reached the kitchen. "Why don't you help me?"

"Do I have to?" Rachel questioned. She hadn't wanted to do this earlier before everything happened and she still didn't want to do it. Especially now.

Shelby looked over at Rachel and smiled. "No, sweetheart, you don't have to. I'll finish up in here."

"Ok," Rachel said before turning and walking out of the kitchen.

Rachel lied down on the couch, on her stomach of course, and searched through the TV channels for something good to watch. She smiled when she came across an afternoon rerun of _Little House on the Prairie_. She used to watch this all the time when she was younger and home at her fathers' house.

Shelby came into the room about forty minutes later and watched as Rachel absently rubbed a spot on her backside. She didn't doubt that it still had a bit of sting to it. She knew from experience that wooden spoons hurt.

She walked to the back of the couch and leaned down and patted Rachel's bottom gently, as she would a baby.

"Are you ok?" Shelby asked.

"Yes," Rachel answered sounding very pathetic indeed.

"_Little House_, huh?"

"Yeah," Rachel answered as Shelby can around couch and sat down by her head and stroked her hair. "I used to watch this show all the time when I was a kid. Laura's my favorite."

"Nellie was my favorite," Shelby said. "And Laura too. I loved when they would get into fights and arguments."

"Me too," Rachel smiled.

"Why aren't you outside swimming?" Shelby asked after a few moments. "Or you could call Quinn and Santana and have them come over."

"No," Rachel said with a dramatic sigh. "I think the water would just sting at this point. And Judy probably told Quinn all about what happened."

"Oh sweetie," Shelby cooed at her daughter. "I'm sure she didn't. Judy wouldn't do that."

Rachel just shrugged and turned her focus back to the TV.

"Mama, can we order out for lunch?" Rachel asked.

"Sure," Shelby said easily. "We're still going out tomorrow, right? Just you and me?"

"If you want to," Rachel said. "It would be nice since I'm not really in trouble."

"Of course I want to," Shelby said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Can we go somewhere really nice?" Rachel asked. "A place that we've got to dress up for and stuff like that."

"That sounds like fun," Shelby smiled. "Don't worry about a thing, sweetheart. I'll find a place and make reservations."

"Thanks, Mama!" Rachel said.

After the day they'd had so far, Rachel's happy smile was all that Shelby needed. She left her daughter to watch her show and went into her office to try and find the perfect place.

By the time the following afternoon rolled around, Rachel had gotten out of every chore and diaper change for Beth that her mother had asked her to do. She had also successfully been given permission to eat popcorn for dinner while watching four Barbra Streisand movies in a row. At midnight she snuck out and went for a quick swim and loved it. That was definitely something she could get used to doing after her mother had gone to bed.

Rachel was holding the pink dress she was going to wear tonight in front of her and was looking in the mirror when the doorbell rang and pulled her out of her thoughts. They had reservations in an hour and Judy and Quinn were watching Beth. Rachel's hair was already done and all she really needed to do was get out of the clothes she'd been lounging in all day and put the dress on. Rachel was really glad she'd employed the somewhat tricky tactics to secure this night out because she was excited to get dressed up and go out. And she was glad to be going alone with her mom. The whole evening was going to be perfect. She knew it.

There was a knock on her door and Rachel called out over her shoulder for the person to come in. She assumed it was either Quinn coming to say hello or her mother telling her to get a move on.

"Hi, Rachel," Judy said when she walked into the room and shut the door behind her.

Rachel spun around and immediately started to blush with embarrassment. She hadn't expected it to be Judy who came into her room. She quickly looked away so that she could keep her eyes everywhere but on the woman in front of her.

"Hi," Rachel said softly.

"That's a beautiful dress," Judy said. "I know you must be looking forward this night out."

"I am," Rachel nodded.

"Rachel," Judy said as she stepped forward. She took the dress from the girl and laid it on her bed. "I want you to know that you don't have any reason to be embarrassed."

"I know," Rachel said, still looking down. "Mom made a mistake."

"Yeah, she did," Judy agreed. "And you got a spanking."

Rachel blushed a deeper shade of red and stared down at the carpet.

"Honey, I don't want you to be embarrassed," Judy said. She stepped closer to the girl and put her finger on her chin and lifted her head so that Rachel would look at her. "It happens. And I have seen your behind get swatted before. In fact, I've swatted it myself."

"It's not the same," Rachel said.

"No, you're right, it's not," Judy said. "But I love you all the same. Even if you had deserved it, I would still love you so much. You do not need to be embarrassed in front of Quinn or me."

"Does Quinn know?" Rachel asked suddenly.

"No, she doesn't," Judy said. "But if you talked to her about it, I know she can share similar stories," she said with a wink. "Now stop playing shy with me, young lady."

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said with a smile and let Judy pull her into a hug.

"Finish getting ready. We'll all be downstairs waiting to see you in that dress," Judy told her.

"Will you send Quinn up to help me?" Rachel asked.

"Of course, sweetheart. And I hope you haven't been too hard on your mother. If you have, that needs to stop right now," Judy warned.

"Oh I haven't been," Rachel said innocently. "We've been getting along just fine."

Rachel's tone was enough to make Judy pause for just a second, but she said, "Good girl," before leaving the room.

Judy sent Quinn upstairs and waited downstairs with Shelby. She was ready and had been for a little while. Beth loved Shelby's jewelry and had been having fun playing with her necklace. Shelby had been able to hold her off from trying to play with her hair.

"She said you guys have been getting along just fine," Judy said. "I mean, I assumed as much because you're going out to this place."

"We have been," Shelby said. "She was upset and angry for a bit, but she's fine. I actually think she was actually trying to hide how upset she was yesterday. She didn't want to do anything. We ordered in lunch, but then Rachel didn't want to take care of any of the dishes. And she somehow got Beth to come to me every time she needs to be changed. And we had a Barbra movie marathon last night. We didn't even have dinner; just popcorn and sodas. I didn't make her help me finish cleaning the kitchen either."

Shelby looked over at Judy who was standing with her hands on her hips and shaking her head.

"What?" Shelby asked.

"I was just wondering when you guys were getting your puppy," Judy said.

"Puppy? What are you talking about?" Shelby asked.

"No chores, didn't have to help with a project she was involved in, junk food for dinner, ordered out for lunch, fancy restaurant tonight," Judy listed off things Rachel had been doing.

Shelby's mouth fell open in shock when it was spelled out for her. Her baby girl had been buttering her up since yesterday afternoon!

"Told you," Judy said.

Shelby was about to respond, but was cut off when Rachel started coming down the stairs in her beautiful pink summer dress.

"How do I look?" Rachel asked.

Shelby couldn't even really hold any resentment towards Rachel. She'd have done the exact same thing to her mother if she'd been in that situation. Hell, she'd used far less as an excuse to manipulate her mother to get her way. Shelby decided that she might say something later, but for now, she was going to enjoy her evening with her beautiful daughter.

"You look wonderful!" Shelby said. "You are beautiful."

"You have to say that," Rachel said.

"Stop that," Judy chided. "You're beautiful and that's that."

"Thank you," Rachel said.

"She didn't believe me," Quinn said as Shelby passed Beth to her.

"Whatever," Rachel said with a smile.

"Come on, we'd better get going," Shelby said. "Thanks for staying with Beth. We'll see you later."

Shelby kissed Beth's head and told her to be good before leading Rachel outside and leaving to go to the restaurant.

They were seated right away because of their reservations and Shelby took great delight in watching Rachel look around. She'd wanted fancy and so Shelby had given it to her. They had to drive to a bigger city to get to it, but Shelby didn't mind. She'd been here before a few times, mostly on dates, but she was already having a better time with Rachel than she ever had here before.

"This place is amazing," Rachel gushed after their food was served and she took her first bite.

"Yep, they really outdo themselves here," Shelby agreed.

"I bet there are places like this all over New York City," Rachel said.

"Of course there are. Some of the world's finest restaurants are in New York City," Shelby told her.

"Have you ever been to any of them?" Rachel asked.

"No," Shelby laughed. "I stuck to more of what I could afford."

"I can't wait to live there," Rachel said.

Shelby stared at her excited eyes and bright smile and outwardly matched it. But her emotions raged on the inside like they always did when Rachel talked about moving to New York. Shelby wasn't sure how she was going to deal with Rachel moving. She didn't even like to think about it.

"And when I've made it on Broadway and I'm famous and have lots of money, I'm going to go to all of those places," Rachel continued on. "I'm going to take you to them."

"Thank you," Shelby smiled at her. "I would love that."

"It'll be so perfect," Rachel said. "I bet people will stop me and ask for autographs and they'll want pictures. It's going to be so cool."

"I think you'd get tired of that after a while," Shelby said.

Rachel shrugged and smiled indulgently. "Maybe after a while. But it would be awesome at first. And don't worry, Mom, you and Beth will get first dibs on all of my new autographed pictures."

"Oh you're too kind," Shelby laughed.

"Beth will get to tell all of her friends how she's got a really famous and talented sister," Rachel said. "If I make it right away, maybe Beth will still be young enough for me to come in and be what she shows off for show and tell. How cool would that be?"

"Very cool," Shelby agreed.

Rachel moved on to the topic of how awesome her Manhattan apartment will be once she's made it big. Shelby smiled and nodded and watched her girl with awe and love. She felt like she'd just gotten her back and she knew she was not prepared to say goodbye. She didn't want Rachel moving across the street, much less to New York and beyond. But she also knew that there was precious little in this world that put that smile on her daughter's face like talk of making it in New York City did. Shelby knew that she would do everything in the world to help Rachel achieve her dreams and not even an ounce of manipulation was needed from her girl.

They didn't get home until after midnight they were as quiet as possible as they entered the house. Well Shelby was trying to be quiet and Rachel was still talking, but she kept her tone hushed. She'd been talking about how good the vegan chocolate cake was for the last ten minutes.

"Hey," Judy said softly as she looked up from the couch. She was watching TV.

"Hey," Shelby greeted.

"How was dinner?" Judy asked.

"It was perfect," Rachel said. "I think it's the best place I've ever been. We have to go back, Mom. Maybe we can all go together. You and Quinn would love it," she added, turning her attention back to Judy.

"We'd love that," Judy said.

"Where is Quinn?" Shelby asked.

"She fell asleep about forty-five minutes ago. She's up in the guest room," Judy answered. "Beth played her hard."

Shelby laughed and said, "Wonderful. And how was Miss Beth?"

"She was an angel," Judy said. "She really was," she added when Shelby looked at her skeptically. "She and Quinn swam for a while and then played in here until Beth was too tired. She even cried during her bath."

"Wow," Shelby said. It was unusual for Beth to cry during her bath because she loved it so much.

"Yeah," Judy said. "But she fell right asleep. I bet she even sleeps in for you in the morning."

"Now that would be awesome," Shelby said. "Thank you so much for watching her."

"My pleasure," Judy said. "Let me just get Quinn up and we'll head out."

"Leave her," Shelby said. "No sense in waking her up now. I'll bring her home in the morning. Or she can stay and hang out and go swimming or whatever."

"Alright," Judy agreed. "She really was pretty tired. Ok, I will see you two tomorrow some time."

Once Judy was gone, Shelby sent Rachel up to change into some pajamas while she looked in on Beth. The tiny girl was snuggled with her blanket and her pacifier was firmly in place. Shelby whispered an 'I love you' before leaving the room. She stopped by the guest room next to check on Quinn. The girl was sprawled out with the blankets everywhere. Shelby stepped into the room to put them back in place since all Quinn was sleep in was a t-shirt and she didn't want her to get a chill from the air conditioner.

"I love you," Shelby said softly before kissing Quinn's head.

Shelby was in her bathroom brushing her teeth when she heard Rachel enter her room. She peeked out and saw the girl had her quilt with her which meant that she was getting a guest for a little while at least. Rachel got settled in the bed while Shelby finished up with her teeth.

"Whatcha doin', baby girl?" Shelby asked when she came out of the bathroom.

"Hanging out with you," Rachel answered with a shrug. "I'm not tired. But I don't feel like watching TV or anything."

"Oh," Shelby said. "Well since we're in bed, do you mind if I turn out the light?"

"I don't care," Rachel answered.

Shelby didn't know if she believed Rachel's claim that she wasn't tired. She knew the girl had been staying up later and that was helping her sleep later, but it had been a long couple of days and she suspected Rachel might fall asleep sooner rather than later. Shelby climbed up in bed beside Rachel and got under the blankets.

"Can you believe it's almost been a year since I've been living with you?" Rachel asked after a comfortable silence.

"It doesn't seem possible, does it?" Shelby said.

"No," Rachel agreed. "You were so far away for so long."

"I know," Shelby said.

And she would regret that forever. But it's funny how life worked. Some days she felt like she'd had Rachel in life for all of the girl's sixteen years and then there were moments where she still felt so completely brand new. It had been almost ten months since Rachel moved into her house and Shelby was happier than she had ever been in her life. Despite all of the ups and downs, she wouldn't change anything. Rachel's mere presence had changed her for the better and Shelby knew she could cling tightly to every moment she could until Rachel moved away. And even then, she wasn't letting go. She was getting to watch her baby take control and explore her life. Shelby looked forward to that immensely even though she wanted to hang on tight.

"Maybe the next year and a half will go by slowly before I move away," Rachel said.

That caught Shelby by surprise and she couldn't stop the choked sob take came upon her so quickly.

"I hope so," Shelby said.

"Mom?" Rachel questioned. She perched up on her elbow and looked down at Shelby. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetheart," Shelby said as she wiped at her eyes. "Come here."

Rachel soon found herself cuddled next to Shelby's side. This was her safe place Rachel relished in the contact and warmth of her mother's embrace.

"I love you, Mom," Rachel said.

"I love you too, Rachel," Shelby told her.

Shelby lied awake holding Rachel long after the girl had fallen asleep. She thought about the girl Rachel was not even a full year ago and the young woman she was turning into. Rachel was indeed growing up, but it pleased Shelby to know that her daughter still fit perfectly tucked into her side while she slept with one hand clutching her beloved quilt. Rachel was growing up, but in these moments, she was still a little girl. Yes, they had come a long way, but there was still plenty more to come, and for that, Shelby was eternally grateful.

**A/N – Ok, that's it for this chapter! There is more to come, I promise! If you could leave me a review, I'd love to hear from you. Your feedback means so much to me, especially here on the 100****th**** chapter. Thank you all so much.**

**My hundredth chapter gift to you all is no cliffhanger. I'm sure they'll be back soon. :) **

**I promise that I will start to work on the next chapter as soon as I get home from Japan. Well give me a couple days to fight jet lag and then I will get to work. **

**Thanks guys! **


	101. Chapter 101

**A/N – Hey! I'm so sorry for the long delay between chapters! It has taken me much longer than expected to get back into everything, but here I am. Japan was so cool and such a neat place. I wish I had taken a vacation to recover from my vacation when I got home. Thank you all so much for your continued support and for the reviews and messages. You guys don't know what you all mean to me. I could not have made it this far without you.**

**Now… I have some news. There are only two chapters after this one and then it'll be over. I guess 103 is going to turn out to be the magic number. Look how far we've come, guys. Thank you, thank you.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

The late morning sun shone brightly over the Corcoran house and Shelby was enjoying lounging by the pool with her daughters and Quinn. The older girls were in the pool while Beth was laid out on top of Shelby while her mother reclined in one of the deck chairs. Beth was on her stomach with her head against her mother's chest and her hair was still wet from when she'd been in the pool just twenty minutes ago. Shelby had a light towel draped over Beth to keep the sun off the tiny girl's fair skin. Despite Shelby's best efforts with the sunscreen, Rachel had developed a nice tan and Beth's blonde hair seemed even lighter. Beth and Quinn sported matching pink faces from the sun and the play.

It had been a month since the gate incident, as Rachel liked to call it, and both mother and daughter kept on top of keeping it closed. At this point though, it really was automatic and it had been a couple of weeks before one had to remind the other about it.

Shelby took great delight in the fact that the summer seemed to be taking its time and not rushing by. She treasured these moments with a sleeping baby on her chest and a carefree teenager in the pool. Shelby watched Rachel and Quinn from behind her sunglasses and smiled at how silly they were being. Often times the girls, Santana included, just laid out or relaxed in the pool, but today Quinn and Rachel were playing. Shelby loved the melodic sound of Rachel's mischievous giggle that rang out after she dunked Quinn in the water.

"Mama," Rachel called out while Quinn worked to regain her footing. "What time is-"

She didn't get to finish her question because she was suddenly hit by an armful of water from a revengeful blonde.

"It's 11:52," Shelby answered as Rachel sputtered and coughed.

Shelby didn't miss the glance that passed between the girls and it piqued her curiosity enough for her to sit up and look at them more closely.

"Why?" Shelby asked.

"No reason," Rachel answered. "I'm going to get out now and go take a shower."

Shelby was confused as she watched both girls get out of the water and start to towel off. Why had their game ended so abruptly? What was so important now that it was almost noon?

She picked Beth up so that the girl could rest her head on her shoulder and followed Quinn and Rachel into the house. They had already disappeared up the stairs and Quinn took the hall bathroom while Rachel used her own to shower. Shelby wouldn't get any answers right now so she changed Beth out of her suit and then put her down for the rest of her nap and then got changed herself. She could get cleaned up herself some time later after they'd had lunch.

After showering and getting dressing, Quinn made her way into Rachel's room and found her friend getting ready to go out. She was brushing out her hair one more time as she took another glance out the window.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Quinn asked as sat down on Rachel's bed and crossed her legs.

"Yes," Rachel answered. "And besides, it has to be today because it took forever to set up a time when I could get them both together. And Grandpa will be here any minute so I can't back out now. I don't want to back out now."

"It'll be fine," Quinn said. "There's no reason why they shouldn't sign the papers."

"I know," Rachel said with a bit too much nonchalance. She was worried about this, but she was doing her best not to be."

"This whole thing is going to be amazing," Quinn gushed. "Your mom is going to flip."

"Shh!" Rachel hissed at her. "You know how my mom is. She could be lurking anywhere and I don't want her to get any clues that something may be going on."

Quinn could only laugh and shake her head.

"Then why did you ask your grandfather to pick you up here?" Quinn asked. "You should have met him somewhere. You don't think him showing up out of the blue is going to make your mom wonder what's going on?"

Rachel opened her mouth to make a retort but noting came to her. Well crap. She hadn't thought of that.

"You get way too much credit for being sneaky," Quinn told her.

"I'm sneaky!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Like an old senile fox," Quinn replied.

Rachel huffed and put her hands on her hips and was about to reply with a comeback of her own, but the sound of a car outside made her stop and look out the window again.

"He's here," Rachel said.

Downstairs, Shelby was in the kitchen making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone when the doorbell rang and caught her by surprise. She knitted her brows and set a completed sandwich down on the breadboard and went to answer it. She wasn't expecting anyone and she knew it wasn't Santana because the girl was out of town. Besides, she and Quinn had taken to half knocking, half just walking in when they came to the house.

Shelby made her way to the front door and opened to see a smiling Paul on the other side.

"Hi, Shelbs," Paul said as he stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.

"Dad," Shelby said in surprise. "What are you doing here?" She stepped back after their hug to let him in.

"I came to see Rachel," Paul answered.

"Rachel?" Shelby questioned. "Why are you here to see Rachel? And why did you tell me you were coming? Is Mom here too?"

"Grandpa!" Rachel squealed as she bounded down the stairs with Quinn on her heels.

"Hi, Rach!" Paul said as he matched her excitement and picked her up for a hug.

Paul pulled Quinn to him as well and Shelby eyed them all suspiciously. Rachel had a messenger bag slung over her shoulder and looked like she was ready to go out. What exactly was going on here?

"Anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Shelby asked the group.

"Grandpa and I have a lunch date," Rachel answered her.

"Oh," Shelby didn't hide her surprise. "How come no one mentioned this to me? You drove all this way for a lunch date?"

"It's not that long of a drive," Paul said.

"I thought I did mention it to you," Rachel said as she stared at the wall like she was thinking hard on it.

"No. You didn't," Shelby assured her.

"Oh," Rachel said with a shrug like she couldn't believe it slipped her mind. "Well, we better get going, Grandpa."

"Yep," Paul said as he looked down at his watch.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Shelby asked. "How long will you be gone? And I don't suppose Beth and I are invited."

"Not this time, Shelby," Paul said. "It's just me and Rachel. We'll be back in a little while."

"Bye, Mom!"

With that, Shelby watched her father and daughter disappear out the front door. Quinn started to wander away, but Shelby took her arm and pulled her into the kitchen. When Shelby let her go, she put her hands on her hips and stared the girl down.

"I should get going," Quinn said.

"What was that whole thing?" Shelby asked.

"What whole thing?" Quinn returned her question with one of her own.

Shelby's look became more pointed and she raised an eyebrow.

"Quinn," Shelby said dangerously. "I know you know."

Quinn knew she should have left before Paul showed up. Leave it to Rachel to get her stuck in this position. She looked around for a second to try and find a way out of this and did the first thing that came to mind. Quinn picked up one of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Shelby had just made and shoved a huge bite into her mouth.

"I haghf to go," Quinn said around her mouthful.

She quickly slipped by Shelby and grabbed her keys and raced for the front door. She even took the sandwich with her. Shelby didn't bother to try and stop her and instead just watched her go. She would get to the bottom of this eventually.

Quinn was glad to see there was a bottle of water in her car and she took a long sip of it even though it was hot. She needed something to help wash down the sandwich she was trying to chew. Quinn had warned Rachel that it might be harder to hide this from Shelby than she anticipated. Rachel had told Quinn and Santana about her plans to change her last name three weeks ago and both girls were happy for their friend and excited about her decision. And they loved the idea of keeping it a secret from Shelby, but as Quinn worked to wash down the peanut butter and jelly sandwich with old, hot water, she knew they were going to have to get smarter about it. As she backed out of the driveway, Quinn shook her head at Rachel and Paul for deciding to meet at the house.

Rachel had been pleased when she'd finally been able to get her fathers to agree to meet her at the same time. She hadn't seen either of them since the disastrous last meetings she'd had with both. She had started to occasionally text with them again since those visits, but it was all very cordial and distant. They simply left personal matters out of it.

Rachel had no idea how this lunch would go, but she smiled when she looked over at her grandpa. She was glad she agreed to have him come along. And she was even happier that he'd wanted to in the first place.

"Are you ready for this, sweetheart?" Paul asked.

They had been parked out in front of the restaurant for a couple minutes. Rachel knew both her fathers were already there because she had seen their cars when they pulled up. She clutched her bag closer to her and nodded at Paul.

"I'm ready."

Henry and Scott were making awkward small talk when Rachel and Paul walked in. It was clear from their expressions that they were not expecting anyone but their daughter.

"Hi," Rachel said before giving each of them a hug. "Have you two met my grandfather Paul Corcoran?"

There was no hesitation on her part and Rachel smiled fondly at her grandfather as she thought back to Thanksgiving all those months ago when she'd had trouble referring to her mother's family as her own. That seemed like a lifetime ago for Rachel and it again affirmed without a doubt that she was making the right decision.

"Yes," Scott answered. "We met briefly when you were in the hospital."

The men shook hands and they were seated in what turned out to be perfect location at a table in the back. Rachel wasn't sure why, but she liked that they would not be near anyone else in the restaurant. There was an awkward tension that hung in the air while they ordered their lunches.

"We didn't know you were bringing a guest," Henry said. He took a sip of his iced tea and looked almost like he was nervous.

"Grandpa asked to come along with me," Rachel said. "I'm glad he's here."

"So, what's up, Rach?" Scott asked. "I was surprised you wanted to meet up, especially with us together. Our last visits did not really go that well."

"No, they did not," Henry added.

Rachel wore a sheepish expression when she looked over at Henry and said, "Mom washed my mouth out for that."

All three men have her looks ranging from surprise to satisfaction and Rachel's cheeks tinged red. Henry had to admit that he didn't think that would happen. Shelby had seemed upset, but she was clearly on Rachel's side.

"Anyway, that's not why I wanted to meet with you today," Rachel said in an effort to start more questioning about that before it started. "I need to talk to you about something that's very important to me. I need to ask you something."

"Ok," Scott said. "What is it? What's going on?"

The last time Rachel had sat them down to talk about something important, she'd told them she wanted to live with her mom. Both men were a lot calmer right now than they had been that day.

"Well, umm, as you know, I've been living with my mom for almost a year now," Rachel started, but was interrupted when the waiter brought their food.

"Go on, Rach," Paul encouraged when they were alone again. He noticed that she had picked up her fork and started to play with her salad nervously.

"Ok," Rachel said and let out a long breath. "Mom has full custody of me and you guys seem a lot happier than we all were last year at this time. I am too. I'm much happier."

"Rachel," Henry tried to cut in.

"No, let me finish, please," Rachel said. "I'm not trying to make any accusations or blame anyone. I'm just stating a fact. I'm happier. Happier than I've been in a very long time. My mother gave that to me. My family did that for me. I love you guys, I do, but it is better now. I'm better and I think you two are better. And I have this whole family with a little sister and grandparents and cousins and an aunt and uncle and they all love me. And I love them so much. So much that I want to be like them."

"What do you mean you want to be like them?" Scott asked. He couldn't figure out what she was asking for because it wasn't like Shelby needed to adopt her or anything.

Rachel fidgeted nervously in her seat and picked up her glass of water to take a sip. She was so confident in her decision and yet it was so hard to say out loud. What would their reaction be? What if they said no? What if they got up and stormed out? What if they got really angry again? She was so grateful for her grandpa and his steadying presence.

"Just say it, Rach," Henry said. "It's ok. Just tell us what you want."

"I want to change my last name to Corcoran," Rachel said quickly. "I want my name to be like Mom's and Beth's and Grandpa's."

Paul watched the younger men closely as Henry and Scott sat back in their chairs. Rachel had picked up her water again and was hiding behind the glass as she took another sip. Both men were trying to formulate a response when Rachel decided that the best course of action was just to continue to forge ahead.

"I have papers that I need the two you to sign giving your permission," Rachel said. "I can do it without your permission, but it takes longer and is a harder process. I'd really like for you to sign the papers for me. I'm not trying to forget you or replace you or anything like that. But I've finally found me and I've found where I belong and the people I belong with and I need this. I need you to give your permission. I need you to do this for me."

Both men looked taken aback and unsure of what to say. Scott ran his hand over his short hair and let his eyes fall on Rachel's anxious face. She was sitting on pins and needles waiting for an answer, but he needed to gather his thoughts. He glanced over at Henry and saw him watching Rachel the same way.

Rachel looked back and forth between the two men and grew more and more agitated with their silence. Her eyes filled with tears and she worked up the courage to speak again.

"Please. Don't do this."

Paul put a comforting hand on Rachel's back and looked over at her fathers. He had promised he would be there for her and he knew she needed to get this done. He was supposed to be the calm one between his wife and daughter, but if one of them didn't respond to his granddaughter soon, he was going to lose it.

"Rachel," Henry said. "Don't cry. I will sign the paper. I want you to be happy. I'll admit that this hurts and it is a hard thing for a man to own up to the fact that he was not the father his child needed, but whether you believe it or understand it, I do love you. I love you very much. And yes, I will the sign the paper."

"I will too," Scott said. "Just don't forget us. One of our last connections that makes you ours is being taken away."

"I could never forget you," Rachel promised. "You're still my dads. But we have so much to learn about each other and I hope that we can grow together from this point instead of always fighting about the past. I'm moving beyond it. It's been so slow and so hard, but it's working. I'm me. I'm a Corcoran at heart and a Berry inside. It will always be a big part of me, but it's not who I want to be to the world."

"You are a strong girl, Rachel," Scott said. "And I too love you very much. As much as we might hate to admit it, you don't leave us much choice. You don't belong to us, not anymore. You will always be our daughter though. No one will ever take that away. Not you. Not anyone."

"I know," Rachel said with a hitch in her voice. "I wouldn't want to. And it's not like we can change DNA. You're my dads and nothing will change that."

All of Rachel's issues and anger weren't magically swept away in that moment, but another huge step had been taken forward. And she couldn't help but smile at hearing her fathers say they loved her. She had thought just the opposite so many times over the past four years, but right now, she knew their words to be true. And though they had walked out and left her alone years before and had given her away to her mother without so much as a second argument, in agreeing to sign those papers, they really were finally letting her go. And they were doing it for no other reason than she asked them to.

Lunch turned out to be not so bad after they got that conversation over with. Paul picked up the tab for everyone and then Henry and Scott followed them to Dr. Woodward's office. The documents had to be signed in front of a notary public so they would be legal and Dr. Woodward just happened to be one. And she had offered her services to Rachel in this matter. Part of it was official and part of it was selfishness; the doctor wanted to meet the fathers of her young patient at least once and this would probably be her only chance.

"It's nice to meet you all," Dr. Woodward said after Rachel made the introductions.

"I've got the papers right here," Rachel said and she opened her bag and pulled out a folder full of documents.

"Perfect," Dr. Woodward said.

She studied the fathers as they read through the papers and then signed. She could definitely see where Rachel got some of her mannerisms from. It was always interesting to look at the parents of patients because you could learn so much without even having a conversation. And neither of the men seemed at all willing to have a conversation with her.

"Ok," Dr. Woodward said as she put her last stamp and signature on the appropriate page. "That's that."

"Ok," Henry said. "Umm, ok. I'll see you later, Rach."

"Me too," Scott jumped in as well.

"Thank you so much," Rachel said and she hugged them in turn.

"Of course," Scott said.

"Bye," Henry added.

They were back to being their awkward and standoffish selves, but Rachel understood it and waited until they left the office to turn and smile at her grandfather and doctor.

"They said yes," Rachel said. "It's actually happening!"

"Yes it is," Dr. Woodward said. "And how do you feel?"

"Happy. Relieved. Excited for Mom to finally know," Rachel said. "I have to set up a court date, but they told me when I got the paperwork that it can take a month or two to get seen. Grandpa and I are going there next to set it up."

"That's wonderful," Dr. Woodward said.

"Yeah, so we better go," Rachel said. "You'll be there, won't you? In court?"

"I wouldn't miss it," the doctor said and she pulled Rachel into a hug. She was so proud of the girl.

"I'm glad," Rachel told her.

"But first you will see me this Thursday for your appointment," Dr. Woodward reminded her.

"Of course," Rachel said. She knew that. She had an appointment every Thursday.

After saying their goodbyes, Paul and Rachel left the office and went to the courthouse and filed to get a date with the judge. They were assigned a day in late August and Rachel slumped her shoulders at having to wait so long. It was only July now.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart," Paul said as they walked back to his car. "They just wanted to give you plenty of time to plan your celebration party."

That perked Rachel up and she smiled. That was true. The party would be awesome.

"Now come on, let's get you home before your mother calls out the National Guard to try and find us and figure out what we're up to her," Paul said. "Or worse, she calls your grandmother."

Rachel giggled as she buckled her seat belt and Paul started the drive home.

Beth had toys everywhere and Shelby was pacing as she talked to her mother on the phone.

"What do you mean you don't know what's going on," Shelby said. "If it's just a lunch date, why didn't anyone tell me he was coming?"

"I don't know, Shelby," Rebecca said. "You know how Rachel is; it probably just slipped her mind."

Shelby narrowed her eyes and scoffed at her mother. Had the woman met Rachel? Nothing just slipped her mind.

"I don't like not knowing what's going on with my daughter," Shelby said.

"Leave her be," Rebecca instructed. "What sixteen-year-old girl makes time for lunch dates with her grandfather? It's sweet and you don't need to get onto her for forgetting to tell you. Your father was so excited about this morning when he left the house and I don't want you ruining their moods because you're afraid of not being in the loop."

Shelby felt like a teenager who just come in after curfew and she stopped pacing as her mother chastised her.

"I'm not trying to ruin their mood, Mom, I just like to know what's going on," Shelby said. "It's not like Rachel not to tell me something like this. I can't help it that I'm suspicious."

"Stop being paranoid," Rebecca said.

"I'm not, I'm just-"

"You are," Rebecca cut her off. "Let them enjoy their day."

"Ok," Shelby sulked.

"Give Rachel a kiss for me and tell your father to drive safe," Rebecca said.

"I will," Shelby said. "Bye."

Rebecca hung up the phone and shook her head. She was taking over this operation if her husband and granddaughter couldn't stop being so obvious.

Rachel and Paul entered the house twenty minutes later and Beth got to her feet and happily toddled over to see Paul who scooped her up and swung her around much to the little girl's delight.

"Hi, Mom," Rachel said and she greeted Shelby with a tight hug.

"Hi," Shelby responded and held her girl close. She wasn't sure what it was for, but she would never pass it up. "Did you two have a nice lunch?"

"Yep, it was great," Rachel said.

"Good. Where did you go?" Shelby asked.

"The steak place down by the school," Rachel answered automatically.

"That doesn't seem like a place you would like," Shelby said.

"Grandpa liked it," Rachel told her. "And they had a really amazing salad. We'll have to go back because I think you'd like it too."

"That sounds good," Shelby said. Ok, so maybe they really had gone to lunch. "Was it crowded? You were gone for a while?"

"No, not really," Rachel shrugged. "Grandpa and I drove around for a little while and I showed him some different places.

Paul smirked at his daughter and really wanted to tell her that even Beth could see through her right now.

"It was a wonderful afternoon," Paul cut in. "Thank you for letting me steal your daughter away for a little while."

"Of course," Shelby said. "Maybe next time I can get a head's up. I'd appreciate that."

"You got it, Shelbs," Paul said. "And I really should be going now. Rachel, thank you for a wonderful day."

"Thank you for coming all this way to spend it with me," Rachel said.

Rachel hugged him close and then he gave Beth another hug and sloppy kiss on the cheek that made her squeal before passing her off to Shelby. She got a hug too and they all saw him to the door. Rachel waited until he had driven away and then turned and looked at her mom.

"I'm going to change and go swimming again. Beth, do you want to go in the pool?"

"Go pool!" Beth said excitedly and she practically leapt from Shelby's arms into Rachel's.

"Come on, let's go get changed. Mom, I'm going to call Quinn and see if she wants to come over," Rachel yelled out as she was walking up the stairs.

Shelby watched her go and tried to put her finger on exactly what she thought was off. Rachel was about to continue with the same day they'd been having this morning except for the gap when her father was randomly in town. Something was definitely going on. She just wished she knew what it was and how to figure it out.

Two weeks passed from the day Rachel had spent with Paul and Shelby was no closer to knowing what was going on than she had been that day. But nothing peculiar had happened since and Shelby was beginning to think if she truly might be paranoid like her mother said. Maybe at the end of the day, lunch was just lunch.

Shelby rolled over in bed and looked at the clock. It was 1:32 in the morning and she wasn't exactly sure what had woken her up. Maybe it was because she'd gone to bed earlier than usual. Rachel had decided she was tired about ten and went up to bed. That was unheard of these days. So much so that Shelby was beginning to dread getting her back on a schedule when school started.

Maybe it was a noise that had woken her up. Or a feeling. No matter what it was, she was up now and she reluctantly through the blanket back and headed towards the bathroom. When she was finished in there, Shelby went to check on Beth and saw the girl sprawled out in her crib with wild blonde hair and an angel's face.

Shelby turned to leave the room and that's when she heard it again. It must have been a noise that woke her up. Shelby stopped and listened and then rolled her eyes. She knew that sound. It was Rachel in the pool. The girl loved her late night swims and Shelby didn't mind it either. She trusted Rachel to be careful and not stay up all night. And even if she did stay up all night, Shelby was glad she was really enjoying her summer. Rachel was a kid who deserved to play. But Shelby also didn't want her waking the neighbors. Shelby headed downstairs to remind Rachel she needed to be a little bit quieter.

Shelby, however, was not prepared for the sight that greeted her when she stepped out onto the porch. On the way downstairs she'd wondered why Rachel would be making so much noise all alone. And now she could see that her daughter was not alone. Shelby crossed her arms and headed for the pool.

"Jesse, shhh," Rachel giggled only to have it cut off when he leaned in and kissed her deeply.

They were in the shallow end but hunched down so only their heads were above water. Rachel was leaning back against the wall of the pool and Shelby could not see her hands. But she had a clear view of Jesse's as they worked their way into the bikini bottoms Rachel was wearing. He used one hand to try and get them all the way down and would have succeeded had Shelby not cleared her throat.

It was an unmistakable sound and Rachel's eyes went wide and she broke the kiss with Jesse who looked just as shocked and scared. Both kids immediately ducked under the water and Rachel hastily fixed her bottoms. Shelby just rolled her eyes at their escape plan and waited for them to come back up for air.

Shelby finally saw the tops of their heads emerge from the water. Jesse stopped as soon as he could breathe and didn't look up at his former coach and mentor. He worked to get his cool confidence back into place before he had to confront Shelby. He wasn't quite sure who was scarier; Coach Corcoran or Rachel's mother.

Rachel finally braved a peek and lifted her head just far enough over the side of the pool so see could see Shelby.

"Hi, Mama," Rachel said meekly for ducking back down and out of view.

**A/N – That's all for this one! I hope you guys liked it. Please, please send me a review and let me know. I appreciate it so much. And again, thank you for your patience and for bearing with me as I got back into the swing of things. There will be a new chapter soon, I promise. Thanks guys! **


	102. Chapter 102

**A/N – Guys, I am so sorry. I never intended for it to take as long as it did to get this chapter out. I apologize. Thank you all so much for all of your reviews and messages and for continuing to read all this time. You support means the world to me. Thank you.**

**Remember that this is the penultimate chapter. I hope to have the next one in a much shorter time than it took this one. Though, I'll warn you. I'm getting nostalgic and can't believe it'll finally be done. But I will get it done. I promise you that. I hope I can make the ending perfect and worthy of all of you have been reading for so long. **

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

Shelby crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes as she stared at the tops of the two heads of the kids who had not moved from their spots in the pool. She was trying to stay rational and calm and not think about Jesse St. freaking James' hands in her daughter's bikini bottoms, but she wasn't sure how much longer she'd last. She did not want to start yelling at close to two in the morning. She should be sleeping and her daughters should be securely tucked in their beds and not doing God knows what with a college boy in the pool in the dark. Shelby scoffed. She certainly knew what so she was pretty sure God did too. Ok, she'd had enough.

"Out. Now." Shelby's voice was icy and cut right through Rachel and Jesse.

Rachel looked over at Jesse apprehensively and she saw the same scared look on his face. He met her eyes and neither of them dared to move first. Somehow it just seemed safer in the pool. Rachel lifted her head a bit so she could see over the edge and saw that her mother was standing close to the entrance to the gate so there was no way she could make a run for it.

"Rachel," Shelby said with the same scary tone when she saw the girl was looking her way. She waited until Rachel braved meeting her eyes and said, "Out. Now."

Rachel sunk back down next to Jesse and sighed when she looked over at him. They both knew they were delaying the inevitable. After a few more moments of shared, silent misery, both kids stood to their full height and made their way towards the steps in the shallow end.

"Mom," Rachel said when she started to climb out of the water, "it's not what you think."

Shelby picked up two towels and turned back and looked at Rachel incredulously.

"I'm pretty sure it's exactly what I think," Shelby said.

Shelby eyed Rachel's skimpy bikini and knew right away she'd never seen it before. Just when did her daughter get that bikini? And where? Shelby was certain that Rachel was about six or seven years off from every being able to wear a bikini like that; and if Shelby had her way, Rachel would never wear something like that again. It was far too revealing and small. There couldn't be more than three strings holding that thing together. She never wanted to see that bikini on her little girl again.

Shelby tossed the towels at the kids and crossed her arms again. Jesse was grateful for the towel and quickly wrapped it around his waist. Rachel wrapped her body up as well and tucked the towel securely under her arms.

"What in the hell are you two thinking?" Shelby hissed. "It is in the middle of the night and nothing about this is appropriate!"

"Mom, please don't yell," Rachel said.

"I am not yelling!" Shelby yelled and then caught herself. She did not need to wake up the neighborhood. She took a calming breath and then turned her glare on Jesse. It satisfied her to see him shrink back some. "What are you doing here?"

"Swimming with Rachel," Jesse answered.

"I don't want you going swimming near my daughter ever again," Shelby said sternly.

"Mom," Rachel cut in with a pleading tone. "Stop." This was all so embarrassing.

"And you, young lady, know better than this," Shelby turned back on Rachel. "You will never come down here and swim this late again. Ever."

"Coach, it's not what you think," Jesse said. "Honestly."

"Shh!" Shelby hissed again as she pointed at him. "I don't want to hear it. I am not stupid and I am not naïve. I know what I saw."

"But, Mom," Rachel said.

"No," Shelby said sternly. "Jesse, it's time for you to leave. And if you want to come over and see Rachel again you will run it by me first. And, trust me; you do not want to test me on this. You don't even know the half of what I'm capable of. Is that understood?"

"Mom," Rachel tried to keep the whine out of her voice. "That's not fair."

Shelby ignored her and continued to glare at Jesse. She was silently daring him to argue with her. He, of all people, knew better.

"Is that understood?" Shelby asked again. She let the threat hang in the air for a second and stared him down. She didn't even care if she sounded a bit irrational right now.

"Yes, ma'am," Jesse answered.

"Good," Shelby nodded. "Now go home."

"Bye, Rachel," Jesse said sadly as he turned and looked into her eyes.

"See you later," Rachel said in a bit of defiance towards her mother."

Jesse nodded and then leaned into give Rachel a peck on the mouth, but stopped when Shelby shot forward and made a weird, unintelligible noise. But he was pretty sure that noise was a threat of some kind so he backed off.

Mother and daughter stood in silence as Jesse gathered up his clothes and car keys and made his way out of gate and around the house. He still had the towel wrapped around his waist and Shelby wanted to point out that he was stupid for carrying his flip flops when he could have put them on, but she let him go. It would serve him right if he stepped on a rock.

"Mom, I can't believe you did that!" Rachel said as soon as Jesse was gone.

"You can't believe I did that? You can't believe I did that? You are sixteen years old and out with a boy in the middle of the night and when I caught you his hands were not only in your pants but taking them off and you can't believe I did that?" Shelby was incredulous. "If you think any of that was ok, you better think again."

"We didn't do anything!" Rachel said in an effort to get her mother to understand. Parents were always so stupid about situations like this.

"His hands in your pants is not nothing, Rachel Barbara Berry!" Shelby shot back. Her voice was starting to rise again. "And just where were your hands?"

"Nowhere!" Rachel said in frustration.

"Let me see your bathing suit," Shelby demanded all of a sudden.

"What?" Rachel asked. She was confused by the sudden change in topic.

"I'm fairly certain I've never seen that bathing suit before," Shelby said. "I want to see it."

"It's just a bikini," Rachel said. She tightened the towel around her body.

"So just let me see it," Shelby ordered. "Rachel, I am not playing with you right now."

Rachel sighed and unwrapped the towel and set it down on one of the deck chairs. She, Quinn, and Santana had all purchased this style of bikini one day at the mall. And they all waited until Shelby was out of the house to wear them. Though they got more wear at functions away from the Corcoran household, but none of their mothers needed to know that.

Shelby eyed the bikini and her contrite, if not annoyed, daughter and sighed. What was she doing with a bikini like that? She was just a little girl. Rachel still liked to be tucked into bed at night; she should not be wearing barely-there bikinis in the pool with a boy in the middle of the night.

"Where did you get that?" Shelby asked.

"The mall," Rachel answered.

"You are not to wear it again," Shelby said clearly.

"But, Mom," Rachel did whine this time. "There's nothing wrong with it."

"It is not appropriate for you," Shelby said.

"But-"

"I am not going to argue about this," Shelby said. "I am going to take it when you take it off and you will not wear it again."

"You're being so unreasonable!" Rachel yelled. "This is stupid! Why couldn't you have just stayed in bed and left us alone? But no, of course not. You had to come out here and ruin everything. I bought this bikini with my own money. It's mine and I am not going to give it to you."

Rachel took off in a huff and tried to storm past Shelby and into the house, but the woman was just as fast. She cut Rachel off and took her by the arm and landed two quick but stinging swats to her still wet and thinly covered backside.

Rachel yelped and put her hands back to rub her bottom. Who knew being wet could make it sting so much worse?

"I would watch your tone, young lady," Shelby said in a deadly serious voice. "The bikini is just the tip of the iceberg of the trouble you stepped in tonight. So it would be best for you to keep your attitude in check right now because I do not want to hear it right now. You are going to go upstairs and take a shower and then give that bikini to me and then get into bed. We will be talking about this at length in the morning."

"Fine," Rachel grumbled out and snatched her arm away from Shelby.

"Excuse me," Shelby said.

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel said sarcastically and then hurried off towards the house so her mom couldn't get her again.

Shelby clenched her fists together and took a few long, calming breaths. She turned and looked at the pool accusingly as if it had also done something wrong that evening. Shelby did not appreciate its role as an accomplice.

After taking another few minutes alone in the pleasant night air, Shelby finally followed after Rachel and into the house.

When Shelby reached Rachel's bedroom, she heard that the shower in the bathroom was already running and so she waited. She had calmed down considerably and was starting to think rationally about the whole situation. Well, as rationally as she could. But she also knew that they wouldn't be able to talk about it tonight. She knew for herself that she needed more time to think. And so did Rachel.

Rachel was more than happy to let the hot water rain down on her in the shower. She could not believe her mother had caught them. How does she always do that? All she knew is she better not have scared Jesse away for good! She'd been loving having Jesse home this summer. She also loved the fact that he wouldn't be returning to UCLA in the fall and was instead going to NYU. He'd be a lot closer that way and she hoped it meant he'd come home more often.

The shower also gave Rachel a chance to calm down and understand the real trouble she was probably in. She could angry at her mother all she wanted, but that wasn't going to help her at all when she had to face the music. And she had to admit, it really must have been a huge shock for Shelby to walk out and see them. She sighed and shut her eyes and let the water hit her face. She was going to get it.

Rachel finally finished washing up and dried her hair most of the way and got dressed before stepping out into her room to find her mother sitting at her desk. At some point in waiting for Rachel to be finished, Shelby had gone back to her room to retrieve her phone and she was now engaged in what appeared to be a serious game of Bejeweled.

"Mom?" Rachel questioned.

"One sec," Shelby replied as she concentrated. She lost a few moments later and then looked up. "Hey."

"Mama, I-"

Shelby shook her head and held her hand up. "We're not going to get into it tonight. It is far too late and we both need some sleep. We can wait until morning."

Rachel sighed and wrung her hands together. She hated when her mother did this. Why couldn't they just get it over with now?

"Mom," Rachel whined.

"Sorry," Shelby said. "I want you to give me your bathing suit and then get into bed and get some sleep."

Rachel wanted to argue, but instead turned dejectedly and went back into her bathroom and picked up the damp bikini from the floor where she'd left it. Shelby kept her face neutral when Rachel walked back into the room and handed over the suit.

"Thank you," Shelby said. "Now it's time for you to go to bed. I love you."

Shelby leaned over and kissed Rachel's forehead and smiled when she heard the girl mumble that she loved her too. She waited in the doorway until Rachel was in bed and situated under the blankets before turning off her light and shutting the door on the way out. Shelby went into the bathroom in her room and held up the two pieces of the bikini so she could get a good look at them. Shelby did not consider herself to be prudish or conservative, but how did this bikini cover anything? No, her daughter was not wearing this again. She laid the two pieces over the side of the tub so they could dry and then went and got into bed herself. She felt for Rachel, but she needed to give her time to think, and yes worry, for a while. Morning would come soon enough.

Rachel rubbed her hands over her face and willed her brain to stop thinking so much so she could get some sleep. She had been tossing and turning since she'd gone to bed and she was convinced she hadn't slept a wink. She wished her mother would just go ahead and get it over with so she could relax and sleep. She'd been thinking about it for a few hours now and she wanted to talk to her mom and try and get her to understand. Rachel thought about Jesse and how she felt when she was with him. She also thought about what it meant when he was touching her like that. Her mind had been going a mile a minute with topics from how she felt to what she wanted to say to Jesse when she saw him again to how far she was willing to go right now. What did it mean to be ready? What did it mean to be wanted in that way? She wasn't even really sure she grasped the concept of how it would change things. Rachel also worried about what her mother was going to think of her when she took that step.

Then she started to worry about what Jesse was thinking about. What did it mean to him? Would he treat her differently? Would she look at him differently? This was all just too much right now!

"Argh!" Rachel let out an annoyed sigh as she rolled over and looked at her clock. 5:07 in the morning. She couldn't do this much longer. She was exhausted and her mind wouldn't cooperate and turn off so she could relax and sleep. She blamed her mother for this.

In her own room, Shelby wasn't having any troubles sleeping. The time she had spent waiting for Rachel in the shower had allowed her to calm down considerably and she already knew how she was going to approach the situation the following morning.

Shelby barely registered it when she felt the mattress sink down some as Rachel crawled over her to get into the bed. She wasn't quite sure why her kid never just went around to the other side to get into the bed.

Rachel spread her quilt around after she'd gotten herself comfortable under the covers. She was wide awake and staring at her mother. Shelby shifted and tried to find a new spot and settled down again.

"Mom," Rachel whispered. "Mama."

"What?" Shelby groaned tiredly.

"Are you awake?" Rachel asked in another whisper.

"No," Shelby said.

"Oh. Will you be awake soon?"

Shelby sighed and finally opened her eyes. She turned some and reached a hand out and patted until she found Rachel's leg and rested it there.

"What's wrong?" Shelby asked.

"I can't sleep," Rachel answered.

"Why not?"

"I can't stop thinking about everything," Rachel answered honestly. "Can we just go ahead and talk about all of this so I can go to sleep?"

Shelby smirked and then turned back and looked at her clock. 5:12. Her smirk faded into a long sigh and she tried to shake the sleep off and sat up. Rachel quickly followed suit and sat cross-legged. She wrapped her quilt around her shoulders and waited for her mom to say something first.

"Rachel, you should not have been in the pool with Jesse in the middle of the night," Shelby began. "And you should not have been doing what you guys were doing."

"But nothing happened," Rachel said.

"It could have," Shelby said. "Especially from what I saw."

"But it wouldn't have," Rachel said. "I told Jesse that. I'm not ready."

That was music to Shelby's ears, but she didn't smile or let on that she was elated to hear her daughter say that.

"Then what were you doing?" Shelby asked.

"We were just… exploring," Rachel said. "I'm curious." She blushed furiously and looked away from her mother. "And…"

"And what?" Shelby asked.

"It feels good," Rachel's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "When he touches me."

"He touched you?" She was going to kill him. She was going to drown him in the pool. Shelby had told herself before she went to bed that she was going to be calm and rational throughout this conversation, but she figured she deserved a little leeway right now. She had been woken up a little after five for this, after all.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "Like when we're kissing and he lets his fingertips lightly graze over my sides and hips. It's like this electric feeling. It gives me goose bumps."

"Oh," Shelby said. "Right, yeah."

"What did you think I meant?" Rachel asked curiously. It dawned on her a few seconds later. "Mom! No! He didn't touch me there! Just… around there. And on my butt."

"Ok," Shelby held her hands up as if to surrender. "Ok. Rachel, you're telling me you're not ready, but I caught you in a pool touching. You're so much closer than you seem to think."

"But it wasn't going to go that far!" Rachel insisted. "I told him that. He wasn't touching me exactly right there and he moved my hand away when it got too close."

Shelby shut her eyes and shook her head so she could try and erase that mental image from her mind.

"He hasn't yet either, you know," Rachel said.

That statement took Shelby by surprise and all she could say was, "Oh." She had just assumed. Jesse was so charismatic and confident and she remembered the girls at Carmel hanging all over him.

"We've talked about it and we're not ready, Mom," Rachel said. "I promise."

"I understand that, Rach, and I hear you, I do," Shelby said. "But you're playing with fire in a situation like that. Your emotions and desires can take over and you start to justify all the reasons that it would be ok just this once. Are you prepared for that? Did either of you have any type of protection available?"

"I didn't," Rachel said. "I don't have anything like that. I don't know if he did."

Shelby sighed and leaned forward and took Rachel's hands in her own.

"Sweetheart, I appreciate your honesty during this conversation. I'm glad you feel you can talk to me about it. Because you always can. And I'm glad you recognize within yourself that you are not ready yet. Trust me, my beautiful girl, you have so much time for that. There is no need to rush."

"I don't feel rushed," Rachel said. "But I didn't think there was anything wrong with hanging out and being together. And touching. And looking."

Shelby shook her head again. She didn't want her daughter touching or looking at anything.

"Rachel, except you snuck around to do it, so that leads me to believe that you do know you shouldn't be doing it," Shelby said.

"I won't do it again," Rachel said. "Please don't keep him away. He's going to have to leave soon to go to school."

"I won't stop you from seeing him," Shelby said. She wasn't dumb; that would just lead to more sneaking. "But he is not to be here again after dark unless you have my permission. And I'd like to remind you of my open door policy here. This will not happen again."

"It won't Mama, I promise," Rachel said through a yawn.

"Rachel, I think it's time you saw a doctor and got checked out and perhaps put on birth control," Shelby said.

"Is that really…? Do I have to?" Rachel asked.

"No, you don't have to," Shelby said. "Not yet, if you're not comfortable with it. But this is something you need to think very seriously about. And not just for birth control reasons. You are reaching an age where all of this will start to become necessary."

"I'll think about it," Rachel said.

"Good girl," Shelby replied. "And you can always talk to me about any questions you have."

"I will," Rachel assured her.

"And Rachel, I want you to promise me that you will try and keep yourself out of the situation I caught you in tonight," Shelby said. "You were going too far for someone who tells me she's not ready. Slow down, sweetheart. Just slow down."

"OK, Mom," Rachel said sincerely.

Rachel yawned again. She felt so much better now that they had talked. And her mother hadn't brought up any type of punishment even once and Rachel was feeling good about that. She was so ready to lie down and go to sleep. Rachel uncrossed her legs and started to stretch out, only to be stopped by a hand on her arm.

"We're not done," Shelby said.

"Oh," Rachel said with a gulp and she looked back up at her mother.

"Your late night swims have been cut off for a week," Shelby said. "And you will be in bed every night by ten for the week. Understood?"

"Yes," Rachel sighed. "Can I still go in the pool during the day?"

"Yes, you're not grounded," Shelby told her. "Just a week of bedtimes and no swimming at night. Don't let it happen again, Rachel."

"I won't."

"Ok. How about we go back to sleep, huh?" Shelby said.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed.

Shelby leaned over and kissed her head as Rachel lied down and got settled under the blankets. Shelby got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. She knew the talk was far more important than the punishment in this case. It was clear she and Rachel needed another sex talk and she was glad they'd been able to have it. A heavy handed sentence would have done nothing but make Rachel upset and possibly drive her to break the rules even more. She needed to show her support and not her disapproval.

Shelby returned to the bed and found that Rachel was already sleeping deeply and she couldn't help but smile at how relaxed the girl looked. She glanced at the clock and saw it was just after six and Shelby was looking forward to a couple more hours at least. Her eyes had only been closed a few seconds when she heard Beth cry out from her room.

"Mama!" Beth wailed.

Shelby looked over at Rachel and saw that the girl hadn't even stirred. With a long, tired sigh, Shelby got out of bed so she could get her youngest. So much for getting anymore sleep this morning. She tucked the blankets around Rachel and left her to her rest.

The beginning of August came all too soon and Shelby was pleased that there hadn't been another incident with Jesse. She let him be afraid of her for a couple weeks and then it slowly tapered off. To their credit, both Rachel and Jesse had taken Shelby's words to heart and they slowed down their, um, exploration.

"Are you sure you feel like going out?" Shelby asked as she sat down next to Rachel on the couch.

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"Go out?" Beth asked.

The little girl was sitting on Rachel's lap facing her with her head leaned against her sister's chest. She'd been moody all day.

"Quinn and I are going out," Rachel said. "You're staying here with Mama."

"No!" Beth said angrily. "Go with you."

"Not this time," Rachel said.

Rachel closed her eyes when Beth started to cry. It seemed like she was louder today for some reason. Rachel's head ached and her throat was sore, but there was no way she was getting sick. It was August for crying out loud. Besides, they'd been planning this day out for a while.

"You don't look like you feel good," Shelby commented. "And Quinn has been over here every day for about a week now. Surely you can miss a day."

"The whole glee club is getting together though," Rachel countered. "We're going bowling and just hanging out. I don't want to sit in here and do nothing all day."

"You look like you could use a nap," Shelby stated.

"Mom," Rachel glared her at. "I don't need a nap. The demon probably could though."

"Rachel, don't call your sister a demon," Shelby scolded.

"Hello," Quinn called as she entered the house

"Hey," Shelby greeted.

"Inn!" Beth reached for Quinn as soon as she was in sight and Quinn happily took her.

"What's wrong, Beth?" Quinn asked as she rocked the baby side to side. Beth had her head resting on Quinn's shoulder.

"Go with you," Beth said sadly.

"Sorry, Beth, not this time," Quinn said.

Beth picked up her crying as Quinn sat down on the couch in between Shelby and Rachel. She leaned her head back and shut her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Shelby asked.

"What? Yeah, just a slight headache," Quinn answered.

"I don't think Rachel's feeling well either, but she's denying it," Shelby said. "I told her she should stay in. Maybe you should as well."

"No, it's nothing," Quinn told her. "You ready, Rach?"

"Yep," Rachel said. They needed to get out of there before Shelby got any more ideas.

The older girls left the house to the sounds of a crying toddler.

Not two hours later, Shelby heard the front door open and wasn't surprised when she saw two glum looking teenagers enter the house. Thought it was only the late afternoon, Beth was already in pajamas and was snuggled with Shelby on the couch watching Elmo. She had gotten sick not long after Quinn and Rachel left and her fever had come in. Shelby had given her a bath and some medicine and the girl had napped until about twenty minutes ago. It seemed as if a cold had gotten her and Shelby guessed that's why the other two had seemed off earlier.

"What are you two doing home so early?" Shelby asked as the girls sat on either side of her. Beth crawled over into Rachel's lap and cuddled with her.

"I didn't feel good," Rachel admitted.

"Me either," Quinn added.

"Probably should have stayed in, huh?" Shelby asked with a small smile.

The girls ignored her gentle dig and dutifully let her feel their foreheads and be told what they already suspected. They were sick.

"Beth has it too," Shelby said. "I think it's just a cold, but the fevers are no fun. Why don't you two go upstairs and put on some pajamas and we can just hang out."

"I should probably get going," Quinn said though she made no move to get off the couch.

"You can stay if you want," Shelby shrugged. "I'll make some soup and we'll put movies on. And you guys can rest."

"Ok," Quinn said.

"Go get changed," Shelby instructed. "You might try a bath if you want. That soothed Beth earlier."

"I don't want to take a bath," Rachel said with a pout as if she'd been told she had to.

"Ok," Shelby said. Rachel was nothing if not stubborn.

Rachel handed Beth back to her mother and Shelby watched as both teens trudged up the stairs to get changed. Quinn always had a few changes of clothes and pajamas at the house since she spent so much time over there.

Shelby settled Beth on the couch to watch Elmo and then got up to get some medicine and a couple of thermometers to check the level of the girl's fevers. She called Judy in the meantime and explained that she had offered for Quinn to stay over. She promised to make sure she didn't want to go home before she fell asleep.

"Honestly, don't worry about it," Shelby said to Judy. "You stay over there away from the sickness because you're going to get all three of them when I eventually catch this cold.

"You know you can always send them my way," Judy said.

Rachel returned to the bottom story first because Quinn had taken Shelby's suggestion and drawn herself a bath.

"It's not fair getting sick over the summer," Rachel pouted after she had taken her medicine.

"I know, sweetheart," Shelby placated.

Rachel lied down on the couch and put her head in Shelby's lap in the hopes that her mother would play with her hair and rub her head. Beth did not want to be left out and tried to climb on Shelby's lap so she could sit down.

"Beth stop," Rachel demanded when Beth stepped on her hair.

"Mama," Beth whined first and then started to cry.

"I was here first," Rachel said.

"That's enough," Shelby said. "Get up, Rachel."

"Mama!" Rachel whined.

"Just for a second," Shelby said. "I'm going to pull the bed out and give us more room."

Rachel held Beth and stood off to the side while Shelby moved the coffee table and pulled the sofa bed out. The sheets were already in place and Shelby went upstairs to collect some blankets and pillows. Rachel and Beth were cuddled together on it when she got back downstairs. She joined her girls and smiled when she saw that Rachel had settled on _The Little Mermaid_.

Quinn was given a dose of medicine when she came back downstairs and she too soon settled on the sofa bed. Shelby was in the middle and the two teens were on either side of her. Beth rested between Shelby and Rachel and each girl was curled as close as they could get into the mother. She made sure they were covered and comfortable.

Judy unlocked the front door to Shelby's house with the key she'd been given and peeked her head into the living room and saw them all lying together. She then went into the kitchen and dropped off some soup and rolls and popsicles that Quinn had always loved when she was sick. She had no doubt that Beth and Rachel would devour them as well.

A smile lit Judy's face when she finally went into the living room and saw that they were all asleep. Shelby was stuffed in the middle and had somehow managed to keep a hand on all three girls. She was holding both a hand from both Beth and Rachel in one of her own and her other was wrapped around Quinn and holding her.

Judy did what any other mother would do in this situation; she took pictures. The first was with her own phone and then with Shelby's ever-present camera. She made a mental note to text the photo to Rebecca because she was sure they'd love to see it. She also texted it to Shelby so the woman could see it later.

When she was finished with the pictures, Judy went back into the kitchen and wrote a note explaining what food was there and that she would call later.

Later that evening Judy received a text message from Shelby that had a picture of all three girls eating a popsicle. Beth was a purple mess that would surely be getting in the tub soon, but all three girls were smiling and holding up the treats for Judy to see. Shelby included a caption with the picture. It read, "I think they'll make it."

The girls did indeed make it and two and half weeks later, Rachel was getting anxious. She was excited and nervous and full of energy because the court date to change her name was right around the corner. To be honest, she was surprised they had all been able to keep this a surprise from Shelby, but they had. The woman didn't know anything and Rachel wasn't sure if she'd make it until the following more. She just needed to go to bed one more time as a Berry and starting tomorrow, she'd be a Corcoran.

"What are you smiling about?" Shelby asked as she walked in the girl's bedroom to wish her goodnight.

"Nothing," Rachel answered.

"Ok," Shelby laughed as she leaned over and kissed Rachel on the head. The girl was going to bed earlier than usual tonight and Shelby had no idea why. But she never minded the chance to tuck her in. "As long as you're not plotting something crazy."

"Me?" Rachel gasped in shock.

"Yes, you," Shelby affirmed. "Sleep well, my love. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep, tomorrow," Rachel said.

Tomorrow would be perfect. She couldn't wait for tomorrow to finally be here. Tomorrow she would officially become a Corcoran.

Rachel had to stop herself from singing anything from _Annie_ as she drifted off to sleep.

**A/N – That's all for this chapter. We've got one more! I hope you all liked this one. Please leave me a review and let me know. Thanks, guys!**

**Oh, and I've decided that I'm going to hold off on writing the next chapter of She's Always Been Right There until I finish the last chapter for Changed. I want it to be perfect and I want to be able to get it out sooner than I did this time. I'm sorry about changing things around, but I think that'll be best for me. I'll finish this story and then go back to my regulate updates for the other. I hope you all understand. **


	103. Chapter 103

**A/N – I'm so sorry about the delay, everyone. I know, I'm a broken record. But I do apologize. Thank you all so much for your reviews and messages and for continuing to read. You're all so awesome.**

**And well, here we are, guys. This is the end. We made it. I tried to make this chapter as good as it can be because I very much want for this to be a satisfying ending for everyone. I certainly would love to hear your thoughts on it. **

**Your support has been amazing and I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer – I don't own Glee. **

"Rachel, what are you doing?" Shelby asked when she stuck her head into the girl's bedroom to find her eldest.

Shelby had only seen Rachel once that morning and had been surprised to even see her that early. Though Shelby had been encouraging her daughter to go to bed and wake up earlier since the beginning of the school year was just around the corner. Shelby hated the idea that summer was coming to a close because she had been enjoying the long days with her daughters. She couldn't believe that Rachel was about to start her senior year. Rachel had been with her for almost a year, but it felt like a lifetime to Shelby, but even that wasn't long enough. She was not ready to accept that this time next year, Rachel would probably be moving to New York.

"Oh Mom, hey. I'm just getting ready to go out," Rachel answered.

"I can see that," Shelby said. Rachel had on a dress and was brushing out her hair. "Where are you going this early? It's only eight."

"Can you come with me?" Rachel asked, avoiding the real question. "Actually, I need you to come with me."

"Rachel, what's going on?" Shelby asked again. She stepped all the way into the room and put her hands on her hips.

"I can't tell you yet," Rachel said. "Please. We have to be there by 9:30."

Shelby eyed Rachel suspiciously for a few moments before sighing and letting her hands drop to her side. Rachel's face was angelic as she waited for her mom to reply.

"Of course," Shelby said. "What do I need to wear?"

"Just look nice," Rachel said. "You know, business casual should be fine."

Shelby eyed her daughter again as she rapidly tried to work out what was going on. Rachel, however, offered no hints and Shelby finally turned and left the room muttering about business casual and sneaky daughters.

Shelby's mind was racing as she opened her closet door and searched for a suitable outfit to wear. That feeling that Rachel was up to something was back in full force and this time she wasn't going to let up until she had answers. The clues were there – like the fact that Quinn had asked if Beth could stay the night at the Fabray house last night so they could play – and all Shelby had to do was put them together. With Beth being watched for who knows how long today, Shelby had to admit that she was a little wary of what she was about to get into.

Rachel was waiting in the kitchen when Shelby came downstairs. She stole the last sip of Rachel's apple juice and put the glass in the sink and rinsed it before turning back to look at her daughter.

"Ready?" Shelby asked.

"Yep," Rachel said with a smile. She was so ready for this.

"Let's go then," Shelby said.

"I'm driving," Rachel said quickly when she saw her mother reach for her keys. "I know where we're going so I'm driving."

"Where are we going?" Shelby asked as they headed out to the car.

"You want to listen to Barbra?" Rachel asked as she slid into the driver's seat. She wasn't going to give up the surprise now.

Shelby just rolled her eyes and put on her seatbelt and the sounds of Barbra Streisand filled the car.

Shelby was paying attention to where they were going and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why they were over on this side of town. Not that there was a bad side or anything; she just had no need to ever be over here.

Shelby turned and gave Rachel a quizzical look when they turned down a certain street and then her eyes widened in shock when they pulled into a parking lot. What they hell were they doing at the courthouse?

"Rachel, what is going on?" Shelby asked seriously after they had parked and the engine had been turned off. "Why do you need to be here today?"

"We need to get inside," was Rachel's response.

Rachel hadn't been exactly sure how her mother would react when they got here and her goal had always been to just get her inside so the hearing could take place. But when it clicked that Shelby was assuming the worst and that Rachel had been summoned to court, the girl couldn't help but play along. It could be fun to pretend for a few minutes and let her mom think she was in some kind of trouble. When she writes her book one day, she will look back and call this moment an acting exercise.

Rachel was walking at a good clip towards the building, so much so that Shelby had to work to catch up to her. She gently took her daughter's arm and made her stop and face her. Rachel wouldn't look up and Shelby ducked down to try and catch her daughter's eye, but the girl looked away.

"Rachel, you need to talk to me," Shelby said. "I need to know what's going on. Why do you have to be here this morning?"

"Mama, we need to go inside," Rachel said with sad, pleading eyes. "Please."

"Rach, I need to know what's happening so I can help you," Shelby said.

"It's nothing really," Rachel shrugged, but Shelby could tell she didn't mean it. "I just… I got… We need to go inside?"

Shelby stood up to her full height, which was much more now that she was in heels, and put her hands on her hips.

"What did you do?"

"Mommy, it's nothing big," Rachel said. "I didn't expect to get caught. I thought maybe I could have it worked out before now so you wouldn't have to find out."

"Rach-"

"Mama, we have to go inside," Rachel cut her off. "We still have to go through security."

Shelby stood there for a second as she tried to process what was happening. What had Rachel been caught doing? Shelby found herself in the position of being ready to kill her while still being supportive. She needed Rachel to know that she would be here for her through this, whatever this was. But she was definitely going to kill her later.

Shelby quickly caught up to Rachel just before they entered the building and neither said a word as they went through security. Rachel led the way to the escalators and Shelby stood close behind her like a mother trying to keep a hand on her errant child. Shelby narrowed her eyes at the back of Rachel's head and tried to take a calming breath. When they got home today, they were going to have a long talk about hiding things of this magnitude. Shelby did not appreciate her daughter's need to be in court being sprung on her at the last minute.

Rachel could feel her mother's eyes boring into her as they rode the escalator to the second story. She smirked in satisfaction that she was pulling this off. She could tell that her mother was going crazy trying to figure out what she had done. This was going to be so funny later.

Shelby glanced over at Rachel every couple of seconds as they walked in silence together down the hallway. She was trying to read her daughter's body language, and Shelby could tell Rachel was anxious. But there seemed to be something else there. Pride or cockiness or something. She couldn't quite place it. But Shelby was a woman that was used to watching the way people moved and teaching children to tell stories through dance and song. And she knew Rachel. And she did not like the idea that her child might somehow be proud of whatever trouble she had gotten herself into. She wasn't sure how much longer she could go without finding out.

When they turned the corner after walking down the long corridor, Shelby stopped short as Paul and Rebecca stood up from the bench they had been sitting on. What were they doing there? How did they even know to be there? Shelby took Rachel's arm and turned the girl so she had to face her.

"You told them about what was going on and not me?" Shelby asked incredulously.

Of course she had. Shelby started putting the pieces together now. Paul had come to visit Rachel and took her to lunch. They had taken Rachel out alone a couple times while they were visiting. She knew something had been going on!

"I had to tell someone," Rachel said. She kept her voice soft and contrite. "Grandpa came and got me."

"Came and got you?" Shelby exclaimed loudly. She caught herself and lowered her voice to a dangerous tone and leaned down to Rachel's level. "Were you arrested?"

Rachel broke her mother's gaze and looked down. "I-"

Rachel didn't get the chance to finish what she was saying because Shelby had taken her by the arm and was dragging her away towards a private bathroom. She pushed Rachel in before her and quickly locked the door and glared at her child. The time for games and secrets was over.

"Oh, that can't be good," Paul said after his daughter and granddaughter had disappeared into the restroom.

"What do you think Rachel has told her?" Rebecca asked.

"Anything to make sure the surprise isn't ruined before Shelby gets in there," Paul shrugged.

"I bet she's messing with her," Rebecca said.

"No doubt," Paul replied with a proud smile. He'd been on the receiving end of some of Shelby's pranks and lies when she was a kid and the thought of her having to deal with the same from her teenager pleased him greatly.

"Stop," Rebecca said though she couldn't hide her own smile.

"You might want to get in there and rescue Rachel," Paul said after a moment. "I'll go let everyone know they're here and that they'll be right in."

Rebecca nodded and the two parted ways.

Shelby had adopted a patented Coach Corcoran posture and it was intimidating to say the least. Her hands were on her hips and she was staring Rachel down. Rachel played her role well and wrung her hands together and shifted from foot to foot.

"I want an explanation and I want it right now," Shelby demanded.

"Mama, I can't tell you," Rachel said.

Shelby had had enough of the stalling and before Rachel could react, she had pulled her forward and had the girl slightly bent over and tucked under her right arm. Rachel yelped in surprise when two stinging swats landed on her backside.

"Mama, no," Rachel pleaded.

A knock at the door caught them both off guard and Rachel used it as a chance to try and wriggle free, but her mother was not letting her go.

"Shelby, let me in," Rebecca ordered. She'd heard the spanking and Paul was right; it was time to rescue Rachel from herself.

"We're busy," Shelby said.

"Shelby," Rebecca said in a tone that still made her children take pause. "You need to open the door. This is not the time or the place."

Shelby shut her eyes and tried to calm down. Her mother was right, of course, and so she reached over and unlocked the door. Rebecca entered the room and locked the door behind her. She kept her face neutral, but the scene before her was quite humorous. Since Shelby couldn't see her face, Rachel wore a mischievous, but sheepish smile. Help me, Nana, her eyes were saying.

"What is going on, Mom?" Shelby asked. Her grip on Rachel was still true. "You knew she'd been arrested and you didn't tell me?"

Rebecca bit back her shock and then her smile at Rachel's antics and looked at Shelby solemnly.

"I would do anything to help my granddaughter if she asked," Rebecca said.

"So would I," Shelby said.

"I know, Mama, I was just scared," Rachel said with an innocent sadness. She really was laying it on thick.

Shelby let go of Rachel and let her stand up straight when Rebecca gently removed her hands from around the girl. The anger seemed to be gone from the woman for the moment as she looked back and forth between Rachel and Rebecca.

"What happened? How long has this been going on?" Shelby asked the desperation for answers clear in her voice.

Rebecca reached out and took Shelby's hands in her own and squeezed them reassuringly.

"Shelby, I promise that we will explain all of the details to you, but we don't have time right now," Rebecca said soothingly. "The most important thing right now is being there for Rachel and standing with her when we get into the court room. Your father and I support her one hundred percent."

"I do too," Shelby said. She looked over at Rachel. "I will always stand with you and be there for you whenever you need it. I wish you had felt comfortable enough to come and tell me about whatever has happened, but we can talk about that later. And trust me, young lady; we will be talking about this later."

"I know, Mama," Rachel said.

"Where is her lawyer?" Shelby asked. "Don't I need to meet him?"

"He's already inside. We need to get in there," Rebecca said after checking her watch.

"Ok," Shelby said and then took a breath. She was going to support Rachel no matter what; she just hoped she was ready to hear whatever was going to happen in that court room.

Rebecca held the door open for Shelby who left first, allowing grandmother and granddaughter to share a look as Rachel passed by her. Rebecca made a show of wagging her finger and Rachel's smile widened and she stopped to quickly kiss Rebecca on the cheek. The woman just shook her head as she walked with Rachel towards the court room.

Paul was back to waiting outside and he and Shelby let Rachel and Rebecca go past and into the room first. Rebecca winked at Paul and he gave her a short, serious nod. Rachel was glad she was able to get in first because she wanted to see her mother's face when she stepped into the room and saw everyone.

"Daddy," Shelby said sadly as she stopped by her father. "What's going on?"

Paul wrapped her in a strong hug and held her tightly and she relaxed into his arms and let her father hold her.

"It's all going to be ok, pumpkin," Paul said. "I promise. Let's just get in there for Rachel." He wasn't exactly sure what Rachel had told her, but it was clear she still didn't know the truth and so he hoped his words fit in with the granddaughter's little scheme.

Rebecca was holding Rachel's hand and they were both watching the doorway intently so they wouldn't miss anything when Shelby came in. Rachel couldn't keep the smile off her face when Shelby took only a couple steps into the room and stopped. Her eyes were wide as she took in the scene before her.

"Mama!" Beth greeted from her spot in Quinn's arms across the room. She waved when Shelby looked her way. Judy was with them too and she had a camera. Santana and Maribel stood close by. Maggie and Sam were sitting with Jack and Michael and all four of them were smiling brightly at her. Jesse was there as was Dr. Woodward. Even the court reporter was watching the scene happily.

Shelby's eyes finally landed on Rachel and Rebecca and she let her dad lead her farther into the room.

"What's going on?" Shelby asked. The bewilderment was evident in her voice.

"All rise," the bailiff cut her off and everyone turned towards the front of the room and waited for the judge to come in and take her place.

"Please find a seat," the judge instructed.

"Come on," Rachel said as she took Shelby's hand and led her to the front table so they could sit down. Shelby let herself be led and sat next to her daughter and looked up at the judge with pleading eyes. Hopefully this woman would actually give her some answers.

"My name is Judge Fields and I see that we are here today to change the legal last name of a minor child, Rachel Barbara Berry," Judge Fields said to the room.

Rachel hadn't taken her eyes off her mother since the judge started talking. Shelby's mouth fell open in shock and her green eyes started to fill with tears and she looked over at Rachel. Rachel's eyes were also full of tears and she was finally smiling at her mom.

"What?" Shelby choked out.

"The minor child," Judge Fields continued, "has petitioned the state of Ohio to legally change her last name from Berry to Corcoran. The court has reviewed all the proper paperwork, including signed statements of approval from Scott and Henry Berry who are listed the legal fathers."

The judge couldn't help but smile at the look of pure shock on the woman's face. The soon to be young Miss Corcoran had included a note briefly explaining the situation and that the entire thing would be a surprise for her mother. And from the looks of things, the girl had pulled it off splendidly.

"Rachel?" Shelby asked.

"I wanted to change my name to be like you," Rachel said as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"So you weren't arrested?" Shelby breathed out and barely noticed when everyone else started to laugh, the judge included.

"No," Rachel confirmed. "I just wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh thank god," Shelby let out a sigh of relief and put her hand to her heart. She pulled Rachel close to her and kissed her head. "That was not very nice."

"You just assumed something had happened so I played along," Rachel said with an innocent shrug.

Shelby shook her head and pulled her closer into a tight hug. She looked over Rachel's shoulder to where her parents were sitting and asked, "You knew about this? And you played along?"

"Love you, sweetheart," was Rebecca's response.

"As I was saying," Judge Fields interrupted to get the hearing back on track, "all the paperwork is in order except for one piece that needs to be signed by you, Ms. Corcoran. After that, it will be legal and new documents can be printed for Rachel. Things such as a new license will be mailed to your home and you will be given everything you need to file away because she will need these papers later in life."

Shelby had let Rachel go while the judge was talking and she nodded along with what she was saying. She didn't want to miss anything. This was all so overwhelming and Shelby was still working to wrap her mind around what was happening.

"I'm sorry," Shelby said to the judge. "I just… What's happening?" She looked over at Rachel. "You want to change your last name? Today?"

"I wanted to a while ago, but this was the first available court date we could get," Rachel answered.

"And your dads agreed?" Shelby asked.

Rachel nodded. "I had to get them to sign some papers. Grandpa went with me to meet up with them. They both agreed just because I asked and said it was what I wanted. Isn't that amazing?"

"Yeah," Shelby agreed. "Rachel, I'm thrilled. I'm shocked, but I'm thrilled. But I need you to understand that having my last name or not in no way changes how I feel about you. You are my daughter whether your last name is Berry or Corcoran or if you want to drop it all together and just be Rachel. Like Madonna or Cher."

"Or Barbra. It may come to that one day," Rachel said with a smile.

Shelby laughed and pulled Rachel to her again and kissed her head.

"Rachel," Judy Fields said to get her attention. "You can make a statement on the record for the court if you'd like. I don't need it because I have the paperwork and I'm certain your mother will sign. But the floor is yours for a few minutes if you'd like to speak."

"Thank you, your honor," Rachel said. "I'd like to do that."

Rachel got to her feet and stood in the front of the room and at the judge's ok nod, turned and faced the people who meant so much to her. She closed her eyes and took a calming breath and finally started to tell her mother everything she'd been thinking about since deciding she wanted to change her name.

"Mom, I've been thinking about this for a long time," Rachel began. "In my heart, I know it doesn't matter. You're my mom and I'm your daughter and it doesn't matter what our names are. But I love you so much and I love our family so much that I want to be like you. I'm the only one in the family who isn't a Corcoran. I want to be like Beth and Jack and Michael; you know, one of those Corcoran kids."

Shelby's eyes were filling with tears once again as she listened to Rachel. She leaned back in her chair and Rebecca sat forward in hers and put a comforting hand on Shelby's shoulder.

"In another year or so, I'm going to be leaving home," Rachel continued. "I'm going to go to New York and I'm going to make my way in this life. And one of the first things people learn about me is going to be my name. I want to be able to tell them I'm Rachel Barbara Corcoran. I want them to know that I'm the proud daughter of Shelby Corcoran. If they're smart they'll know who you are. They'll ask if I'm the daughter of the four-time National Winning coach and I'll be so proud to say that I am. And when my name is put in a Playbill or in lights above a marquee, it'll be your name that's there too. I'm going to go off into this world with you always standing behind me because I know that you will always be there. I know that you aren't leaving. You are my mom. I am your daughter."

Rachel spoke with a forcefulness and passion that left no doubt of her stance. Tears spilled over Shelby's cheeks and she reached for a tissue but never took her eyes off of her daughter. Rachel had just spoken the words that Shelby had been trying to get her to understand since the first day. She was never going to leave her. She would always be there.

"My dads left me a long time ago," Rachel started her final thought. "And while I still love them and want to have a relationship with them, if possible, I know that when they left, Rachel Barbara Berry changed. Their name and the weight of that doesn't mean as much to me. I have changed. I am better. And that is because of you." Rachel choked up and took a few seconds to gather herself. "I know it in my heart and I know it in my mind. And I want the world to know it as well. I am a Corcoran."

Rachel finished and turned back to the judge and gave her a slight nod. Shelby got to her feet and wrapped Rachel in a hug before she could return to the table. The only dry eyes in the room were on the faces of the children, and even Jack and Michael understood the importance of this occasion.

Rachel clung tightly to Shelby and felt a weight lifted now that the secret was out. Shelby kissed her head and rubbed her back and smiled as Rachel buried her head into her shoulder. Since when was her daughter shy?

"Does anyone else have anything to add?" Judge Fields asked after a few moments. It was a beautiful scene, but they did have to move on.

The rest of the people in the room all shook their heads no because, really, who could follow that up? Shelby and Rachel returned to the table and sat down and both reached for some tissues to dry their eyes.

"We have just one more piece of paperwork to sign, and that's your authorization, Ms. Corcoran," the judge continued. We also have copies of the papers signed by her fathers and the petition to the court if you would like to look them over. Dr. Woodward acted as the notary for the other paperwork and it's my understanding she would like to get to sign off on yours as well."

"Yes, your honor," Dr. Woodward said as she got to her feet.

The bailiff brought Shelby all of the paperwork and she briefly looked over. The mom and teacher in her couldn't help but want to check all of the information to make sure Rachel hadn't skipped anything. She didn't spend much time on it though and picked up a pen when she got to the last piece that was awaiting her signature. She checked it over and then signed with a smile on her face. Dr. Woodward completed her part and everything was returned to the judge.

"Seeing as how there are no objections and the parents and minor child are all in agreement, I don't see any reason why this petition should not be granted," Judge Fields said. "Rachel, from this moment on your name is legally Rachel Barbara Corcoran. You are to use this name on any and all legal documents you encounter in the future. That includes college and job applications. If you are found to be using a name that is not your legal name, you will face the risk of being fined or worse. For instance, you can be terminated from a job if found to be using a false name on an application. Do you understand all of that?"

"I understand," Rachel answered.

"Good. I have nothing else to add. Court is adjourned," Judge Fields said. She even added a dramatic bang of her gavel.

"Oh Rachel," Shelby said with a wide smile and pulled the girl to her again. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mom," Rachel said.

Everyone started to get up and greet Shelby and Rachel to offer their congratulations. They soon found themselves lining up for pictures in every combination possible, from family and friends to ones with just Rachel and the judge. The Corcoran kids had their picture taken and Rachel got one with Quinn and Judy. Shelby would treasure that one always because without those two, this last year would never have happened.

The judge big them farewell when the pictures were complete and everyone filed out into the hallway. Shelby looked down at her watch and noticed it was getting close to lunch time and she got everyone's attention.

"Let's do lunch to celebrate," Shelby said. "On me. Where do we want to go?"

"We're way ahead of you, sweetheart," Rebecca said. "There is a party waiting for us."

"Of course there is," Shelby said with a laugh. She would not be surprised by anything else today. "Let's go then."

Shelby felt like she was on cloud nine as she walked out of the courthouse with her daughters holding her hands and her family and friends surrounding her. How did she ever get so lucky?

Paul and Rebecca had reserved space at a local conference center and had it catered and everything was decorated and ready by the time they arrived. All of the glee kids and Mr. Schue were there, as was Emma. There were friends and colleagues of Shelby's as well as some of her students and their parents who had come to know Rachel over the year. There was a ton of food and music and there was a karaoke machine in place that would no doubt get used later.

"You put all of this together?" Shelby asked Rachel when they'd found a table.

"Nana and Grandpa planned the party," Rachel confessed. "And paid for it. I have no idea how much it is because they wouldn't tell me. They paid for the court too even though I told them I was going to pay for it."

"Hush, young lady," Rebecca scolded when she sat down across from Rachel while Paul sat across from Shelby. "If I hear one word from you about any of this being too expensive, I will let your mother finish that spanking she started earlier."

"Nana," Rachel hissed out in embarrassment as she blushed.

Shelby just laughed lightly and tucked Rachel's hair behind her ears.

"You really had me going this morning," Shelby said.

"I know," Rachel smiled cheekily. "That was funny. You should have seen your face. You were trying so hard to be calm."

"I'm glad you're so amused by it," Shelby said.

"Oh I am," Rachel assured.

Shelby shook her head and then took Rachel's hands in her own. "But you do know that you can come to me in that situation if you need to, right? Not that I ever want you to be in that situation. But you can come to me and I will help you in any way possible. And please, tell me before we arrive at the courthouse."

"I know you'd be there for me," Rachel said with a shrug. "I'm going to go start some karaoke."

She was up from the table and gone before Shelby could tell her that she needed to eat something. Shelby turned and looked at her parents and felt her chin start to tremble as tears formed in her eyes.

"Thank you, Mommy," Shelby said softly. "Thank you, Daddy."

"No, sweetheart, thank you," Rebecca said. "For giving us our wonderful granddaughter. You are a wonderful mother."

Shelby could only nod because if she opened her mouth again to talk right now, she was just going to end up sobbing. So she just nodded and accepted the praise and watched as, across the room, Rachel started giving directions on who was singing when. The girl had already decided that she was singing first because it was only appropriate. Shelby approved.

The party was a lot of fun and lasted a few hours. The highlight had come when Rachel talked Shelby into getting up and doing karaoke and they sang songs for about fifteen minutes to loud applause. As it started to wind down, the catering company packed up a lot of leftovers and let Shelby take them home which was great since they wouldn't have to worry about dinner now. It took a while for everyone to say their goodbyes, but it was finally just back to being Rachel, Shelby, and Beth.

As midnight approached, Rachel finally admitted that she was getting tired and decided to go to bed. Beth had been asleep for hours and Shelby was ready to lie down as well. But not before she exacted a little payback.

Rachel was playing on her phone as she stalled actually getting in bed. She just had a few more games to play and then she'd put it down.

"Rachel Barbara Corcoran!"

Rachel looked up and her eyes went wide as her mother's angry voice could be heard throughout the house. She spent the next couple of seconds wracking her brain to try and figure out what she'd done. It was always worse when you didn't know.

"Get down here right now!" Shelby yelled and Rachel put her phone down and stood up from the bed.

Rachel cautiously peered down the stairs and saw her mother standing at the bottom with her hands on her hips looking up at her. Shelby pointed to the spot in front of her indicating she wanted Rachel to go and stand there. Oh crap.

"Mama?" Rachel questioned as she started her slow decent down the stairs. This day had been perfect. What had she done?

"Now, Rachel," Shelby said seriously.

Rachel gulped and closed the last few feet between her and her mother and stood where she was instructed. She wouldn't even look up to meet her mother's eyes.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Rachel asked.

"Look at me," Shelby commanded.

Rachel waited a beat and then finally looked up at her mother's stern face.

Shelby held her gaze firm and unrelenting for a few more moments and then broke out in a wide grin with sparkling eyes.

"Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to get to use your full name," Shelby said merrily.

Rachel gasped and stomped her foot and said, "Mom!" Her tone was indignant.

"Oh don't you mom me, young lady," Shelby said with a laugh. "Not after the joke you pulled on me today."

Rachel humphed and crossed her arms, but smiled at her mom.

"It sounds good, doesn't it?" Rachel asked.

"Yes it does," Shelby agreed.

Shelby kissed Rachel's head and then took her by the shoulders and spun her so she faced the stairs.

"And I do believe it is bedtime for you," Shelby said. "Up you go."

Shelby sent her off with a couple of light pats to her bottom and Rachel smiled as she climbed the stairs. The day had been amazing and she didn't quite want it to end yet, despite how tired she was. When she reached the top, she turned and looked back down at her mother.

"Will you tuck me in?"

"Always," Shelby replied without hesitation. "Always.

Two weeks later, Shelby was up before both of her children because she wanted to be ready before either of them opened her eyes. She was planning a nice breakfast for just the three of them. Today was the first day of school. It was the first day of Rachel's senior year; her last first day of school. But most importantly for Shelby, it was her first day with Rachel. It may be coming twelve years too late, but Shelby was finally getting a rite of passage that other parents all over the world get to celebrate. Today she was taking her baby to school.

Shelby opened Rachel's bedroom door and smiled in at her slumbering child. She only had five minutes until her alarm was set to go off, but Shelby wanted to get to wake her up. She shut off the alarm and then sat on the edge of the bed.

"Rachel," Shelby cooed softly as she brushed some hair back from her face. "Sweetie, wake up."

"Go away," Rachel mumbled and tried to turn over.

"Sorry," Shelby said with a smile. "Today's a school day and it's time to get up."

"I set my alarm," Rachel said.

"I know. I turned it off and am waking you up instead," Shelby told her.

Rachel's eyes opened and she quickly sat up and looked at her mother with wild eyes.

"Am I late? Did I oversleep? I have to get going."

Rachel started to kick the blankets back and was stopped when Shelby put her hands on her arms and forced her to be still.

"You're not late," Shelby assured her. "Your alarm would be going off in a couple minutes. I wanted to wake you up and say good morning. Happy first day of school!"

"I'm a senior," Rachel smiled. "I can't believe it."

"Me either," Shelby said wistfully. "Breakfast will be ready soon."

"I don't know if I'm going to have time," Rachel said as she hurriedly tried to get out of bed again. "I've got to shower and get ready."

"You'll have time," Shelby assured her with a laugh.

Rachel did indeed have time for breakfast and she was ready to race out the door when Shelby stopped her.

"I want to take a picture," Shelby said.

"Mom," Rachel whined. "Really?"

"Yes," Shelby confirmed. "It's the first day of your senior year. And it's my first day of school with you."

"Oh… yeah. Ok, but we have to hurry," Rachel said. She felt bad because she hadn't even considered that before.

Rachel was as patient as she could be while Shelby took a few pictures, including a few with a smiley Beth.

"Ok, is that it?" Rachel asked. "I really should be going."

"Rachel, you've got forty-five minutes until you need to be there," Shelby said. She was playing with the camera as she spoke. "It's doesn't even take ten minutes to get there. I need one more picture."

"Fine," Rachel said.

Shelby set the camera down and went and stood by Rachel and told her to smile because the timer was on. Rachel smiled and relaxed next to Shelby and waited for the picture to take. She did love this, even if she was afraid she was going to be late.

"Rachel, I would like to drive you today," Shelby said before Rachel could grab her keys and go.

"Mom!" Rachel whined again. Was she serious?

"Please," Shelby said. "I… I'd like to. I figured you could catch a ride home with Quinn or Santana or I'll come back and get you. Ok?"

"Ok," Rachel conceded after letting out a long breath. Oh god, she hoped her mother didn't plan on walking her to her first class too.

The parking lot at William McKinley High was starting to fill up when Shelby pulled in with Beth and Rachel in tow. She parked along the curb up front and then turned to Rachel.

"Have a wonderful day today," Shelby said.

"I will," Rachel said.

"I love you," Shelby said and her chin started to tremble.

"I love you too," Rachel said and leaned over and kissed her mom's cheek. "Stop being crazy."

"I'm not," Shelby scoffed as she lightly pushed Rachel away. "Go on; get away from your mother. Enjoy the day and I'll see you later."

"Bye, Beth," Rachel said, looking into the backseat.

"Bye bye, Mach!" Beth said and then blew her a kiss. They loved when she did that.

"Bye, Mom," Rachel said.

"Bye, sweetheart. I love you."

"I know," Rachel said with a joking roll of her eyes.

Shelby watched as Rachel walked up the long walk towards the building. She couldn't take her eyes off of until she was inside. Her daughter was a senior in high school. Her daughter was one year away from leaving to conquer the Broadway world. Shelby marveled at how much life could change in a year as she watched Rachel approach the front doors. She was so close to disappearing inside.

Rachel stopped at the doors and turned back to look. She already knew her mother would still be there. She made eye contact with her mom and then waved to her. Shelby's face lit up even as one tear made its way down her cheek and she waved back.

Teardrops could contain immeasurable amounts of happiness and one wave from a sometimes moody teenager could make her day. Shelby felt like she was walking on air the rest of the day.

The End.

Epilogue

Seven years later…

Shelby hurried down the busy Manhattan street while holding firmly on to her eight-year-old's hand. Beth was keeping up but she didn't know what the big hurry was. It's not like the theater was going to sprout legs and run away before they could get there. And the show didn't even open for two more days. Not that Beth was complaining, mind you; she was happy to have the extra days off from school.

Beth was always amazed at how well her mother navigated the streets of New York. She always knew exactly where she was going. They weren't like those other tourists that were trying to figure out directions on their phones. Nope, Shelby and Beth Corcoran were experts.

"Mama, can I get a hotdog?" Beth asked as they passed yet another cart.

"I told you could later," Shelby said. "You've been snacking all morning."

"But I'm still hungry," Beth complained.

Shelby didn't know where the kid put all of the food she'd been eating recently. She was a bottomless pit sometimes.

"You can wait," Shelby assured her. "Come on, we've just got a couple more blocks."

Shelby stopped short and put a hand to her heart when they reached the theater and she saw the marquee. There it was. There was Rachel's name above the title of the show. Shelby immediately pulled out her camera and started to take pictures. Beth yawned. She remembered doing this the first time Rachel had been on Broadway a couple years ago too. Only except that time she'd just been a swing in the chorus. She was the lead this time. The star. The show was opening in two days.

"Beth, stand here," Shelby instructed. "Let me get a picture of you with it."

Beth put on her award worthy smile, the one her sister had taught her, and hammed it up for the camera. After a minute, Beth sat on the steps outside the theater and waited while her mother took a picture from every possible angle. She was never going to get her hotdog.

"Hopefully she'll come out in a second," Shelby said. She was sending off a text message at that moment.

It wasn't quite a second, but a couple minutes later the stage door opened and Rachel came out with a confused and then shocked expression on her face. Beth leapt up at the sight of her big sister.

"Mach!" Beth yelled and then jumped at Rachel who caught her for a hug.

"Hey!" Rachel said. Rachel had been really excited when Beth learned to say Mach, but she could never have imagined that the nickname would stick. "What are you guys doing here? You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow."

"We came early to surprise you," Shelby said as she hugged Rachel tightly.

"Mama's already taken like three million pictures of the sign," Beth said.

"Hush you, I have not," Shelby said. "But now that you're out here, let me get a picture."

"See?" Beth said as they walked back to the front so Shelby could get more pictures, this time with Rachel included.

At 23, Rachel had certainly grown from her days at McKinley. If nothing else, her wardrobe was much better. She was fashionable and well-liked and on the brink of stardom.

"Mama," Beth whined after a while. "I'm hungry."

"Alright," Shelby conceded. "She's got a hollow leg right now."

"Let me run in and get my stuff and I'll come with you," Rachel said. "We're finished for today. What do you guys want?"

"We're getting hotdogs," Beth said.

"Ugh," Rachel showed her disgust. "Can we get real food?"

"No. Mama already said I could have a hotdog," Beth said.

Rachel looked over at Shelby for help, but her mother had none.

"Just get your stuff," Shelby said. "We'll get her a hotdog and then go somewhere else."

"Haha," Beth teased.

Rachel had no problem shoving her sister lightly as she passed and Beth's retort was to stick her tongue out.

"Ladies," Shelby scolded.

Rachel just rolled her eyes and went inside to grab her things. When she returned, Beth ran up and took her hand and started to practically drag her down the street.

"It's this way," Beth said hurriedly as if all the hotdog stands in New York City were about to pack up for good.

"You didn't have to come a day early," Rachel said to Shelby as they walked.

"I know. But everyone will be arriving tomorrow and I wanted you all to myself first," Shelby told her with a smile.

"I just saw you a few weeks ago," Rachel said.

"I know," Shelby said.

"Crazy," Rachel said.

"I love you too," Shelby retorted. "No let's get her a hotdog before she starves to death."

"That would be tragic," Rachel deadpanned.

"Rachel…" Shelby warned.

**A/N – That's the end, guys! I can't believe it. And yes, there will be a sequel based on the epilogue. I hope you guys will come back for it and check it out when I post it. I'm not sure what the name of it will be yet. But please keep an eye out. The usual suspects will be returning. **

**The sequel won't be posted for a little bit though. I need a little time. I need time to focus on other things and stories (I've got a few up my sleeve). But most importantly, I need to let this story be complete. It is its own entity and it is a complete work. I want to give it a chance to breathe.**

**And I don't know how to thank you all enough for all of the support and focus and energy you have given me these last couple of years as I've been writing. It means the world to me. Thank you so much for sticking with me through thick and thin and for being there for this story. I cannot even begin to express what all of your reviews and messages and kind words and friendships have meant to me. **

**I also can't believe that this story has come to a close. This has been a part of my life for the last couple of years and it's crazy to see it be completed. I'm not even really sure of how to feel. I am proud and honored by your readership and humbled at the thought that I put this together and shared with the world. It has been an experience that I will never forget. And you all have worked to make it so special. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. **

**And I know I say this every time, but please leave me a review if you can. Especially here at the end, I would love to hear from you and see your thoughts. **

**Thank you, everyone. Thank you. **


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